Macy Gray has admitted her “pride was hurting” in a tense backstage moment during her stint on The Masked Singer Australia. The American R&B megastar appeared as “Atlantis” on Ten’s reality series back in 2021, and was the fourth singer to be voted off, which, as judge Dave “Hughesy” Hughes later revealed on his now-defunct 2DayFM radio show, had caused issues as she refused to come back on stage for a final performance. In an exclusive interview as she announced her new Aussie tour, Gray addressed the secret drama for the first time, explaining that her early eviction had come as a real blow. “I just wanted to get out of there, I just wanted to go,” the I Try singer said. “I didn't want to stick around. You know, nobody wants to lose, and then to come out and sing a song?
I just don’t … It’s very intense, you know?” Back in 2021, Hughes had taken to the airwaves to reveal the backstage issues viewers hadn’t seen on the previous night’s Masked Singer episode, claiming that Gray, 58, had “refused to leave the show”, which is always marked by a contestant’s final performance. “She said ‘No, I’m continuing in the show’ and there had to be a discussion which went for quite a while as to ‘No, you have to leave’. She said ‘No, I’m not leaving,” he recalled. “It took quite a while, and we’re like, ‘What is going on? We want to go home’. “We’re out the back, saying, ‘What’s happening?” Gray is now gearing up for her largest ever tour of Australia across September and October, which will see her hit the major cities as well as a number of regional venues before she heads across the Tasman to New Zealand. The 21-show Aussie run kicks off at Hamer Hall in Melbourne on September 11, before Gray and her band head to Adelaide, Shepparton, Albury, Thirroul, Hobart, Tamworth, Rooty Hill, Sydney, Erina, Shoal Bay, Canberra, Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie before finishing up in WA’s stunning Margaret River on October 24.
The Encore Tour comes just two years after her 2024 sold-out Aussie shows in celebration of the 25th anniversary of her smash hit debut album, On How Life Is. Gray’s affinity with local fans goes right back to the beginning of her career: while she’s now sold over 25 million records worldwide and won two Grammys, it was music lovers Down Under who first fell in love with her unique sound. I Try went straight to number one in Australia and New Zealand back in 1999, while her debut album On How Life Is topped the local charts a long time before America caught on to the magic of Gray. Twenty-seven years after she broke onto the scene, the singer is on the cusp of releasing yet another brand new studio album, The Trouble with the Truth, as she embarks upon her next visit to our shores.
Known for her constant evolution as an artist, what can fans expect from this next appearance by Gray? “We’re gonna have a little more theatre, and I have a new album coming out, so we’ll be playing music from that – and Australia will be the first to hear it live,” she revealed, adding that her set list will also feature all her past major hits. “ … It’s just gonna be fun, you know? All the shows are like a big party, we’re just gonna have a ball.” Pre-sales for Macy Gray – The Encore Tour begin from 9am local times tomorrow, with general public tickets on sale from 9am Wednesday on www.macygraylive.com.au.