When it comes to classic 90s love songs, “I’ll Be” likely tops the list. Whether it was a wedding or a prom, chances are that the song came on and you would be slow dancing with that special someone. But many people have wondered where that guy who sang that song has been. Well, he was on The Masked Singer Season 13! After making it through the Lucky Six and into the Top 5, Nessy has been revealed to be “I’ll Be” singer Edwin McCain.
Like his character, he had compared his disappearance from the mainstream to that of the mythical creature, but thanks to his recent appearance on the show, the Edwin McCain resurgence is upon us. Having enjoyed his experience, Edwin McCain spoke to Collider about the intricacies of Nessy, why his kids weren’t really shocked that he did the show, and which guess the panel made got him laughing the most. So why join The Masked Singer? “Just the adventure of it,” he said.
Edwin McCain Discusses Why He Joined ‘The Masked Singer’

Image via FOX

COLLIDER: Nessy has been unmasked. It’s Edwin McCain. Congratulations!
EDWIN MCCAIN: Thank you. That was a lot of fun.
COLLIDER: If you could describe your experience in three words, what would they be?
EDWIN: Joyful, surprising, and hot.
COLLIDER: Absolutely. How hard was it to keep Nessy a secret from everyone?
EDWIN: It wasn’t that hard, because I was out in Los Angeles, but I did have some really close friends that I was dying to tell. But do you know this? Like you have friends that you know are big blabbers, and you just can’t, you know, and most of my friends are big blabbers, so I had to keep it quiet.
COLLIDER: How proud is your family of you?
EDWIN: I think they’re proud of me. I think as far as being on the show, it doesn’t really surprise them, because my career has had so many twists and turns, and I’ve been all over the place and done so many different things. I think they’ve just gotten to the point where, “Sure, Dad, yeah, here, what else will it be?” And I’ve been so blessed to make friends in this industry. So, yeah, I think my kids aren’t really that shocked when things like this occur.
COLLIDER: What inspired you to join The Masked Singer?
EDWIN: Just the adventure of it. When it came up, I was like, “Yeah, of course, we’re doing that.” I mean, there’s really no other experience that you can compare it to. It’s so unique to itself, and the production on the show is insane. The costumers worked for months making just my costume. And you think about 13 seasons and how creative they’ve had to be to come up with the concepts and then execute them to the point where somebody can come put this thing on and dance around on stage and have it all stay together. It’s an incredible undertaking, honestly.
COLLIDER: What was your first reaction when you saw Nessy?
EDWIN: At first, I was like, how am I gonna move this thing around? You know, the big tail on it. And then I was afraid I would break it. I was like I don’t want to go out here and fling the tail into the audience or something. They made it so well. Once I got comfortable in it, and we tried some things out, I was like, “Oh, this thing’s going to stay together.” I could probably run down the field and catch a pass.
Edwin McCain Reveals How He Stayed Cool Inside Nessy

COLLIDER: How hot was it in there?
EDWIN: It was 80 million degrees in there. They had a vest. They were so nice. They had a vest that had ice packs in it. And then in between takes, everybody had these little handheld fans. They would blow in through the mesh, because there was mesh that didn’t read on camera. It was a screen over my face, which is why it looked like I was singing into Nessy’s neck. It was a great time.
COLLIDER: Did you have a favorite performance?
EDWIN: I think my favorite was the REO Speedwagon song, more because Kevin Cronin and I are friends. When I was 19, he let me open up for them at a really big show in Colorado. It was the biggest stage I had ever been on. He’s been so kind to me throughout my career. It was just a nice little pennyback nod to him.
COLLIDER: I loved your performance of “A Million Reasons.” So powerful. It was really beautiful.
EDWIN: I was really emotional. It was an emotional moment for me, too. And I wasn’t lying when I said I’m glad I was wearing the costume because I got a little choked up. To be fair, I think I probably felt like I knew that might be the last song I sang, with it being the top five. And so I got to just go out there and leave it all out there. It was fun.
COLLIDER: You had stumped the panel until pretty much the very end, until Robin Thicke got you. Were there any fun guesses that you’re like, “Oh my God, that’s crazy.”
EDWIN: The Sting one was my favorite, and really, because we have a story in our family. We were on a family trip, and I was listening to Sting Pandora, and all of a sudden, one of my songs comes on, and I turned to my wife, and I was like, “You see, you see, see how great I am?” And I was like, “Any minute now, we’re gonna be in Tuscany with Sting and Trudie [Styler]. We’re gonna be like this.” And then, another one of my songs came on, and I was apoplectic.
I was like, “Look at that! Me and Sting!” As I was just going on and on about this whole thing about me and Sting, and then it turns out, I wasn’t listening to Pandora at all. It was just my phone scrolling songs. And so my wife, she was making fun of me, and so when Sting’s name came up on the show, I was like redemption!

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Edwin McCain Talks the Legacy of ‘I’ll Be’

Image via FOX

COLLIDER: Obviously, you have one of the greatest love songs of all time. What is it like knowing that “I’ll Be” has such a legacy?
EDWIN: You can’t script it, honestly. I owe my life to that song. The record company president called me and basically told me I was going to get dropped from the label, and whatever I turned in next needed to be great. And what I turned in next was “I’ll Be,” so that song really did save my career and my life. It’s really been my ticket to planet earth. I can go just about anywhere, and whatever town I’m in, people will go, “It’s that guy that sings that song,” and we could go here, and then I have an hour and 30 minutes to convince them of all this other music that I have.
So it’s really just been like a golden invitation. And I try to sing it every night when I’m singing. I remind myself maybe there’s some people in the audience that have never heard this, so I try to sing it like there’s people that have never heard the song ever. I have a lot of reverence for it.
COLLIDER: You just put out a new album. Congratulations. Talk to me about “Lucky.”
EDWIN: So I really wasn’t gonna make a record, and the reason why was because all the people that I’m fans of, I just like their early stuff, and I know the way it is. I know when I played my shows, I know what my audience wants to hear, and it’s not new stuff. I tease them sometimes, I go, “Okay, tonight I’m going to play all new songs.” And they’re like, “No!” And so for years, people would say, “Well, when are you putting on a new record?” I go, “I’m not.” And then it would be this weird moment. And I started finding that really funny, and Lee Brice started haggling me to do a record back in 2012. I didn’t feel like it was time yet. And I was sort of giving it some space.
And part of me was thinking, you know, maybe it’s time to get out of the way, because there’s a whole new crop of musicians coming. And I was also teaching a songwriting class for up-and-comers, and I feel like part of a successful career includes this component of stewardship. And so I was sort of in that mindset, like, “Ah stay out of the way, old man.” And then Lee just kept badgering me about making a record. And I’m really glad I did because I really enjoyed the process and there’s plenty of room for all of us out here in Internet world. I’ve been continuing on to record. I’ve got songs in the can now waiting to go, so we’ll just keep on doing it.
COLLIDER: That’s amazing. And you are going on tour this summer.
EDWIN: Yeah, with Train. edwin.com is the best place to find all the dates. We were on tour with Hootie and Collective Soul last summer and Train this summer. It’s like the 90s are back, baby!
COLLIDER: Absolutely! Well, congratulations on The Masked Singer and congrats on the new music.
EDWIN: Thank you very much.