Boy Meets World Star Unmasked as Paparazzo on The Masked Singer
Participants on The Masked Singer get ready for the competition in various ways, but few have the advantage of a personal vocal coach. Paparazzo, however, was fortunate to have a Grammy-winning artist supporting him.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Masked Singer season 13, episode 10.
In the episode aired on Wednesday, April 16, of the Fox singing showdown, Paparazzo was revealed to be Matthew Lawrence, who concluded his journey on the show by performing a song from his girlfriend Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas’s band, TLC.
Lawrence, 45, shared exclusively with Us Weekly that he felt quite intimidated to perform “Unpretty” due to his personal ties to the song.
“Are you serious?! I don’t want to ruin her song,” joked the Boy Meets World actor. “Plus, I had to get clearance from [Chilli’s] bandmate [Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins], since she wrote it. I was like, ‘This is so embarrassing.’”
As for how “Unpretty” ended up being part of his performance lineup, Lawrence has only himself to thank. When he joined The Masked Singer, he completed a form listing some of his favorite tunes and opted for the TLC hit as one of his “guilty pleasure” songs. He never expected producers would actually select “Unpretty,” although he has adored the track since it first released in 1999.
“That song was stuck in my head [when it launched],” he reminisced. “Whenever I showered or drove, it was always in my mind. So I wrote it down, not anticipating that it would be picked, but they did! I thought, ‘Alright, this is going to be quite the experience.’”
Matthew Lawrence officially began dating Chilli after his split from Cheryl Burke. The actor and TLC vocalist, official name Rozonda Thomas, started their relationship in November 2022, just three months after her representative indicated to Us Weekly that they were “just friends” when they were spotted together in Hawaii. By New Year’s, the […]
Chilli, 54, evidently took the situation in stride, even offering her boyfriend of two years some insights on how to really hit those notes.
“She’s so skilled,” Lawrence praised. “The primary advice was to pace myself because it’s easy to lose my breath — seriously, pace yourself when you’re singing, particularly if you’re moving and managing everything. … [Your voice] is a muscle that I’m not used to exercising, so pacing is key. She provided some beneficial exercises. She was fantastic.”
So, was Chilli pleased with her boyfriend’s performance?
“Absolutely. Whether genuine or not, she made it seem like she was quite impressed,” Lawrence expressed. “She was sweet and supportive. She adored the ‘Hallelujah’ performance. That was her favorite.” (The Brotherly Love star performed Leonard Cohen’s legendary song during Shrek Night in February.)
Who is the mystery contestant? It’s the question posed repeatedly by judges on The Masked Singer in every episode, and the answer is everyone. Since its premiere in January 2019, celebrity participants have included Joey Fatone, Michelle Williams, Tori Spelling, Mickey Rourke, Patti LaBelle, Kelly Osbourne, Bret Michaels, Lil Wayne, Jordyn Woods, Wendy Williams, […]
While Lawrence progressed quite far on The Masked Singer despite his limited professional singing background, he mentioned needing convincing to join the show due to a former trauma from a failed Broadway audition.
“I genuinely fear singing,” the actor admitted. “I flopped a significant Broadway audition in front of numerous celebrities. It was dreadful, atrocious. I auditioned for Cry-Baby to portray the Johnny Depp role in the show, which was being adapted for Broadway. I have no idea what happened with it because I blocked the experience out of my memory. … Ever since then, I’ve avoided getting back on stage.”
Lawrence is uncertain if he’s prepared to pursue a career as a pop star, but his experience on the show — especially his success on Shrek Night — has assisted him in overcoming some of his singing phobia.
“This is the stage of my life where I am going to start saying yes more and no less, aiming to conquer fear and move away from that mindset,” he articulated. “That was the intention behind this. And it worked!”
The Masked Singer is broadcast on Fox every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes become available for streaming on Hulu the following day.
