Victory in "The Masked Singer" Luca Hänni reveals the secret of his success

Luca Hänni is in a shoebill: the Bernese singer won the singing show "The Masked Singer" on Saturday. He talks to blue News about the 35-kilogram costume and reveals the secret of his success.

Luca Hänni, congratulations on your victory in the German singing show "The Masked Singer".

Thank you. I'm in the car right now - and sorry if I'm talking a bit slowly, but I'm very tired.

Did you have a short night?

Yes, I hardly slept at all. After my win on "The Masked Singer", I went straight to ZDF on Sunday morning, where I had an appearance on "Fernsehgarten ".

It's striking that when you appear on a German TV show,you almost always win .What is the secret of your success?

Oops, I don't know. I think I'm just ... oh, what can I say? I'm just happy that I've been able to do cool things ever since I won "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" eleven years ago. And regardless of whether these TV shows are about music, dance or entertainment, I'm fully motivated every time ...

... because you really want to win?

Let's put it this way: I always aim for a good position. But one thing was particularly important to me on "The Masked Singer": I didn't want to be the first contestant to be eliminated.

On "The Masked Singer ", you didn't appear on stage as Luca Hänni, but as Schuhschnabel.

I wanted to impersonate the shoebill as well as possible. I think I succeeded really well from show number three onwards.

Singing under a mask: How does that feel?

It's hot. It's tight. The costume weighs 35 kilograms and the two wings are not without their weight. The mask also restricts you a lot when you sing.

What effect does it have on your performance to appear unrecognized? So without facial expressions, without everything that makes up your personality except your voice?

What I find particularly cool about "The Masked Singer" is that because I'm hidden behind a mask, I can try out new styles of music. That's almost never possible otherwise. That's another reason why this show was a mega experience for me, which will also help me develop musically.

What was your personal highlight of "The Masked Singer"?

I'm proud that I was able to bring the shoebill to life on stage from the third show onwards. I thought my performance of the song "Gossip" by Måneskin was particularly cool. I like rock songs and this performance was really good.

Of course, I'm also really happy that I was even able to win the thing in the end. I think I've had a lot of luck over the past few years. But I also try very hard and that's probably why I succeed in one or two things.

With first place on "The Masked Singer", you've already won four German TV shows.

That's mega cool.

What happens now?

During "The Masked Singer", I was able to record a song with Patricia Kelly without either of us knowing about each other's participation. The song is called "Not Everyone's Darling". Patricia is a great singer. Together with the other members of the Kelly Family, she is formative for the music culture in Europe.

And of course it would be cool if she could continue on "The Masked Singer Switzerland". I've been on the jury there so far and would love to continue doing so. Now I also know what it feels like to be in one of the costumes and have to sing.

Eleven years have now passed between your breakthrough on "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" in 2012 and your victory on "The Masked Singer". How would you describe this time?

What can I say? Entertainment is my life. I'm happy with everything I've been able to do so far and am still able to do. It's crazy that every year something new has happened, has been allowed to happen. But I've also continued to develop during this time. You asked me earlier about the secret of my success. I think that's also part of it: Not standing still and being open to new projects.

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