Keane’s Tom Chaplin ‘overjoyed’ at positive reaction to Masked Singer

Keane frontman Tom Chaplin said he is “overjoyed” at the reaction to his appearance on The Masked Singer.

The indie rock singer, 42, was unmasked as Poodle on the ITV programme after he performed Natasha Bedingfield’s hit Unwritten.

The judging panel on the show, made up of presenter Davina McCall, singer Rita Ora, broadcaster Jonathan Ross and comedian Mo Gilligan, did not guess his identity correctly with suggestions as to who he could be including singers Mika and Michael Buble and footballer Peter Crouch.

Speaking on Monday, Chaplin told the PA news agency that his stint on the show was definitely “a memorable one” in his career.

He said: “I think when I was younger, I was very serious about stuff and I was also quite afraid, even though I was in the public eye, particularly the early days of Keane success, we were very much thrust into the public eye and I felt very self conscious and I think I took life quite seriously.

“And I had a lot of problems, you know, my personal life and over the years, I’ve obviously worked a lot on myself and got myself well and happy and so I think, taking these kind of gambles and doing things that, just even like 10 or 15 years ago, I’d never have dreamt of doing, I think that just sort of reflects the person I’ve kind of become.

“I’ll remember it (The Masked Singer) because it felt like something that was a bit out of my comfort zone.

“But I think in life, if you do those things, and you kind of grab it with both hands, and you just do it and enjoy it, very often they can be the most memorable things that you do.”

After being unmasked on Sunday night, he explained he had chosen to sing Unwritten because Keane had beaten Bedingfield to the 2005 Brit Award for best breakthrough act.

Bedingfield praised the performance, writing on Instagram: “Wow I love this version Tom! Never heard a voice quite like yours @tomchaplin.”

And the singer said that his Keane bandmates had been “very positive” but that they had “clocked me quite early on in the show”.

Keane was formed in 1995 and their hits include songs like Somewhere Only We Know and Everybody’s Changing.

In 2006 the band cancelled their North American tour while Chaplin was being treated for drug and alcohol addiction.

Two years years prior to that the band released their first album, Hopes And Fears, which won them a Brit Award not long after its release.

They took a hiatus for a few years but in 2019 released their fifth studio album titled Cause And Effect.

Chaplin has also released music as a solo artist, including debut solo album The Wave in 2016.

Speaking about taking part in The Masked Singer, he said: “It’s quite strange, because in a way everyone who goes on that show, particularly the musicians, I guess, we’ve all got quite big egos.

“All of us, that’s what’s driven us to the places we’ve got to in our career in a way that sort of desire, you know, to want to perform and show off and be the centre of attention.

“So of course there’s a little part of you that feels a bit crushed when you get voted off.

“But actually, I think just the kind of environment that I was in, and how lovely the judges were, how relaxed it felt, I think that that all came across (in my performance).

“So even if there’s a part of me that felt a little bit kind of deflated and sad that I was going home, I think, overwhelmingly I just felt very positive about having done it.”

Singer Will Young, M People star Heather Small, former Australian tennis player Pat Cash and broadcaster Gloria Hunniford have already been unmasked on the show.

The Masked Singer, which is on ITV and ITV Hub, continues on Saturdays at 7pm.