Why Mario Says He Would've Given Boyz II Men the Trophy If He Won The Masked Singer Season 12 (Exclusive)

• R&B star Mario competed on Masked singer season 12 as Wasp and came second to Boyz II Men
• Mario tells PEOPLE his Masked Ambassador NE-YO, who won the show’s 10th season, advised him to “have fun out there”
• The “Let Me Love You” singer calls his hit song “timeless,” but says he’s matured since its release 20 years ago

Mario found his wings as Masked singer‘s Wasp.

“It gave me a chance to be myself outside of myself,” Mario, who was runner-up in Season 12, tells PEOPLE. “There are a lot of them [things] in the life of the Wasp, like him who has to be constantly on the move and be one of the larger species of his species, and at the same time is vulnerable to other things in the world. Overall it’s just about having fun and challenging yourself and bringing this imaginary character to life.”

The R&B star, 38, lost to Buffalos — better known as Boyz II Men — in the Dec. 18 finale. Masked singer after singing “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars and “I’m Your Baby Tonight” by Whitney Houston. Mario, who released his new album I’m glad you came earlier this month, he said he chose songs during the season hoping to “dissuade people from knowing it’s me.”

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“I realized that people might want to say, ‘Wait, we thought it was Mario, but it could be anybody,'” he explains. “So I definitely wanted to mix it up and give them something different for every show. I think it’s always really important to keep showing people that there’s no limit when it comes to your talent, and I just remind people that vocally, my gift goes beyond singing R&B records or love songs.”

The singer of the song “Let Me Love You” tells how Masked singer created a “full-circle moment” for him, reveals how he physically prepared for the performance and reflects on what it’s like really feels about his big hit 20 years later.

Mario appears as the Wasp in the 12th season of ‘The Masked Singer’.

Michael Becker/FOX

PEOPLE: Congratulations on reaching the finals! Did you come? Masked singer were you just hoping for fun or were you hoping to win?

MARIO: I think it’s both. I feel that the wasp energy is very confident, very vulnerable, confident and authentic. So I think the win was definitely in our wings and we wanted to take it. And have fun too.

PEOPLE: What made you say “yes” when you were asked to continue Masked singer?

MARIO: The costume had a lot to do with it. I felt like I could portray that character and really bring it to life. And Halloween is also my favorite holiday. But also, they reached out a few years ago and I couldn’t do it because of travel. So this was a full circle moment. It brings me back to the basics of how I got into music, my family are my fans and I sing at birthday parties and talent shows and things of that nature. I love performing, always doing shows and stuff, so this was a way for me to challenge myself and have fun at the same time.

Mario performs The Millennium Tour at State Farm Arena on November 6, 2022 in Atlanta.

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PEOPLE: Were you able to see and move inside the costume?

MARIO: It was harder for the dance songs than for me to just stand on stage and be emotional and try to deliver the songs in the right way. But what I did was that at every rehearsal, whether it was a slow song or a fast song, even though I could practice without a mask, I made sure to wear it. If we practice for an hour, it’s under an hour because I wanted to get used to how it feels to move and breathe. It took me a few days to get used to it. But repetition is king. You keep repeating it and repeating it and you really relax your mind and become one with it. When I realized what things were going to be difficult, I adjusted to that. Then it got easier. Basically I got annoyed.

PEOPLE: It’s always better for something to be easier than you expected than the other way around.

MARIO: Very true. Which makes me like, you know what? Give me the mask and the tail, because the tail moves a lot. It’s a long tail. So I had to get used to dancing with it and not hitting people with my tail, poking people with it.

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PEOPLE: Are you yours? Masked singer ambassador NE-YO do you have any advice for the show?

MARIO: Yes, we talked a lot. NE-YO is a very honest person. He’s just like, “Man, have fun out there. This is what you do. Just go out there and kill it.” I asked him questions more about the behind-the-scenes aspect, and it was exactly what he said. We literally had everything we needed backstage, and they made us very comfortable before we went out. It was very supportive, very fun.

PEOPLE: Have you had any other famous friends contact you who suspected you were in the show?

MARIO: Absolutely. Almost everyone. Lil Wayne posted a post about he knows who the other day Masked singer he was. He didn’t say it was me. Tyga made one the other day. I’ve had a lot of fans DM me and tag me, especially over the past few weeks, like, “Yo, we know you’re the Wasp and we know you’re going to win this.” That was great.

Boyz II Men perform in the 12th season of ‘The Masked Singer’.

Michael Becker/FOX

PEOPLE: What was going through your mind after Nick announced the Buffaloes won?

MARIO: It was very bittersweet because Boyz II Men was one of the first CDs I stole from my mom’s CD pack when I was a kid to sing along to my karaoke machine she bought me. I sang their song to Clive Davis when I signed the contract. They are the reason why I signed my first contract at the age of 14. So for me, I was stoked because it was maybe the second to last show where I knew 1000% it was them. And I said, “I can’t even believe this is happening. It’s such a full circle.” At that point I wanted to win, but I might have given them a trophy if I won because they are the reason I made it today in terms of their song, music and inspiration. So I still feel like I won, honestly, because it was a win for me.

PEOPLE: You mentioned feeling your mom’s presence before your last show and wanting to make her proud. How do you continue to honor her since her death in 2017?

MARIO: My mom was the first person to discover that I loved music, and I think it was a way for her to keep me off the streets of Baltimore as a kid. I didn’t grow up with a dad. So it was her way of staying close to me. She would make sure I had musical instruments nearby, she made sure I had a karaoke machine. She kept the music in my nose so much that I couldn’t help but accept it, love it and use it as my medium every day. She started taking me to talent shows when I was old enough, and she really helped nurture that gift and nurture the experience of it for me. I earned my first money in a barbershop. I didn’t want to sing. She literally made me sing in a barbershop when I was 8 or 10 years old and all the guys were giving me $10 a pop and that was 10 chairs, so I made my first $100 in a barbershop

For me, it was like, okay, I can do this, really, for a living. She told me, “As long as you’re not afraid to sing, don’t be afraid of your talent.” So if I would listen to those heavy songs [on The Masked Singer] and I’m like, “Oh my God, can I do an Aretha Franklin song?” I could hear her voice in my head saying, “Don’t be afraid to sing.” So, she is still with me and it is because of her that I am here today.

Nathan Morris says Boyz II Men have come Masked singer Season 12 Hoping To ‘Leave The First Show’ (Exclusive)

PEOPLE: You talked on the show about not wanting to be known just for your hit song “Let Me Love You,” which came out 20 years ago. How do you feel about that song today?

MARIO: We’re going back to timeless music. We are going back to the music that when people hear it, it creates that nostalgic memory for them. But also really maturing from it. I was 17 when I made that record. So, I’m really just showing people how my voice is growing because a lot of people have only heard me on that kind of music and “Crying Out for Me” and “How Do I Breathe” and those other records that I have. They’ve never heard me sing an Aretha Franklin song or a big pop record, or challenge my voice in certain ways and show them that I can do more than that, which is why God put me here. God put us here to be as magnificent as we can be, so thank you Masked singerI had the stage to do it.

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Masked singer season 12 is streaming on Hulu.

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Source: HIS Education