Masked Singer winner Anastacia reveals why she’ll never release another album

Masked Singer winner Anastacia reveals she heard way too much of one of her fellow contestants while filming the show.

In one of the worst-kept Masked Singer secrets, the Vampire was revealed to be distinctively-voiced US pop star Anastacia during Tuesday night’s grand final – and was crowned this season’s winner.

Speaking to Nova’s Ben and Liam today, Anastacia told a hilarious story about one of her runners-up in the competition - the Mullet, aka former Australian Idol contestant Axle Whitehead.

Asked how the contestants are meant to go to the bathroom in their oversized costumes, Anastacia revealed she heard a bit more than she bargained for from Whitehead as the final three rehearsed their group performance and he needed to pee but didn’t want to remove his costume.

Anastacia revealed that Whitehead was mic’ed up when she heard him “take a little something in his costume,” not realising that his bathroom break was being broadcast for all to hear.

“He passed it back to someone and said ‘I swear I didn’t spill a drop, I swear’… It was the best moment. I definitely heard something in there that I really wish I didn’t hear!”

Axle Whitehead: When you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go. Picture: Ten.

Anastacia: “I heard something I really wish I didn’t hear.”

Onstage after her win, Anastacia briefly touched on the reason why casual fans haven’t heard as much from her in recent years compared to chart-conquering days of hits like I’m Outta Love and Left Outside Alone, making reference to her “many surgeries”.

The 53-year-old singer has experienced a litany of serious health issues throughout her life, including Crohn’s disease, a heart condition, and two bouts of breast cancer, the most recent of which in 2013 saw her undergo a double mastectomy followed by reconstructive surgery.

Anastacia just won The Masked Singer.

Speaking to news.com.au today, Anastacia admitted it had been hard to sustain a global music career when health issues kept forcing her to take time out.

“That’s probably been my biggest problem – when I’m really ready and raring to go, another disease comes. It’s been tough to be able to keep the motion and momentum going,” she said.

But with one of the most instantly recognisable voices in music, even fans who hadn’t heard her in years could clock that it was Anastacia belting out songs as Vampire each week. She says she went into the show with a game plan to disguise her voice – but could only keep it up for so long.

Anastacia circa 2000.

“I kind of creeped myself out singing the first song, to be honest. I thought, ‘Oh god, maybe I shouldn’t sound so ominous.’ I tried to change it up again for the second song, trying to sound like Eartha Kitt, and I realised I was thinking too much about it and getting in my head.

“By the third song, I just sang it like me – mistake number one! (Judges) Dannii and Jackie were like, ‘ANASTACIA’! But once they said my name and I didn’t get kicked out, I was getting off on it.”

Fans can expect new music and a tour from Anastacia – but no new album.

Now that Australians have been reminded of the voice that made I’m Outta Love the country’s best-selling song of 2000, Anastacia’s planning to revisit our shores for a 2022 tour. But when asked about new music, the star is surprisingly candid self, revealing she may never release another album after the muted reception to her last effort, 2017’s Evolution. 

“It might be that my last album in 2017 will be my last album – now I’ll just release singles. A whole album – is it appreciated, I wonder? I don’t know that I want to put tons of music out for it to never get listened to,” she says.

“I’m not that much of an artist that I need to put a whole album out – I’ll put some good songs out and throw them in with my hits (live). If you put out a whole album, it’s fighting for position in your next tour. I don’t know about that … so I may not put out an album anymore, now I have a choice.”