For many weeks, The Masked Singer South Africa’s sleek and spirited Leopard had the detectives on SABC 2’s hugely popular guessing game chasing their tails. It was a given that the man behind the mysterious feline was a heavyweight performer, but it took some serious head-scratching before supersleuth Somizi Mhlongo and Lady Detective Sithelo Shozi connected the spots: the charming cat with the impressive growl was none other than seasoned, SAFTA-winning actor, television host and international screen star Tumisho Masha.
Table of Contents
Also read: Rap icon Jack Parow flexed his muscles as The Masked Singer South Africa’s green machine, Spinach
Watch here:
SAFTA Winner as Leopard
Besides winning a SAFTA for his leading role in the daily drama The Wild and captivating local audiences in small-screen hits such as Isidingo and Saints and Sinners, Tumisho has made his mark beyond Mzansi’s borders. With Mandela’s Gun, he became the first South African actor to portray our iconic leader, clawing his way to top acting honours at the 2018 Harlem International Film Festival. Among his other international film credits are Drum, in which he played writer and journalist Can Themba, and Catch a Fire. And who else can boast of sharing the screen with Angelina Jolie? Tumisho did, in Beyond Borders.
That’s not all. Tumisho has brought his acting chops to a long list of international television shows and his signature swag to Top Billing and glitzy events such as the SAMAs and the Miss World pageant. At the same time, his distinctive voice has also made him a sought-after voice-over artist.
On The Masked Singer South Africa, Leopard, concealing this prolific performer, leapt onto the stage as the first Mask viewers met in Season 3. Observing the hints dropped by the playful prowler in his introductory Clue Package, Sithelo’s sharply focused binoculars zoomed in on one telling revelation: he was recognised “at home and beyond”. But Leopard’s stunning voice and a music award displayed on a shelf then threw the official detective panel – J’Something, Sithelo, Somizi and Skumba Hhlope – completely off the scent. They all named musical superstars – a trend that continued in the episodes to come.
Tumisha was intrigued by the mask right from the start, saying that he was, “completely blown away”, and hoped the team would be able to pull it off. The result did not disappoint,
“Little did I know that it was going to be even better than I had imagined. It was absolutely amazing. And I just felt so privileged to be able to put on such an amazing work of art as a mask.”
Thrilling Quarter-final
This week, in the thrilling quarter-final, the spotlight fell on four beloved, dazzling Masks. Leopard aimed to chase Chopsticks into the Danger Zone, while Mosquito buzzed in to sting Spotty, the fluffy doggie.
Following Leopard’s roaring performance of John Legend’s dancefloor-ready number “A Good Night”, show host Mpho Popps revived a Season 2 audience favourite, the “Cluenundrum” – a secret-spilling machine that challenged the detectives to decipher a jumble of random letters. For Leopard, the letters were C-A-L-E-H-I-M. Historically proven code-cracker Sithelo promptly decoded the puzzle as “Michael”.
J’Something followed the track to the Michael Jackson hit “Man in the Mirror”, recalling that Leopard’s clues often involved broken mirrors. He even performed Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” earlier in the competition. That led J’Something to the isiZulu word “isibuko”, which translates as “mirror”. His conclusion: it was the title of an album released by someone he had guessed before – singer and rapper Sjava.
However, Somizi was unconvinced. He believed Leopard had the same strut as the character Jonas in the recent streaming sensation The Polygamist, a role played by S’dumo Mtshali.
Sithelo also deduced that the man beneath the Mask was an actor because of the way he commanded the stage, and correctly identified Tumisho Masha.
Still, guest detective Jason Goliath, sitting in for Skhumba this week, admitted he was utterly confused about Leopard’s true colours. So, his random choice for the camouflaged character was radio personality Sizwe Dhlomo.
After the two face-offs, it was a cat-versus-dog scuffle in the Danger Zone, with the superfan audience deciding the Masks’ fate, and the canine emerging victorious.
But before Leopard’s cover was blown, the detectives locked in their final guesses.
J’Something stuck to Sjava, but although he was “terrified” to make the call, Somizi changed course and pounced on Tumisho. That strengthened Sithelo’s conviction that her earlier guess about Tumisho was spot-on. However, guest investigator Jason was still off the beaten path, now opting for another radio star, DJ Sabby.
With Leopard finally out of hiding, Sithelo is back on the leaderboard alongside Somizi for the Golden Ear trophy, awarded to the detective with the most correct guesses. Last season, the two clue-crackers tied.
Tumisho was not surprised when Somizi identified him.
“I was a little bit surprised that Sithelo managed to identify me. I know a lot of people are saying maybe she might have been copying. I don’t think so, I think she just put the clues together.”
The Leopard’s favorite performance on the show was definitely Mirrors as the song by Justin Timberlake. Tumisho goes on to say that, although it’s quite a difficult and challenging song to sing, he did his best and enjoyed himself on stage.
The Clues
Broken mirrors were sprinkled into the clues throughout the season.
Regarding the mysterious mirror motif sprinkled throughout his clues, Tumisho revealed that it represented self-reflection after spending a long time in the entertainment industry. “It’s all about staying true to yourself as things change,” he explained. “I always have to look at myself in the mirror to keep going.”
He continues to say that, when it when it comes to mirrors, “we have to always constantly be introspective and look at ourselves and say, we have to be the change that we want to see. Can’t always be playing victim. Sometimes we have to take responsibility for what’s going on in our own life and make the changes that we have to make to affect our life and affect others around us.”
Yeah, bAnd what broken mirrors signify in my life is that sometimes the person that we’re looking at in the mirror, that image can, and I think probably should be shattered every now and again, because you can’t reinvent yourself if you’re still looking at the image of yourself in the mirror and expecting that the image you saw 5, 10, 15 years ago is still going to be the image that you see today. Some things you have to shatter about yourself, your own self-image, how you see yourself and how others see you. And you have to start again and build yourself up into a better version of yourself. Also,
Tumisho says that, in terms of the design of the mask, the clues that Leopard might be him were the fact that he is a rather flashy leopard.
“It’s not just leopard print and black stockings. It really was the whole scarf thing. It was the amazing jacket, the colorful pants, and it really harkened back to my South African heritage in the way that it was a leopard, but it was also a very South African leopard. So I hope that those were some of the clues that might have given it away that it was me.”
Watch The Masked Singer on SABC
His identity might have been revealed, but Tumisho says he would do the Masked Singer South Africa again.
“I think it’s the pinnacle of performance. You know, you’ve got this amazing music, you’ve got the lights, you’ve got the staging, you’ve got everything that you need to give a great performance. And as a performer, I love giving great performances.”
If you missed this fun-filled episode of The Masked Singer South Africa Season 3, the rebroadcasts air on Thursday at 21:00 on SABC 1 and on Friday at 13:30 on SABC 2. For the next premiere episode, in which another A-lister will be unmasked, tune in to SABC 2 on Saturday at 19:00.
The Masked Singer South Africa Season 3 is produced by Rose and Oaks Media for Primedia Studios. Andolex®, King Pie and Mentos are the sponsors.
Source: SABC
https://sabc-plus.com/show/231557/The-Masked-Singer-South-Africa
