Richie Sambora, the ex-guitarist of Bon Jovi, was revealed to be the person behind the Jacket Potato costume on the British television program The Masked Singer. The Masked Singer is a reality TV series that first began in South Korea in 2015.
In this show, famous individuals perform well-known songs while dressed up in unusual and often absurd disguises. A group of celebrity judges tries to guess the identity of the performers, and the public votes for the best performances. At the conclusion of each episode, the contestant with the fewest votes is eliminated and revealed by taking off their mask.
“I love being a guitar player and a songwriter,” said Sambora. “And of course I’m very privileged and honoured to have had so much success and the accolades of being a Grammy winner, an Ivor Novello Award winner and a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and Songwriters Hall Of Fame inductee, but what I really love to do is sing!”
“My hiatus from Bon Jovi and the Covid impact on my solo touring meant I could only do one thing which is make a new record until I saw The Masked Singer! I loved it and it was a lot of fun to watch it at a time where due to lockdowns and being forced to be at home the world was a little quieter than it had been since Bon Jovi kicked off 37 years ago.”
This past week, Richie Sambora was revealed as the celebrity behind the costume of “Jacket Potato” on the reality TV show, The Masked Singer UK. The show involves famous people singing popular songs while wearing bizarre and often absurd disguises, with a panel of celebrity judges attempting to guess their identities. Sambora’s performances included renditions of Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas, Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, and the Pretenders’ Brass In Pocket, among others. However, he was ultimately eliminated in the semi-finals after performing John Newman’s Love Me Again. The video of his unmasking and some of his memorable performances can be seen below.