She serenaded us with 'Watermelon Sugar', 'Cover Me in Sunshine' and 'Rise Up' on The Masked Singer, but on Tuesday night, Mahalia Barnes was unmasked as the Pavlova.
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The soul singer and Bowral Bowling Club regular was the fifth celebrity unmasked on Channel 10's show The Masked Singer and revealed that she found it hilarious on set.
"I had a great time," she said.
"I laughed so much during the filming of the show. It's such as bizarre, wacky concept and a very surreal experience.
"But I really enjoyed it, especially in times like these where we need a little bit of light entertainment, a bit of a laugh and a bit of fun."
Several clues gave away Mahalia's identity, however, the judges couldn't work it out, despite previously guessing the singer in the previous season.
"I've been asked every year if I'm on the show. I get huge amounts of texts and messages with people asking if that's me behind the mask," she said.
"So Channel 10 asked if I wanted to be a part of the show and, I thought why not. I've been a part of it every year apparently, so I might as well do it.
"To be honest, I thought it would be a lot of fun. It's important to not take life too seriously, not to take yourself too seriously and, to do something fun.
"It's still signing. I got to sing like me but be in an insane pavlova costume. I thought my kids would really get a kick out of it."
Known for her soulful ways, Mahalia said she enjoyed the challenge of singing pop songs.
"It's not something I would normally do," she said.
"I normally pick blues and rock and roll and soul songs, so to sing pop songs like that was a good challenge."
A mother to two daughters, Mahalia posted a video of her youngest daughter Rosie on her Instagram page reacting to the moment her mum was unmasked.
"Rosie absolutely loved it," she said.
"On the first day she heard the ad, and the first performance which was 'Watermelon Sugar', she stopped and looked at the TV and said that sounds like my mum.
"Then she looked at me and said that's not my mum, my mum is here.
"So every time we watched the show, she kept saying that sounds like my mum and couldn't quite make sense of it at first."
Mahalia said that while she kept her appearance on the show a secret, her eldest daughter and her husband had picked her voice immediately but went along with the secret for Rosie.
"Rosie just couldn't believe it," she said.
"She kept saying she knew it was me.
The only family member Mahalia told about the Masked Singer was her dad Jimmy. Filmed a few months ago, Mahalia said it was hard to keep it a secret.
"Other than my dad, everyone only knew when they heard me sing and when the ads started to come out," she said.
"My dad knew because I had to tell him, I had to confess.
"He was trying to book a tour and his latest album is called 'Flesh and Blood' and the whole album is around the family. If dad had his way, he would have us all with him, all the time. He's such a family man."
Mahalia said her dad was feeling quite offended because she was not making herself available for his shows.
"I was being a little sketchy, I wasn't giving him any good reason why," she said.
"He kept asking why couldn't change my dates.
"Eventually he was getting a bit offended and I had to tell him."
Mahalia is known to frequent the stage at Bowral Bowling Club, often performing once a month to a sell-out crowd and is looking forward to when live music returns.
"I hope we can get out of lockdown soon and get back to doing shows," she said.
"As soon as I can, I'll be straight back at the bowlo. The last year has been a hard time for everyone, but for the arts industry it has been a real struggle.
"We rely on crowds, ideally the bigger, the better, to do what we do. It's been a real blessing for me to have somewhere to go and sing. It's been such a lovely opportunity for me to sit and sing.
"We loved setting up there monthly at the Bowral Bowling Club."
While the clues on the show kept the judges and audience guessing, Mahalia revealed what some of them meant - and it included a shout out or two to the Southern Highlands.
One clue referenced her childhood down south in the hills, while other clues referenced the surname her dad was born with (Swan), her band 'The Tin Lids' and album 'Snakes and Ladders'.
"The south in the hills was a Southern Highlands connection, I grew up on the Gib," she said.
"The black swan on the Western Australian flag represents my dad's dad's name, Jim Swan. It was my dad's family name before Barnes.
"Also, the Black Swan is connected to Berrima where we live."
Berrima is derived from the Aboriginal word meaning black swan.
"There was a lot of red herrings to drag everyone's attention away from the more obvious clues," she said.
"Your eyes get drawn to one thing, or you hear one thing. Heaps of people missed the fact that there was a tin lid or snakes and ladders in the clues."
So cryptic are the clues, and so well guarded are the identities under the mask that even Mahalia doesn't know who they are.
"I only know what you guys know. The amazing thing with this show is that we didn't cross paths with anyone other than when I got on stage and did the group performance on stage," she said.
"I hadn't seen any of the other masks, I hadn't crossed them in hallways or anything like that. It's all very secretive.
"It's as much of an adventure for me watching the show as it is for everyone else.
The group rehearsal was the first time Mullet, Vampire, Dolly, and Pavlova (Mahalia) came together in their costumes.
"You rehearse and then pretty much film it," she said.
"I couldn't stop laughing and looking at those costumes like when Dolly walks and the skirt moves, it made me giggle the whole time.
"I loved Vampire's costume, it was such a beautiful costume and so striking."
According to Mahalia, the costumes are huge.
"It's all really large. It's all enormous," she said.
"That Baby costume, I feel sorry for the person who is in there. It would be a seriously heavy head.
"My costume was very solid, and a little cumbersome to be honest. The wardrobe people are amazing in the way they managed it all.
"I couldn't sit, or get through doorways. I had to get dressed right next to the stage and go.
"It's remarkable."
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