Why Masked Singer Was ‘Full Circle’ Moment for Jana Kramer After Turbulent Past

TooFab spoke to Kramer after she was unmasked as the Royal Knight on Thursday, where she shared how doing the show helped her gain confidence again as a performer.

“It was great. I had so much more fun because I feel like, though sometimes I’m confident, there’s other times where I’m just not confident at all,” she shared.  “And my self-esteem… I think back in my like 20s and 30s, I was definitely more self-conscious.”

“I would always say … ‘I’m not the best singer,’ because I always knew there was someone better that was on my label, or I only got my record deal because I was on One Tree Hill, and all those things,” she continued. “And so I think I always kind of held myself back because I was never praised as the person that had a good voice.”

“So with this doing this show, I was able to gain a little confidence doing it because I didn’t put the pressure on myself. I didn’t care about the judgment.”

Kramer said she was also “pleasantly surprised” by both the comments from fans who guessed her early on, and the judges commentary.

“They were comparing me to some singers that it have insane voices. So I was like, ‘Okay, maybe I’m not as bad as I thought,'” Kramer quipped.

And the fans have been throwing her name in the ring for a few weeks now, with Kramer telling TooFab that she was “shocked” by how many people were right on the nose about her TMS performances during her three-episode run on the show.

“When I go to the comment section on Masked Singer, they’re like, ‘It’s Jana Kramer! It’s Jana Kramer!,’ which I was shocked that so many people would guess me,” Kramer said when asked who she thinks will be surprised to see her unmasked.

“So I don’t know, because I feel like I do have — I don’t have the best voice. I have a very distinct voice, so I feel like the people that know me know,” she continued. “They’re like, ‘You can try to fool us and try to say, well, I don’t know.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s weird. I’ve never watched that show. Why do you think it’s me?’ And they’re like, ‘Shut up.’ So, I don’t think there’ll be any surprises, actually.”

As for how she feels about where she landed during the season, Kramer said she made to “exactly” where she thought she’d make it during the competition.

“There’s so many amazing singers, and I was happy with doing the three episodes. I was actually, just so thrilled and so because I knew I wasn’t going to go all the way. So in my mind when I know I’m not going to go all the way to something, I’m like all right, ‘Let’s just get in a couple episodes and then go back to my kiddos,'” she explained. “So it was so fun, and I was really happy with it, and there’s incredible talent on there, so it wasn’t sad that I only got three episodes.”

Kramer’s TMS performance isn’t the only thing she’s thankful for — as this Thanksgiving she’s also getting the chance to spend time with her family in Michigan, some of whom are meeting her and husband Alan Russell’s one-year-old son, Roman, for the first time.

“We have the bigs, Jolie and Jace,” Kramer said of her eldest children, 8 and 5, whom she shares with ex, Mike Caussin. “So we are actually in Michigan right now … with the family and my grandma gets to meet Roman for the first time. So it’s a special little Thanksgiving for sure. Our dude.”

Getting to watch the show with her husband and three children is full circle for the proud mama, who has had years of ups and downs in the public eye, including both her public split from Caussin and abusive first marriage to Michael Gambino.

“It’s very full circle. I’m very grateful and I hope that it gives hope to other people that are either lost or they you feel hopeless and that they’re not going to have that fairy tale ending because I think it’s out there for everyone,” Kramer gushed. “It’s just if we if we grab it or not.”

While Kramer’s 2021 divorce from Caussin was a messy one, the pair are on good terms these days, with the One Tree Hill alum even having him on her Whine Down podcast — and including him in the lucky few to know about her TMS performance.

And though the show did take her away from her kiddos, Kramer said it’s something she’d gladly do again someday.

“I mean, listen, I take every experience that I do and I find something that I can learn from and grow from, and so I am always open to to anything,” she said.

The Masked Singer heads into the Quarterfinals and moves back to its regular night next Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.