Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Kobie Turner donned a new uniform, as he took the stage as “Goo” on Fox’s celebrity singing competition “The Masked Singer.”
Fox’s “The Masked Singer” features four to six celebrity contestants breaking out into song behind the cover of a very intricate mascot costume. Using a series of “clue packages,” judges have to guess who each celebrity is. Turner made it all the way to the quarterfinals, making it out of a three-week-long group stage before Wednesday night’s quarterfinals.
🚨 SPOILER ALERT 🚨 #GooMask is…#TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/CUtTC8ONcF
— The Masked Singer (@MaskedSingerFOX) December 5, 2024
Turner’s song list throughout the season brought hits like Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” The Animals’ “The House of the Rising Sun” and Ne-Yo’s “Miss Independent,” among others. Tonight, Turner threw on the Goo suit to sing “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls before being placed in a sudden-death sing-off. Turner broke out Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Comin’” but failed to advance to the semifinal.
Judge Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg was able to correctly guess Turner’s identity before his reveal because of his national anthem performance at a Lakers game, while fellow judge Robin Thicke got close, guessing Rams legend Aaron Donald.
“Music has been a huge part of my life since I was a kid,” Turner said upon his unmasking. “My biggest goal with being an athlete is to be able to show we’re so much more than just athletes. There’s so much more to all of us.”
The show was taped in Los Angeles over the summer. Turner is set to speak to the media about his experience on Thursday.
GOO?! Who knew?!
Those high notes from #GooMask just can’t be missed. 🥹 #TheMaskedSinger pic.twitter.com/BqZiDsY6LZ
— The Masked Singer (@MaskedSingerFOX) December 5, 2024
The Goo’s clues on the night of elimination really poked at Turner’s football background. He emphasized that he does not sing for a living, having “two dreams” of singing and his then-unnamed football profession. He added that this experience on “The Masked Singer” was “a test drive of his other passion.” Each singer got a call from a loved one tonight, and Turner’s call from his fiancee mentioned that she hadn’t been this proud of him “since the day you got that call that changed your life forever,” referring to Turner’s third-round draft call from the Los Angeles Rams in 2023.
Turner has a lengthy background in music. Coming out of high school, he wasn’t sure whether he would be going to college for football or music. He ran three a cappella groups and participated in choir in high school all while playing football, according to a 2022 interview with Sports Illustrated. At Richmond, he was a double major in mathematics and music, eventually earning the nickname “The Conductor” from his teammates.
The Rams defensive tackle still keeps up music as a hobby. He has sung the national anthem at Lakers and Kings games while in Los Angeles. Running the TikTok page @kobieturnermusic, Turner regularly posts videos of himself singing and playing guitar. One post recently racked up over 3 million views of him dancing to the “Wicked” soundtrack in the team hotel room.
@kobieturnermusic And now we rest to go beat the saints #wicked #dance #wickedthemusical #nfl ♬ original sound – SASHA Woodward
Turner isn’t the only NFL player to get featured on the show this season. Hall of Famer John Elway was the first elimination of the season, singing “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw.
Bring on the thunder, @johnelway made his splash as #LeafSheepMask as the first unmasking of Season 12!
Relive the premiere experience and stream the full episode now on @hulu. 👏 pic.twitter.com/6iO9cQygVZ
— The Masked Singer (@MaskedSingerFOX) September 27, 2024
Fellow Hall of Famer DeMarcus Ware and current Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen also appeared as “mask ambassadors,” or individuals with a connection to the singer to offer up a clue. Allen was Turner’s ambassador, while Ware was Elway’s.
Other former NFL players who have participated as contestants on “The Masked Singer” include Rob Gronkowski, Terry Bradshaw, Mark Sanchez, Jordan Mailata, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown.
Required reading
(Photo: Ric Tapia / Getty Images)
