The Masked Singer: Burning Questions Answered!

HOW DOES THE VOTING WORK?

Pick Ibarra says the formula is a 50/50 mix of the consensus from audience and that of the judges. So yes, the "app" the audience is seen fidgeting with actually is connected to something. "They had voting pads, and so did the panel."

WAS THERE ANY CONCERN ABOUT THE UNICORN MASK  REVEALING THE SINGER'S MOUTH AND JAWLINE?

"We liked it when you could see occasional glimpses of a singer's jawline as it reminded everyone that the celebrity under the mask is in fact real, and is singing live," answers Pick Ibarra. "For the singers who had masks like Unicorn (Tori Spelling), Deer (Terry Bradshaw), Poodle (Margaret Cho) and Alien (TBD), which were not fully attached to the rest of the costume, we would either paint the bottom half of their face or they would wear a full face stocking underneath the mask to disguise their skin tone."

ARE THEY ACTUALLY SINGING LIVE, INSIDE THOSE MASKS?

In a word, yes. "The great thing about the show is that everyone had to sing live and they only had one take each," says EP Craig Plestis, who acknowledges "it was really difficult designing the masks and getting that great audio level."

HOW WERE THERE NO MAJOR LEAKS?

"On the production side, everyone who came to the set, and everyone who was in the audience, had to sign NDAs (non-disclosure agreements)," says Plestis. "And when we actually had an unmasking, the audience was mainly composed of friends and family."

For good measure, producers also appealed to audience members' appreciation of a good surprise. "We [said] when this was taping, 'You are here for something special. This is our first time we are taping it. We hope you keep it quiet.'"

Ricki Lake, who was revealed as the Raven, confirms the thick shroud of secrecy (which also dictated that any friends/family be cloaked as they came and went). "I haven't had any contact with anyone, and I did not know who anybody else was," she says. "We were sequestered for the most part, and whenever we were in the same vicinity, we were completely covered. [Even] on show day, I would maybe see the Bee from far away, but I did not ever come close."

IS A LINE ALREADY FORMING FOR SEASON 2'S MASKED SINGERS?

You betcha. Though no one has been locked down just yet (given that the producers first have to decide when the next run will be taping), "We've had a lot of phone calls — more phone calls than we had on Season 1, surprisingly," Fox reality-TV chief Rob Wade reports.

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO TAPE THE 10-EPISODE SEASON 1?

"We did it extremely quickly, in about four weeks," EP Izzie Pick Ibarra reports.

HOW DID THE JUDGES MISS (OR FORGET ABOUT) SEEMINGLY OBVIOUS CLUES?

Unlike those playing at home, panelist Jenny McCarthy explains, "We weren't sitting there able to Google" — and they were discouraged from doing any research between tapings. Says Robin Thicke, "I never Googled. I really wanted it to be pure, you know. That's the whole point of the show, is that you want to be honest."

As for Ken Jeong not recognizing TV sister Margaret Cho... yeah, we dunno. [Shrug]

BUT CAN SUCH SECRECY GET THE JOB DONE A SECOND TIME AROUND?

While Pick Ibarra says, "We had a lot of production processes ... that can remain in place" for Season 2, Plestis foresees "a lot more security," quipping: "We have contacted the Pentagon already."

IS IT THAT HARD TO REMOVE THE MASKS?

The struggle does seem real... or is it just a bit of drama-driving theater? "Some of them are really hard to get off, and some of them are easy," says Plestis. In the former instances, host Nick Cannon notes, "I had to help a few people," including Terry Bradshaw aka The Deer.

DO SINGERS GET 'TOUCHED UP' PRIOR TO THEIR UNMASKING?

"Absolutely," says Pick Ibarra. "When we knew the result ... we would stop tape so that that person could get hair and make-up. Otherwise, it's not very fair. You look disheveled when you take that thing off! I don't think anybody would have been happy with that."

WHY ISN'T THE SEASON FINALE AIRING LIVE?

"I've thought about it so many times...," Pick Ibarra admits. But in addition to expecting finalists to be available months after production had otherwise wrapped, "it's very hard for everyone to maneuver in those costumes" — and as such, the show would be opening itself up to pratfalls and snafus.

Case in point: Early in the season, Pick Ibarra shares, "We had a very brilliant Spinal Tap moment where Raven came charging through [the entrance tunnel] with a nine-foot wingspan and hit the sides – boom! There are some amazing moments that I would love to see [on a blooper reel]." In fact, to that end Season 2 will capture more behind-the-scenes footage.

WILL THE CORE JUDGING PANEL — ROBIN THICKE, JENNY MCCARTHY, KEN JEONG AND NICOLE SCHERZINGER — RETURN FOR SEASON 2?

"I hope so, yeah," says Pick Ibarra — though it may depend on Season 2's eventual production schedule.

WHY HAVEN'T THE SINGERS' HEIGHTS BEEN LISTED SINCE WEEK 1?

In part because only viewers at home were privy to that herd-thinning detail. Says Pick Ibarra, "We put them on as a graphic thinking, 'Oh, this doesn't mean much,' but it's not fair to [the judges] because they don't know the heights," nor can they accurately discern them due to oversized masks and platform boots.

DO THE SINGERS GET TO PICK THEIR COSTUMES?

Costume designer Marina Toybina, a four-time Emmy winner, presented sketches of "a whole selection of different costumes" and asked singers to "choose the one that spoke to them most," Pick Ibarra explains. "Or they could ask for something bespoke, which some of them did."

In answer to your next question: Yes, next season will feature all-new characters.

HOW DID THE JUDGES COUGH UP SUCH BAD GUESSES?

"To be fair," says McCarthy, "because our mics are on all the whole time, we're spewing out names constantly," and they never know from which streams of sometimes-silly consciousness the editors will grab a name. But rest assured, the panelists get plenty mortified. Looking ahead to the finale, McCarthy sheepishly admits, "I have one that is keeping me up at night because ... the entire studio audience turns around and goes, 'WHAT?!'" (Hey, just like us at home, all season long!)