Three months post-Turin, 23-year-old belter Sheldon Riley once again found himself dramatically removing a mask on stage … only this time, the mask was bright pink and three feet wide.
Earlier this week, in the season four finale of the Australian edition of The Masked Singer, Sheldon was unmasked as the ‘Snapdragon’ after finishing in 2nd place. Sheldon is the third Eurovision veteran to appear on the Australian edition of the international franchise. Both the country’s 2017 and 2019 representatives (Isaiah Firebrace and Kate Miller-Heidke, respectively) appeared on the show’s second season, with Kate Miller-Heidke, like Sheldon, finishing in 2nd place.
Throughout the season, Sheldon showed off his legendary vocal chops in performances of songs originally performed by Whitney Houston, Billie Eilish, and and Amy Winehouse. In the finale, he earned rave reviews from the judging panel for his rendition of “Never Enough” from the soundtrack of The Greatest Showman. (See below.)
The performance wasn’t quite enough to get him the trophy and the title, with the win going to American former ‘Pussycat Doll’ Melody Thornton. Speaking to Yahoo after the finale aired, however, the “Not the Same” singer seemed delighted with the experience, win or lose.
“I was brought in very, very last minute,” he said. “Pretty much within like, days or weeks. It was very quick, very rushed … I thought I would have done an episode, maybe two at most, and then it was just fun to keep going. I didn’t really look at it as a competition, to be honest.”
In that same interview, Sheldon also revealed the challenges of performing in the Snapdragon costume.
“I was the only mask that had 0% vision, like nothing at all,” he said. “So the choreographers would give me numbered steps to make sure I didn’t fall off the stage. It was really full on.”
In addition to snagging the Eurovision gig at the 2022 edition of Australia Decides, Sheldon has spent the last six years competing on two seasons of The Voice Australia, a season of The X Factor Australia, and one season of Britain’s Got Talent. From the sounds of it, he may not be hanging up his competition hat.
“No more TV; I’m done with that,” he told Yahoo, before teasing his upcoming plans to release new music and begin touring.
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