R&B singer Ne-Yo, who has resided in Atlanta, won the 10th season of “The Masked Singer,” portraying the Cow.
He was crowned on Wednesday on Fox.
“I originally chose to become the Cow because I thought it’d be a super fun way to get my friends in the panel off my scent,” Ne-Yo said during the episode. “But even though I’m used to wearing different hats, being here has challenged me in a whole new way. I’ve had to re-learn how to express myself entirely, from the way I move to the way I dance.”
He added: “When you reach my level of success and fame, there are certain expectations and pressures to perform the same old way, so it’s been a blast getting to take on this whole new persona.”
Credit: Pete Dadds
Credit: Pete Dadds
Ne-Yo has had his share of pop hits over the years including “So Sick,” Closer” and “Let Me Love You.”
Two judges guessed who he was correctly: Robin Thicke and Nicole Scherzinger. Other wrong guesses included Billy Porter and fellow Atlantan Usher.
Cow’s finale performance was “Take a Bow” by Rihanna.
Runner up was actor John Schneider, who played the Donut. His CBS show “The Dukes of Hazzard” was set fictionally in Georgia in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The first few episodes were shot in Covington but production was moved to California after that. Schneider also shot eight seasons of OWN’s “The Haves and the Have Nots” in Atlanta from 2013 until 2021.
His final performance was “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray.
Schneider has had his own singing career which has included multiple albums and four No. 1 country hits as well as a top 20 pop hit in 1980, a cover of “It’s Now or Never.”
>>RELATED: AJC’s 2022 interview with John Schneider
Credit: Pete Dadds
Credit: Pete Dadds
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