Mmusi Maimane performed on The Masked Singer SA to break stereotype

With his surprise reveal on The Masked Singer SA, former DA leader Mmusi Maimane wanted to break the mould on how politicians are usually perceived. 

The Build One SA (Bosa) party leader surprised many at the weekend when he was unmasked as the prolific face behind the warrior. 

Maimane serenaded viewers and the panel of regular detectives (Somizi Mhlongo, J’Something, Sithelo Shozi and Skhumba Hlophe) and guest judge Thabo "Tbo Touch" Molefe with his rendition of Easy by The Commodores. 

"I don’t know why people are this shocked... it could be that people had a certain picture of me when I was inside the DA. They saw and boxed me in a particular way but I believe they are now starting to see who I am. It feels like there has been a reintroduction back to South Africans, which I love," he told Sowetan on Monday.

"I think this is a time that we stop thinking that politicians are robotic and can only be thought of in just one way and it's in this case that the humanness is sometimes lost. 

"I also wanted to be a part of something that breaks the mould and changes the idea that politicians are serious people who hardly have fun. In fact, one of the songs that I was working on before I got eliminated was John Legend's Ordinary People.” 

Maimane is the sixth famous face to be unmasked, joining football (Doctor Khumalo), zebra (The Lazy Makoti), rooster (Victor Matfield), banana (Bongani Bingwa) and the hippo (David Kau).      

The 43-year-old added that the other reason for being on the show was because of his wife and children, who were big fans of the international version. 

"We are quite tight as a family, so often we watch television shows together and rugby matches. When I found out that The Masked Singer was coming to SA, I was quite thrilled. When the producer, Anele Mdoda, called me and asked me whether I'd consider being on the show, I thought to myself that just for my kids, it would be a fun thing to surprise them with... hence I said 'yes'," Maimane said.

"I had to pick my mask costume wisely... I didn't want to be left with being known as the 'banana' whether I'd win or lose. I wanted a warrior because it was consistent and I was fighting for the country at some point, so my negotiation skills had to be convincing for me to get the warrior, which I'm glad I got." 

During his performance, Maimane managed to fool the detectives. J’Something thought it was Big Zulu", while Hlophe guessed Penny Penny. Mhlongo believed it was soccer legend Siyabonga Nkosi, while Shozi came close by guessing Fikile Mbalula.  

"I grew up in a musical family. My father loved music and used to listen to the likes of jazz legend Ray Phiri and American singer Lionel Richie. Although I knew the song Easy, I had to learn the lyrics afresh because I have been singing it wrong all these years," former DA leader said.

"Being in disguise was rather different. It has an element of freeing up your performance, in that I wasn't self-conscious but if I had to sing without a mask on, I'd never sing. Being in the mask hyped up my competitiveness as I wanted to see how far I would go. More than anything, I just wanted to have fun and enjoy myself." 

Maimane's highlight was seeing the look on his kids' faces when they found out it was him.