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The Masked Singer US viewers did a huge double take as Bluebell was unmasked on Wednesday night, revealing herself as Natalie Imbruglia.
The 49-year-old – mostly known for her mammoth 1997 hit, Torn – whipped off her costume at the end of last night’s episode, and clearly hasn’t aged a day since she first hit the airwaves.
She faced off against Goo and Wasp to continue on in the competition and belted out a rendition of Do You Love Me, by the Contours, but was sent home by the judges in what was due to be a double-elimination.
However, they chose to use the Ding Dong Keep It On bell and saved Goo at the very last minute.
Natalie, who won the UK version of the show in 2022, totally threw the panel for a loop as Ken Jeong, Rita Ora, Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg and Robin Thicke were nowhere near.
They correctly identified her Australian identity thanks to the Vegemite clue, but Jenny went with Naomi Watts, while Rita Ora guessed that she was Kylie Minogue.
Bluebell was unmasked as a huge singer on the Masked Singer US (Picture: Fox)
Ken suggested Rose Byrne was under the intricate outfit, while Robin Thicke went with fellow actress Isla Fisher.
Viewers watching on from home were equally surprised and couldn’t get over Natalie’s appearance.
Flocking to Twitter, Spacebunny said: ‘I LOOOOOVE Natalie Imbruglia and never would have guessed it was her!!! #TheMaskedSinger.’
Diana Jeanne agreed: ‘Wow, Natalie Imbruglua? I never would’ve guessed #TheMaskedSinger.’
‘I would not have guessed #BluebellMask was Natalie Imbruglia #TheMaskedSinger…,’ MissNiqNiq268 penned.
The actress and singer vowed she had an ‘amazing’ time (Picture: Fox)
As David Lartey added: ‘Natalie Imbruglia? No way! #TheMaskedSinger.’
Despite being eliminated from the competition criminally early, the Johnny English favorite was thrilled to have taken part, describing the experience as ‘amazing’.
Presenter Nick Cannon questioned why she took part after being so successful on the UK series, to which she said: ‘Well, it’s just so much fun to do the dance choreography and everything. Things that I don’t do actually in my music career.
‘But I’m actually a stage school kid, so I grew up doing it. It’s fun for me!’
Natalie has been in the industry for more than three decades (Picture: Rex)
She revealed that she ditched her natural accent to throw the judges off the scent (Picture: Rex)
Natalie got so into the character that she ditched her normal voice, confessing: I’m struggling to get my accent back because I’ve been in American accent the whole time.’
Sharing her final thoughts, she added: ‘Just thank you so much for supporting Bluebell.
‘I know I haven’t been here long, but I’ve had the best time. Thank you, Masked Singer, for having me! It’s been amazing.’
The Sydney-born singer stepped into the spotlight thanks to a stint on Australian soap, Neighbours, and played Beth Brennan for two years from 1992.
She released Torn in 1997 and it became an instant hit in the UK, selling more than one million copies and remaining at the top of the charts for 14 weeks straight.
The track secured Natalie a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal performance – she ended up losing to Celine Dion for My Heart Will Go On.
Following the huge success, she dropped her debut album, Left of the Middle, that same year, before releasing White Lilies Island, Counting Down the Days, Come to Life and Male.
Her latest album, Firebird, came in 2021.
Natalie won the UK version of the show (Picture: Rex)
Speaking to Metro in 2022, Natalie shared that, although she has one of the biggest songs around, the Masked Singer UK was her ‘career highlight’.
‘I wouldn’t have said yes to doing Masked Singer even five years ago, becoming a parent and going, “Oh my God, imagine what my son thinks of me being a giant panda,’ she said.
‘I was so excited. They were pitching all these costumes… I wanted to be a blue panda.
‘Highlight of my career, I bloody loved it. And, I was more famous for two weeks when I was a panda, than I’ve ever been in my whole career.’
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