By signing onto the reality TV juggernaut, Alli followed in the footsteps of her older brother, Cody Simpson, who won The Masked Singer in 2019. And after a year that's been incredibly tough on the music and arts industry, Alli was thrilled to be on-stage again.
"It was amazing. It's not like anyone had a whole heap of work going on, so it was nice to be able to perform and be creative during COVID," she says.
"The show was amazing with their strict protocols, so I was really privileged to be able to continue working and have fun at the same time. I was so happy."
Though the celebrities behind the masks are told to keep their identity a secret until their episode airs, it doesn’t always go to plan.
"I definitely had to keep it quiet, but Cody ended up figuring it out," Alli admits. "He’s here on the Gold Coast at the moment and obviously I was away for filming and working with vocal coaches and things. He was like… are you doing the Masked Singer? [laughs] But he was really excited for me."
While Cody - and many of Alli's fans - figured out she was the electrifying performer behind Lightning, the singer admits she actually struggled with some of the clues.
"I am so horrible at guessing the clues. They were really good at putting them together – even I was finding some of them hard to figure out!" she says.
"A lot of my fans were figuring out clues I couldn’t even get [laughs]. I was like ‘oh I forgot I even did that’. It was really fun."
"They obviously have an amazing team that do it all. You do an interview with them, they get some background information on you and pull the clues together."
Arguably one of the best parts of going on a show like The Masked Singer is getting to dance around on-stage in an extravagant costume. And Alli reveals her experience definitely lived up to the hype.
"I freaked out when I first saw my costume. We had only seen a drawing of it and then there was this big sort of reveal and it was so amazing," she says.
"My heart skipped a beat! It was all lit up and it was just so much more extra than I thought it was going to be, I was so surprised. The costume department are insane with what they come up with."
Plus, the striking costume had the added benefit of freeing Alli from any inhibitions.
"Growing up I was really nervous singing in front of people, it was never really something I loved to do. This takes away any – there’s no pressure, you’re in a costume and just having fun. No one’s holding any expectations and I think that’s what makes the show so fun. I felt like I was in some sort of cartoon."
After "pretty much lying to everybody" for months, the star reveals she's excited to be connecting with her fans over the big reveal.
And now that her fans are paying close attention to any little hint or clue, they've also figured out something else.
"Yes, it’s true! I've got some new music coming out. I’m working on a song at the moment and it should be out within the next two weeks. Some of the fans had been figuring it out," she reveals.
"My brother Cody is here with me and we’re working on the music together. It's been a nice little project for us!"
The Masked Singer Australia airs Sunday to Tuesday, 7:30pm on 10.
