Suffice it to say, in concept alone, The Masked Singer is a unique experience for all the celebs that take part. But that counts doubly so for AJ Michalka. The actress and one half of the band "Aly and AJ" was initially supposed to be alongside her sister Alyson Michalka on stage. But Aly's new child had AJ going solo for the first time in her career. Despite the new ground, "Strawberry Shortcake" put forward a series of performances that were far from half-baked. AJ made it all the way to the final three where she got eliminated right before the finale, one of the rare stars to stump the celebrity panel.After her reveal, AJ Michalka spoke to Parade about her time on The Masked Singer.
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How and when were you presented with the opportunity to be on The Masked Singer?So we had been asked for a while. It just never really worked out with our schedule. Aly and I both were asked as a duo, because every year, they bring on either a duo or a trio, and we were really happy to do it as a band. This year, it happened to work out for one of us. My sister was in her third trimester, and she was like, "There's no way I'm going to be able to do this and get on stage and sing this pregnant." So she ended up having him right around the time I started shooting, or right before. So I ended up basically just talking to her and said, "Hey, they've made an offer. I think it'd be really fun. Do you want me to just go off and do it on my own? I'd be happy to, I think it'd be a really cool opportunity. And also I've never really done anything like this on my own." And she was extremely supportive and was like, "Yeah, go do it." So I did. And I love the format of the show. But I also love that I've never done anything like this before, and I've never done reality. And this was just a fun competition and an interesting way to sing a bunch of songs that I've never sung before, but that I feel really comfortable singing just in the privacy of my own home.And I love that I was able to choose the songs. That, to me, was the selling point. It's like, if you're an artist and you know what you love and you know what you're comfortable with, knowing I could choose the artist I was singing was a game changer for me.While you could choose the songs, you couldn't choose your costume. What was your reaction to being Strawberry Shortcake? Do you know if this outfit was always planned for you and Aly?I have no idea what we would have been as a duo. And it's funny, I'm curious. I want to talk to the production team, like, "What did you guys have in mind?" But my first Zoom with the team, they immediately just offered the idea of Strawberry Shortcake, and they had a mock up drawing. And they were like, "What do you think?" And I was like, "This is so cute!" I freaked. I was like, "This is great." So immediately fell in love with the costume and really had no changes or notes. I will say it's funny. I asked them on the call, "Where did you guys get this from?" Because it's not doesn't tie into anything I've really done as an actor, and it doesn't really tie into anything I've done just in general with the strawberries and the cake. And and then I was like, "Oh, that's interesting. I was on Cake Wars. I did that moment with my sister, I don't know if anyone saw it, where we went on a baking competition years ago and failed miserably. Maybe that was a little bit of a moment. "And they did mention that that was a bit of a nod to it. And they were like, "It's more of an energy. You just give this joyful strawberry cake. We just love this idea for you, and we just want to move forward with it. And I was like, "Great, I love it. I don't need any more reasoning."Obviously you've done things without your sister. But what's so interesting about this opportunity is that it allowed you to not be associated with the "Aly and AJ" brand through the anonymity of the costume, and you could just be yourself as a performer. What was that experience like?I thought it really helped. I mean, I already feel really confident as a vocalist. I've been singing since I was six in front of people. And I really feel comfortable on stage. I've wanted to do Broadway for a long time; I feel very comfortable in that space. I work a lot with my sister, but we also have a lot of endeavors that are just on our own. So I didn't feel like I was like, "Oh my gosh, I'm not gonna be able to do without my sister." It actually gave me this confidence that, even though I have zero interest in ever becoming a solo artist, I really felt confident on stage that I could handle it and take over on my own. I personally love singing with someone like Aly, and I have a very special bond vocally just with what we're able to do as sisters. And I think harmony is like the biggest part of our band, and you're not able to do that as a solo artist. So you are, in some ways, to me, missing out on some really beautiful elements that a duo can bring. However, I was really proud of myself, because every lead part and every moment was sung by me, and it was all live, and I'm really proud of the vocals. And I worked with an incredible trainer on the show who's just been so supportive and so amazing. And it was just a way for me to exercise my voice and my talents in some genres that also aren't mine. I'm so used to singing Aly and AJ tunes, and this show, I was able to sing Selena Gomez and Le Ann Womack and Kacey Musgraves. And that was really interesting for me to sing artists and dive into other genres that are not usually an Aly and AJ genre.How did it feel to get eliminated just before the finale?I was bummed. I mean, I was really happy to be in the final three, but I definitely thought I deserved to be in the final two. And I was bummed that it didn't pan out that way. But I'm also like, y"You know what? That's alright. This is a vote situation, and people want to see Wasp and the Buffalos go head to head. And I'm down with that." I just think that Strawberry Shortcake added such a cute, sweet element to the show. And I would have loved to have seen her really go all the way to the final two. But, yeah, competitively, I was bummed. But I'm also like, "That's okay." I'm in an industry where it's really not about winning. It's just about, truly, putting out your best work. And I do think I did that, so I'm happy with it.You were one of the rare masks this season to not get correctly guessed by the judges. They threw out a name of other former Disney Channel stars like Hillary Duff and Ashley Tisdale, as well as actresses like Joey King and Sarah Hyland. What was your reaction to those guesses?I was laughing because they were all over the map, and I loved it! I loved that they didn't know. I think it's really tricky when Aly and I aren't together, because you wouldn't necessarily know, "Lh, that's a Michalka up there." So to me, I knew that I was going into the race as a bit of a question mark in terms of their guesses, which I love. But I was honored. Some of the guesses were incredible. I think my favorite guess was Kelsea Ballerini, because that's an honor. She sings her ass off, and she's super, super sweet, and we had just played a show together. So I was actually laughing, because we literally very recently worked together. That one kind of blew me away. But yeah, people could not figure it out. I think, I think not being a duo really threw them.How much guilt did you give Ken after you were unmasked when you told him about how much he made you laugh during that press junket and he still couldn't figure out who you were? [Laughs.]I wanted in the moment to give him so much crap. But I couldn't, because I actually didn't see him right after the unmasking. And I didn't really give him hell on stage either, because I was like, "That's silly." But on the inside, I was like, "Ken we've been on the same network for years! You're Dr. Ken, I'm on The Goldbergs. How are you not connecting this?" But sometimes you're in that moment where you're just not thinking straight. Ken really was told that I was Selena Gomez and I think Taylor Swift at one point. So he was on a whole other track.Finally, I know you've got a lot coming up next year, including an album in March. Anything you want to tease about what 2025 has in store for Aly and AJ?I'm excited! I mean, 2025 is truly all about music. And before I took The Masked Singer, I just finished making our new album, so I felt like I was on a high. Vocally, I felt incredibly confident. I was so proud of the music we just made. And now we're in the mixing/mastering phase, so we're we've really hit pos- production as we close the year. So 2025 is going to be a lot of new Aly and AJ music. We have a 15-song album. It's going to come out early spring/summer, and we're going to tour a ton in the fall. I'm so excited about this album. It's truly, I believe, the best body of work we've ever we've ever made, and I'm really thrilled with the songwriting and the musicianship and the production. We got to work with a hero of ours. Jonathan Wilson ended up producing the record, who we're huge fans of. And it's a really, it's a really special album, so I'm very excited to bring this new record to the masses.
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