Ne-Yo "easily lost" 20 pounds by performing in the Cow costume on The Masked Singer.
During The Masked Singer's 10th season finale on Wednesday, the Miss Independent hitmaker was named the winner and unmasked from his Cow costume.
In a post-win interview with HollywoodLife, the Closer singer admitted he lost weight by sweating profusely in his costume.
"First and foremost, I easily lost about 20 pounds wearing the costume because it did not breathe at all," Ne-Yo admitted. "I'm under all that padding sweating bullets. It was crazy. They were on standby with fans. Every time they cut or break, they ran out with the fans because they knew that I was under there dying."
The 44-year-old, real name Shaffer Smith, went with a "pretty busty" Cow costume to help throw the judges off his scent, but the padding and head made it difficult for him to dance and move around the set.
"The lips of the cow head were where my eyes were. I basically couldn't see pretty much at all," he shared. "It was really, really difficult to see, which made walking up and down steps, which some of the performances required, that much more difficult. There were actually a few times where I stumbled. I don't know if they edited it out."
While the competition was "challenging", Ne-Yo had "an absolute ball" throughout the experience. He noted that he has made space for his winner's trophy alongside his Grammys in the awards cabinet at his mum's house.
During the finale, Pretty Little Liars actress Janel Parrish, dressed as Gazelle, came in third and The Dukes of Hazzard's John Schneider, dressed as Donut, came runner-up.
Ne-Yo previously competed as the Badger on the U.K. version of The Masked Singer, finishing in second place in 2021.
