As an astronaut, he thrilled the audience week after week: Max Mutzke (38, "Experience") won the first season of the ProSieben show "The Masked Singer" in August 2019, in which celebrities step on stage and sing incognito in elaborate costumes . On March 10 (8:15 p.m.), the format will now begin its second season.
In an interview with the news agency spot on news, Max Mutzke chats out of the box and gives insights into details of the strict safety precautions and the sweaty costumes. He also reveals who he is friends with and who he wants under one mask in 2020.
You were blown away as an astronaut on "The Masked Singer". How did your victory feel?
Max Mutzke: It was fantastic, it was a really nice feeling. Nobody knew what was coming, neither the participants nor the participants in the show. Then it became such a successful television format and winning it was awesome. Above all that I was able to win the first casting show by Stefan Raab and the first Berlin preliminary decision for the Grand Prix, then also became the first "The Masked Singer" winner and was the first candidate to take part in "Schlag den Star" performed well made me very proud.
Why did you agree, especially when you didn't know where the show was going?
Mutzke: I read the security concept and found it so absurd and funny what the candidates have to do to keep everything secret. The fact that they have to declare their absolute secrecy, that fines can result in fines, that the location services have to be issued on their cell phones, that they are not allowed to post anything or that they should spread extra fake posts – that awakened little James Bond in me. This wish, which every boy once had, that you would be picked up with darkened vehicles and that several vehicles would leave the property, so that the journalists would not know which vehicle to drive after.
The secrecy, the sweaty costumes or the appearances: What was the biggest challenge on the show?
Mutzke: On three of the six Thursdays when the live shows took place, we had heat records in Cologne and were wearing these costumes. Mine in particular was like a ski suit that was intended for freezing temperatures. In addition, the factory hall, which stood in the middle of the sun, heated up properly, the panes of the backstage rooms glowed. I was active as a motocross rider for a long time and am used to being wrapped up in helmets in these thick suits for hours in high summer. I thought I didn't mind anything at all, but I totally reached my limits.
Did all candidates suffer?
Mutzke: Yes, especially the cockatoo as the oldest participant (Heinz Hoenig, editor). When he slipped into his costume with a thousand feathers, you really saw that he became dim and you had to hold his hand so that he didn't fall over. The rest of us looked at him a bit. I wouldn't have been surprised if one of us had passed out in time. We then got our own mobile air conditioners in the room and many hand fans. And there was a refrigerator truck that we could sit in.
My supervisor and I have developed another method of our own: We got a huge box and my driver brought us ten kilos of crushed ice per show, which we filled with water in the box. I sat in for so long that I was almost looking forward to the suit when it was 42 degrees outside. The method is actually used by athletes who have to perform well in hot countries.
Despite the hardships, don't you regret participating?
Mutzke: On the contrary. When I sang for the first time with Stefan Raab, I found the eye-opening effect of the people who would not have guessed the voice to be very special. It was a great moment that my song "Can't wait until tonight" was such a huge success and stayed in the charts for so long. But I also knew that I wouldn't actually experience it anymore because the people in Germany, Austria and Switzerland knew you better and better.
When I sang the last character in the first "Masked Singer" show, there was a standing ovation on the show for the first time and I saw it again on the faces – the first time after 15 years. The jury's reactions were funnily similar to those of Joy Fleming, Stefan Raab and Thomas Anders at "SSDGPS". I had the impression that the program was written for me and fits perfectly with this feeling of being addicted, but which you shouldn't have often.
Which colleague particularly surprised you?
Mutzke: I was impressed by Bülent Ceylan, who has now become a very good friend. We already met on vacation and did a show together. I was just surprised at what an incredibly nice guy he is. Through the whole behavior in the backstage area, I immediately noticed that under the angel costume must be a really great character. He was incredibly humble, reserved and respectful – and never came too late, which was very often not the case with other participants.
And you absolutely didn't know who your colleagues were?
Mutzke: There was speculation, but I didn't take part in it. Often people were so sure that they had solved the puzzle, I would have thought it would be a shame if that had turned out to be true and the surprise effect had been gone. So it was all the better that the speculations mostly didn't apply at all. I was surprised to find some absurd names that could be mistaken for Andreas Bourani or Smudo.
How do you explain the success of the show?
Mutzke: It was the first time that we managed to make a show that captivated people across generations. And you gave the audience something, for example to work or to school. The next day there was an exchange and speculation about possible celebrities. The show is also very personable. It's not about judging or getting rid of someone; instead, the focus is on taking pleasure in advice.
Which celebrity would you like for the second season under the mask?
Mutzke: I would be happy about someone like Tim Mälzer, whom I find really funny, or a likeable politician, who would use such a TV show as a cool advertising tool, similar to the one in the USA. I think the show was so incredibly successful that it can very well be that there are really big and international names. Anything else would be stupid. Such a Usain Bolt would be strong.
What about your own musical plans?
Mutzke: My next big project is a new tour through Germany with the WDR Funkhausorchester, with which I have been performing for several years. We mostly play my own songs from the album "Experience". With my last album "Colors" I play a few more concerts, at the end of April I go to the studio for a new record.