"Get their approval" - The Masked Singer's Matthew Lawrence as Paparazzo revealed why he needed permission to sing 'Unpretty'

Matthew Lawrence, who was unmasked as Paparazzo on The Masked Singer during episode 10, which aired April 16, 2025, shared an interesting detail about his final performance on the show. Before singing TLC’s Unpretty, Lawrence explained that he had to seek permission from his girlfriend, Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, who co-wrote the song.

In an exclusive interview with People post-show, he said,

“I had to ask them and get their approval.”

He noted that Watkins’ approval was required not only for legal reasons but also as a personal courtesy, as the song held significant meaning to him.

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The Masked Singer’s Paparazzo explains why he sought approval to perform Unpretty

Before performing the song, Paparazzo (Lawrence) revealed that he reached out to Thomas and Watkins. He clarified that they needed his approval since Tionne was the songwriter, which required both her personal consent and Fox’s approval. Lawrence also reflected on how he approached Watkins, stating,

“I had to go and ask her, I was like, ‘Hey, you know that song you wrote about feeling unpretty? Do you think I could sing that on The Masked Singer?’”

Both Thomas and Watkins were supportive of his decision to perform the song. Lawrence highlighted the importance of their approval, noting,

“They’re both — obviously Chilli in particular — they’re so amazing.”

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Song selection came from a personal memory

The song selection process started with Lawrence jokingly suggesting Unpretty as a guilty pleasure.

“They ask you a bunch of questions when you say you’re down to do the show, and they asked me what’s a guilty pleasure song you would sing in the shower?” He recalled.

Lawrence shared how the song selection came about, recalling that he originally chose Unpretty as a lighthearted suggestion, saying,

“When ‘Unpretty’ came out back in the day, that was one of those guilty pleasure songs I would sing in the shower. So I put that down as a joke, and of course, they chose it.”

He expressed his surprise at how the selection unfolded, calling it “amazing how things work out.”

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Lawrence used the experience to face a longstanding fear

For Lawrence, participating in The Masked Singer was an opportunity to overcome his fear of singing in public. He admitted to having “a fear of singing on stage,” citing a past Broadway audition as a reason for his hesitation.

"So seeing Joe do it? No, that only further re-instilled that I was not going to do it,” he explained.

However, Lawrence decided to take the opportunity to face his fear. He spoke about his current mindset, stating,

“I’m in a point in my life now where I’m not allowing fear to kind of enter into things.”

Referring to this phase of his life as his “season of yes,” he noted that this might be an opportunity to overcome a fear, and he should take it. His decision to participate in the show was a conscious choice to confront and move past his fear of public singing.

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Paparazzo’s other performances

Throughout his journey on The Masked Singer, Lawrence performed various songs, including The Door by Teddy Swims, Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, and That’s Amore by Dean Martin. His performances made panelists guess potential identities such as Taron Egerton, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Matthew or Andrew Lawrence.

His clue package also featured Danielle Fishel, his co-star from Boy Meets World, helping the panel narrow down his identity. When Lawrence was revealed, he exited the stage as one of the last six competitors of the season.

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Catch The Masked Singer on Fox every Wednesday at 8 pm ET.