He was the third celebrity to be unmasked on The Masked Singer Australia, but Ben Lee says some fans figured out his identity from the moment he hit the show’s stage.
“On one hand its sort of a bummer that they figured it out so quickly,” he tells TV WEEK over the phone.
“But on the other you’re like ‘hang on, I’ve spent 30 years trying to get people to listen to my voice, its actually quite flattering if they recognise it!'”
Even The Bachelor alum Matty J picked up on the Catch My Disease hitmaker’s distinctive vocals, insisting on TikTok that he knew Ben was under the mask.
But there was also some speculation that Professor was a former Bachelor star, so Ben turned it back on Matty.
“I just played along and said it was the kind of accusation someone who was in the costume would make against someone else,” Ben laughs.
He was happy to play into the ruse and loved the “insanity” of the show, adding that he never expected an invitation to appear on The Masked Singer Australia.
When he first got the call he texted comedian pal Margaret Cho, who appeared on the US series, and she told him it was a “Zen exercise in relinquishing control”.
“And I went ‘okay I’m in!'” Ben says. “And then I started flirting with Jackie O and the rest is history.”
He loved the “Willy Wonka” vibe of the Professor character, which was totally in line with his own personality, but tried to trick viewers with his song choices.
Paul Kelly’s Dumb Things seemed like an obvious choice for his first performance, but the 43-year-old played a wildcard when he sang Seal’s Kiss From A Rose last night.
“I’ve never sung a song like that, and I sort of liked that challenge,” he explains, adding that he wanted it to “confuse” the people watching at home.
While his stint as the Professor on stage may be over, the Sydney artist plans to keep sharing his passion for science – especially given the current pandemic.
He’s been outspoken about the importance of vaccination and listening to experts during the COVID-19 pandemic, a stance some artists have shied away from.
“As someone who always appealed to left field thinkers, it’s a little bit easier for me to take a stance,” Ben says.
Most Aussies remember Ben Lee, pictured here at the 2007 ARIA Awards, for his 2005 hit Catch My Disease.
(Getty)While he has sympathy for artists whose audiences may not be as informed, it’s important for Ben to speak up about critical issues like COVID-19, climate change and more.
“It goes beyond being an artist and protecting your demographic and its really about, as human beings, which side of history are you going to tell your grandkids you were on?” he says.
“With some of the issues coming up in the world at the moment – climate change, the rise of the right wing and nationalism, science denial – it’s not about being an artist, it’s just about being a person.”
He shared a similar message earlier this month when Guy Sebastian faced criticism for backpedalling on a pro-vaccine message, which earned Ben the ire of Kyle Sandilands.
“Who could care less about what Ben Lee thinks? You did one song 15 years ago, a**ehole, so pull your furry head in and stop b*tching,” the radio host said on air in early September.
Rather than hitting back, Ben took to TikTok with a tongue-in-cheek challenge for Kyle to focus on love instead of hate and share a kiss with him.
When TV WEEK asks about the challenge, Ben just laughs and says the best thing to do in situations like this is disarm people.
“It’s too easy to come out swinging. I always try to take the higher road and have a laugh – at their expense!” he chuckles.
“I find [Kyle’s] whole macho posturing by slagging people off just archaic and boring, and I think that type of behaviour is redundant – not just the way he talked about me, but the way he talks about people in general.”
It’s also important to note that Kyle got it wrong – Ben didn’t just do one song 15 years ago, he’s clocked up 11 solo albums over the years and even has another one in the works.
Ben is releasing new music, starting with a single that drops on Friday.
(Ten)“It’s up there with the best work I’ve ever done,” he says of his upcoming music, with a new single dropping this Friday called Born For This Bullsht.*
While fans can’t wait to hear his new tracks, they also still love 2005 tune Catch My Disease – even with its awkward new spin in the pandemic.
Fortunately, Ben has taken the song’s new meaning with his usual good humour.
“That’s one of the cool things about songs, as writers we create them, but we don’t really know what they’re going to mean… over the decades,” he says.
Still, in the age of COVID-19 he doesn’t want anyone catching that particular disease!
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