The Masked Singer season 14’s Cat Witch placed third in the competition, and was finally revealed to the panelists to be actress, singer, and Disney icon, Kylie Cantrall, although viewers knew who she was all season because of her role as America’s Insider. For the first time in the show’s history, Kylie’s identity was revealed to fans before the season even started because she gave behind-the-scenes information all season long.
Kylie placed third in The Masked Singer season 14 behind winner Ashlee Simpson (Galaxy Girl) and runner-up Phillip Phillips (Pugcasso). In addition, Normani (Crane) was unmasked during the episode after she placed fourth.
Throughout The Masked Singer season 14, Kylie had so many sensational performances which showcased both her phenomenal vocals and her mesmerizing dance moves. She sang “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga (Premiere Night), “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Night), “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars (Twilight Night), “Starships” by Nicki Minaj (Star Trek Night), “Run to You” by Whitney Houston (Semi-Finals), and “Leave (Get Out)” by JoJo and “Greedy” by Tate McRae (Finale). Kylie concluded her Masked Singer run with a triumphant performance of her own song, “Denim.”
Fans speculated early on that panelist Rita Ora would guess Kylie’s identity because they star as mother and daughter in Disney’s Descendants franchise. However, she didn’t figure it out until the Masked Singer season 14 semi-finals. Throughout the competition, the panelists guessed many other singers and actresses for Cat Witch’s true identity, including Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Lisa from Blackpink, Victoria Justice, Ashley Tisdale, Zendaya, Hailee Steinfeld, Jamie Lynn Spears, Vanessa Lachey, Noah Cyrus, and any one of the members of Katseye. In the end, Rita gave Kylie as her final guess, and Jenny agreed. However, Ken Jeong guessed Ashley Tisdale and Robin Thicke guessed Victoria Justice.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Kylie discussed what it was like to become The Masked Singer’s Cat Witch, including how challenging it was to sing and dance in the costume, how she became America’s Insider, what it meant for her to pay tribute to Rita and her dad, Alex Cantrall, which performance was her favorite, whether she figured out who her fellow contestants were, her favorite part of being on the show, and what’s next for her.
The Masked Singer Season 14’s Kylie Cantrall Loved Being Cat Witch
ScreenRant: Congratulations on placing third in The Masked Singer! You were so spectacular as Cat Witch. What was it like to become her?
Kylie Cantrall: It was so much fun being Cat Witch. I feel like, my whole life, people have always been like, “I feel like you give off black cat. Like you have a cat as a spirit animal.” So it was kind of serendipitous the way that it happened when they presented me with being Cat Witch. ‘Cause I was like, “Wait, this actually works. This makes a lot of sense for me.”
And just her costume, and I feel like the minute I would put it on, I would just feel so much more fierce and like I was ready to go. And just getting to collaborate with everyone as far as the team at Masked Singer who would let me kind of have creative say in the songs I was singing and ideas for the dance. And I really got to showcase both of those things that I’ve grown up doing my whole life, which is singing and dancing.
And, when the opportunity came up originally, I had just gotten back from tour, so I felt like, “Ooh, these pipes are warm.” I had just been singing live on stage in front of thousands of people every night for three months. So it sounded so much fun to just get back out there on a big stage. And Masked Singer felt like the perfect show. It was so, so much fun.
Kylie Found The Cat Witch Costume To Be A Challenge
ScreenRant: Your dancing and singing were phenomenal in the Cat Witch costume, and you made it look effortless. But was it challenging to do that in the costume?
Kylie: Girl, yes. It was very challenging. I remember the first day that I did rehearsal on the stage. It was my first time putting the whole costume on. I went out for rehearsal for “Abracadabra,” my first performance, and I remember coming off stage. I was dripping sweat under the mask, ’cause this is the first time I had the whole thing on. And I have, like, literally five layers on. I have a leotard, a skirt, tights, the jacket, the cape. So I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
In an interview with ScreenRant, Masked Singer S14 runner-up Phillip Phillips discusses his journey as Pugcasso and how it compared to American Idol.
I literally told my dad, “This is insane.” I can barely see through the mask. I have these heels on. I was wobbling everywhere. But, thank goodness I stuck it out, I got used to it, and it was definitely a unique experience. I don’t think I’ll ever be having to dance in a giant cat mask ever again probably, so happy I could knock that off the list [laughs].
Kylie Was Thrilled To Be America’s Insider
ScreenRant: You also made history as the first contestant to be the America’s Insider. How did that come about?
Kylie: Well, they initially presented me kind of the idea for America’s Insider, and they were like, “Okay, we’ve never done this before. This is entirely new for the show. You’d be kind of the first person to do this new thing.” And it was really one of the main reasons I was so excited about doing the show. Of course, the show’s already so, so well-known. I had seen every season, and my family was already such big fans of the show.
So, I was excited regardless, but I think with the America’s Insider … just the idea of getting to kind of tread this new path on the show and showing people my identity, showing them the process of what actually happens behind the scenes, it just seemed really fun. And it was definitely cool to get to show my face every episode. That’s definitely not something that you would expect being on this show. So it was cool.
Kylie Was Emotional During Her Tribute To Rita Ora
ScreenRant: What did it mean to you to have the chance to pay tribute to Rita, your on-screen mom, in your semifinals clue package?
Kylie: Aw. That performance is super special to me for many reasons. I’m just such a big fan of that Whitney Houston song, and that was one of the ones that when I talked to the show creators, I was like, “I don’t care when it happens, but at some point I need to sing a Whitney Houston song. I need to sing “Run to You,” my favorite ballad ever. So it was super special getting to sing that song.
But getting to kind of tribute it to Rita was even more special. And it honestly made me emotional when I sang it, and then seeing her reaction and she was crying, and she was like, “I think that’s my daughter” [in a British accent]. It definitely had me trying to hold back my tears under the mask. Thank goodness people couldn’t see me under there, ’cause I was like, “Wait, this is so sweet.” So it was really cute. And getting to do my clue package and kind of say that cute little speech to her. It was really, really sweet.
ScreenRant: We were all crying too while we watched it.
Kylie: Aw. I loved that performance. That one was really special.
Kylie Was So Happy To Be Able To Honor Her Dad
ScreenRant: You also had the chance to highlight your dad, Alex Cantrall, by singing his song that he wrote “Leave (Get Out).” How special was that?
Kylie: That was even more special. Oh my gosh. Yeah, that was such a crazy, crazy moment. I mean, we literally watched the finale here at my house last night with my dad and my mom and my best friend who came over, and the whole time that we were watching the finale we were like, “What is life?”
My dad literally wrote this song like 20 years ago, and that essentially bought us this house, ’cause it was a giant hit for him. And I’ve always been obsessed with that song. I’ve literally grown up singing it around the house and at music schools that I would go to when I was younger that my dad was teaching at. I would always sing “Get Out.” That was always like my show-stopping performance that I would sing for people. So getting to sing it at the finale and having my dad there was just so, so iconic. I was so happy that they gave him that little cameo in that episode.
Kylie Has A Favorite Masked Singer Cat Witch Performance
ScreenRant: You had so many extraordinary performances. Which was your favorite?
Kylie: Ooh. I might have to say “Get Out.” I think “Get Out” may have been my favorite. Such an amazing song. And I think “Greedy,” too, was really, really fun, just because I love how much I got to showcase my dance background. Yeah, that dance break at the end was like my favorite part.
Kylie Had Some Guesses For Her Fellow Masked Singer Contestants
ScreenRant: Throughout the season you competed against so many different stars. In the finale, there was Ashlee Simpson, Phillip Phillips, and Normani. When you were performing with them in opening numbers, and just being on stage with them, did you have any idea who any of them might be just from trying to guess on your own?
Kylie: No. I mean, it’s seriously so secretive. We are isolated from each other the whole time. Any time that we’re walking around the stage or walking around kind of by our trailers, we always have our full mask on, our sweatshirts on that say, “Don’t talk to me,” so it’s legit. I don’t know who anyone is. And, of course, I would try to guess just from hearing them warming up in the trailer next to me.
I would put my head against the wall and be like, “Hmm. Could that be Victoria Monét? It could be Beyoncé maybe? … that would’ve been insane. But, I think with Normani, she was definitely someone I was thinking of. I just kind of like didn’t put two and two together. But, I just knew it was a dancer. I was like, “Whoever’s under that Crane, she could dance.” I saw her hit the splits, and I was like, “Okay, work. That is a dancer.”
Kylie’s Favorite Part Of Being Cat Witch On The Masked Singer Was Showing Different Sides Of Herself
ScreenRant: What was your favorite part of being on The Masked Singer?
Kylie: Hmm. I think my favorite part … I would have to say it just felt like karaoke, honestly. Like, every night getting to sing some of my favorite songs of all time, and I think getting to showcase different sides of myself.
With the music I make, I feel like I make uptempo, fun, girly pop dance anthems. And getting to showcase my belting and my whistle notes, and singing more ballads and kind of showcasing these extra sides of myself through the show, I think was something that was really, really cool. And it was a stretch out of my comfort zone, for sure. Especially when you add in the layers of being under a mask. And everything’s completely live, so it was definitely challenging. But I just loved that I got to push myself, try something new, and hopefully make some new fans along the way.
Kylie Has New Music On The Horizon
ScreenRant: Speaking of your own music, you have a new single, “Carrie Bradshaw,” coming out on April 10, and you recently signed with Republic Records. What can you share about that?
Kylie: I’m so excited for this next era. I just debuted my first EP, Boy. That was last year. I got to tour it on the Descendants/Zombies Worlds Collide Tour, which was so cool. Touring is my favorite thing ever, and I was like, “Okay, next time I’m coming back on tour, it’s gonna be with a new album. And I’m gonna step out and do my own thing.” And I think that’s been something that’s been so part of my thought process while creating this next project, is like what’s gonna be fun for the fans to sing at the top of their lungs. And what is gonna lend itself to the choreo and having epic stage moments.
But, also, at the same time, even though we’re serving the big dance songs, I am also growing up and going through things that I feel like now I’m in a place where I’m ready to talk about and explore these deeper sides of myself as I’m now 20 years old and feel like I have a lot more life experience than I did up until this point, between boy drama and friendship breakups and different things that I’ve gone through. And I’m just excited to kind of explore all those facets and all those different experiences and put it into one project. But, with “Carrie,” I couldn’t be more excited to put this out. It feels like the perfect start to this next era of my music.
The Masked Singer is available to stream on Hulu.
Sources: The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, Mr. Masky/YouTube, The Masked Singer/YouTube, Kylie Cantrall/Instagram