“I used to be nearly depressed,” the surprised Masked Singer winner mentioned of their mindset earlier than becoming a member of the present — revealing why they did it, who they thought would win and the way the competitors left them feeling like they’re “not finished but.”
Gretchen Wilson is again and she or he’s right here to remain!
TooFab spoke with the nation music powerhouse after she was topped the Season 13 winner on The Masked Singer Wednesday night time as “Pearl,” a glammed-up alter ego that introduced her again to middle stage after years of private battles and bodily setbacks.
Within the unique interview, the Grammy winner revealed why this second seems like greater than only a win — it is a deeply private comeback.
“This simply occurred to come back at a degree in my life the place I had quite a bit to show to myself,” Wilson mentioned. “I had been type of out of the highlight for about two and a half years, and I hadn’t informed anybody why.”
After grappling with post-COVID well being points and a damaged leg, Wilson mentioned she was within the worst form of her life.

“I used to be nearly depressed… pondering it is most likely over for me,” she shared.
However when The Masked Singer reached out for a second time, Wilson noticed it as an surprising alternative and an opportunity to really check herself.
“I mentioned sure for egocentric, private causes. I wanted to know if I had 5 or ten extra years in me. Might I nonetheless do that?” Wilson questioned.
Regardless of doubts, she not solely did it, she gained, and it is an end result the 51-year-old singer mentioned she could not have predicted.
“I did not anticipate to win,” she mentioned with amusing. “I assumed Boogie Woogie had it from the minute I heard him sing. Once they mentioned my title, I nearly hit the bottom. It was stunning.”

Fox
Masked Singer Finale Reveals Closing 4 Celebrities, Winner Shocked by Personal Victory
View Story
However as soon as the preliminary shock and awe wore off, it was changed by bliss.
“The confetti, the judges, the lights — it was simply bliss,” Wilson recalled. “And now I sing you my tune,” she added, referencing her breakout anthem, “Redneck Girl.” “The tune that put me on the map.”
Performing as Pearl was a problem, each bodily and emotionally.
“To start with, it was so not comfy. The pinnacle weighed greater than I do,” Wilson mentioned of her Pearl costume. “However each time I stepped into Pearl’s go well with, I grew to become Pearl. She’s all the time been in me. I used to be simply afraid to let her out.”
Now, she’s planning to deliver Pearl together with her on tour.

Getty/FOX
Edwin McCain Talks Making Masked Singer Historical past, How His Daughter Bought Him on the Present (Unique)
View Story
“Perhaps not the pinnacle,” Wilson joked. “However that feeling Pearl gave me, the arrogance, the glamour, that is staying with me. She classed up the redneck lady a bit.”
Wilson’s journey on The Masked Singer wasn’t simply an opportunity to get her spark again, it additionally served as a non secular reboot.
“Once I was harm and could not do something, I prayed. I prayed quite a bit,” she mentioned. “And the reply I received was: You are not finished but.”
Nation music can be making a comeback, with everybody from Beyonce to Put up Malone and Lana Del Rey dabbling within the style.
“Nation music swings. Proper now, it is coming again to that conventional sound — the one I got here up in,” she defined. “Children are listening to Brooks & Dunn once more. Travis Tritt. It is the right time.”

Getty/FOX
Matthew Lawrence Shares Uncommon Perception Into Chilli Romance and How She Ready Him for Masked Singer (Unique)
View Story
And whereas due to TMS, newer followers now know her as Pearl, many nonetheless bear in mind her because the unapologetic “Redneck Girl” who redefined what it meant to be genuine in Nashville. That message, Wilson mentioned, nonetheless holds up.
“You do not have to stay in a high-rise or drive a Cadillac. You may stay in a single-wide, increase your children, and be the happiest lady alive. That is the redneck lady. And Pearl — nicely, she’s that very same lady with sequins and sparkle,” she defined.
“I do not really feel like I’ve reached my actual function but,” Wilson added of what is subsequent for her following her win Wednesday night time. “That is all a part of one thing larger. I am simply going to maintain placing one foot in entrance of the opposite till I determine it out.”

Getty/FOX
