The Masked Singer Season 7 rounded out its first group of competitors with a double-elimination, which resulted in the dramatic Firefly’s advancement and the elimination of Cyclops and Thingamabob (who was the always busy NFL star Jordan Mailata). Cyclops’ Season 7 elimination revealed him to be actor Jorge Garcia, who audiences likely know from his time on Lost or Hawaii Five-0. According to the actor, working in Hawai'i helped him cope with a typical complaint of contestants on the Fox series regarding costume comfort.
The Masked Singer’s costumes are extravagant, but the contestants who use them often complain of vision and mobility problems in the masks, claustrophobia, and heat issues. Jorge Garcia didn’t have any issues with the last of those complaints and credited that bit to his time in Hawai'i, where he filmed Lost and Hawaii Five-0:
The warmth of the costume didn't bother me as much. I think I've kind of gotten used to being hot a lot from the amount of time I spent in Hawaii. It was the heaviness. There was a lot of downward weight on my shoulders. And, just being able to like, keep it straight and lift–being able to take the breaths and stuff to hold the phrase when I sang, that was the bigger challenge. Just walking from the lair to my position on the stage I'd be out of breath and just like, 'Okay, just try and calm down before we start,' so I can get ready and sing the song and not be gasping.
Jorge Garcia spoke about spending time in Hawaii, which isn’t much of a surprise. Both Hawaii Five-0 and Lost filmed extensively in Hawaii, so Garcia learned to live with being hot and coping with that feeling. That’s a super handy advantage for someone going on The Masked Singer, as the heat can really get to contestants. Hanging around in a big costume is hot enough, but adding stage lights and dancing around almost certainly heats things up a lot.
Cyclops had a solid run in The Masked Singer and got a chance to sing a few songs before his elimination. While it’s fair to say that Firefly was the right choice to advance in the competition, it’s also fair to say that in another season, Jorge Garcia’s character could’ve gone a lot further, but that’s just the nature of any competition series. At least the world got to see Garcia showcase his skills as a singer and that there’s much more to him than his past iconic roles on television.
The Masked Singer airs on Wednesdays on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. With the latest batch of eliminations, the season is quickly moving along, so be sure to catch up on it and other returning shows before the season progresses much further!
