Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg teases 'truly the biggest' reveal in Masked Singer history in season 11 premiere

Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg knows what you're thinking: The Masked Singer is always teasing "the biggest reveal yet" on the show, but this time, she means it.

"When [redacted] was unmasked, we freaked out," she tells EW of the big moment, which happens in tonight's season 11 premiere. "I couldn't wait to call everyone I know. And then I realized I can't call anyone I know. Everyone's going to have to wait until the show happens, because we don't want to blow this one. It's that big and that good."

Ahead of the premiere, Entertainment Weekly caught up with McCarthy-Wahlberg, who has been busy in the off-season with her vegan, eco-friendly Formless Beauty line, to tease the biggest reveal yet in the show's 11th season, her own performances on the show, what she learned from new panelist Rita Ora, and the touching reason she's "less crass and more loving" this season.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The first new thing fans will notice this season in the premiere is the addition of Rita Ora, who told me that she learned a lot from you, by the way. What did Rita bring to the show this season?

JENNY MCCARTHY-WAHLBERG: And I learned a lot from her. She came in because she had some pretty big shoes to fill. We love Nicole [Scherzinger]. Nicole is so talented and funny, but Nicole had this amazing opportunity to go overseas in the West End and perform. So we were so happy for her. And there couldn't have been a better choice than Rita, because not only did she understand the show — she did Masked Singer U.K. — she's also an amazing performer, she has a great ear, she's funny, and she's got that kind of down to earth grounded personality, which you need because there's a real chemistry between us on the panel. We always welcome any kind of guest star that comes in, but on the judge's panel it can be tough. And she came in like an old friend, like an old sister, an old cousin. She's already part of our family and hopefully will be for a long time. 

Fox has teased an "absolutely insane reveal" in the premiere as well. What was going through your head during this major celebrity unmasking?

Well, we all felt the enormity of like, how big this celebrity must be, because the clue package lends itself to that. But we still weren't quite sure because we're like, well the person we're thinking of that's too big of a name. That's the biggest name we've ever had and we're in season 11. I know we level up, but this would be really leveling up. So when [redacted] was unmasked, we freaked out. I couldn't wait to call everyone I know. And then I realized I can't call anyone I know. Everyone's going to have to wait until the show happens because we don't want to blow this one. It's that big and that good. And I tell people, I know I keep saying every season wait till you see the revealing, but this one truly is the biggest one we've ever had.

Is it fair to say that's the wildest thing that happens this season?

I will tease everyone on the performance by Jenny McCarthy that they will see this season. There's an episode called "Girl Groups." [The producers] are like, we want you guys to sing a Spice Girls song and for everyone to take a part of the song, and I'm like, can I please just lip-sync because I can't sing? And I'm with Rita, I'm with Robin [Thicke] who can sing amazingly. And Ken, who can actually sing, he just fakes not being able to, but he can really sing. So I feel like Peter Brady, when Peter was singing "Time to Change." I feel like that person, so I would be so nervous. And that's where Rita helped me backstage. I'm like, I don't know what I'm doing. So to see me bust out with Ken — and we perform multiple times — there's a TV theme night also, so you'll see us perform another theme song together, where I have another line that I had to sing, but it's fun. It is a challenge for me. And I know no one's waiting for me to belt out like Celine Dion, but I also don't want to sound like Peter Brady. So I'm a little scared.

You're gonna give your husband, Donnie Wahlberg, a run for his money!

He actually helped me! I was like, how do I keep track of how many "wannas" I sing in the Spice Girls' "Wannabe"? He's like, hold the microphone with your right hand and put your hand behind on your butt, and count as you're singing that way. So if there was a camera behind me, you'd see me going like this [mimics counting on her hand], counting how many times I sing "wanna." [Laughs]

What else can we expect from the theme nights this season?

I will brag — the "Wizard of Oz" episode was glorious. If you are a fan of Wizard of Oz, if you have children, please tune into the show because the set was out of this world. They didn't hold back. Like having the house that falls on the bad witch, and Nick Cannon's entry into the Emerald City. There's no shortcuts here. We went all out for Wizard of Oz. I'm Glinda the Good Witch of course, and Rita is Dorothy, and Ken [Jeong] is the Cowardly Lion. Go figure. Of course it's perfect for him. And you guys will just love it. We also have the Transformers and I didn't realize they were going to get the actual giant Transformers to come out on the stage and talk with us. They're conversing with us. I asked to hire one for my bodyguard and he was conversing with me. So that will blow your kids' minds. There's a Billy Joel night. And like I said, Girls Groups, TV themes, and then "Soundtrack of My Life" night.

Last season came to be known as Season Ken, because he got so many guesses right early on. Does this season see you return to dominance or who would you say is the best guesser this season?

It only took 10 seasons for him to get it right. [Laughs] I think I do. I think I dominate this season. I dominate a lot, but I feel like I'm back. Yeah, I do. I leave everyone in my dust.

And who was the worst?

It's too mean girl for me to respond, but he sits to my right. [Laughs] I love you, Robin. You know what, listen, we love Robin and this is the thing, they're not all major recording artists on the show. I know so much about what's going on because on my radio show for seven years we did celebrity dirt, so I know who got a divorce, who went through triumphs and who went through pitfalls. So I come in with that kind of knowledge. So it's kind of easier for me.

What sets season 11 apart?

Besides our season opener, and besides Rita, and besides the amazing themes we have, it's for me maybe a little bit more personal because my son, Evan, joined me as a crew member this season. Masked Singer hired him and he worked behind the scenes and it was his first job. So it kind of brought tears to my eyes. So I have a level of emotion, and I might behave myself a little bit more because he's a sensitive little soul. So if I'm mean to Ken, afterwards he'll be like, "Why do you hurt Ken's feelings like that?" When people yell "boo" in the audience for Ken, he gets so overwhelmed. He's like, "Should we give Ken a hug after the show?" He takes on emotion and is so sensitive. So I'm a little bit more... I'm less crass and more loving and supportive because my little sweet angel joins us on the show this season.

I know Nicole is not the only one busy during her non-Masked Singer time. What can you tell me about your vision for Formless Beauty, your makeup line?

We're coming for the big guys. We're only a couple years old and it's doing so well. This makeup line, I started from the ground up, and literally most celebrities will tap their name on something, but I'm knee deep in it. I am following the Environmental Working Group, their guidelines, which are over 900 pages of unacceptable ingredients. We follow their strict rules. So I feel like this is a line where, people talk about clean beauty, but no one's going to get closer than us with clean beauty. I want daughters to be able to play dress up with their moms' makeup and moms not having to worry about the crap that's in it. I think for all of us with chronic issues, allergies, sensitivities, this is the makeup line for them. But it also works. I wanted the performance to be just as good as the cleanliness and we did it. Let's raise the beauty bar so for everyone behind us, we can lead by example. If we did it, that means they can do it. So I feel like this is a trailblazing thing that I want to leave behind as a token of good faith to all the women behind me.

The Masked Singer airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.

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