Duane Lee Chapman, more commonly known as television personality Dog the Bounty Hunter, reportedly performed the most beautiful rendition of John Newton's "Amazing Grace" in "The Masked Singer" last week.
The Christian Headlines said Chapman performed for the last time in the singing contest, "The ," with an emotional rendition of "Amazing Grace." Chapman sang the song with the extra challenge of wearing an armadillo, which he described in an exclusive interview with Hollywood Life as quite heavy.
The reality TV star also revealed to the entertainment media outlet that being part of the contest was challenging because the costumes made it difficult for performers to see. The costumes were also exceptionally heavy.
"You can't see. You can't walk. The costume's head was a foot taller than me. So, you're actually talking around the neck, but you've got to act like you're not. You cannot see. No one can. You've got to go out there blindfolded and depend on God and your hidden talent," Chapman said.
Chapman said he estimated the armadillo costume to weigh more than 200 pounds. It was so heavy, that he had to be helped out in the chair he sat on. He could also hardly stand up on his own. He said he believes that God helped him through his angels.
"I know that in my world, the angels grabbed me and said, 'Get out there.' So I was petrified. Francie (Chapman's wife) and I had just watched the Olympic skier who jumped that big jump, but right at the end, she fell, and that went right through my mind. I thought you better get up. You've been pushed out of life before, and you have always stood up. I don't know what happened. Adrenaline and the Lord took over," Chapman shared.
Hollywood Life explained that the April 13 episode of "The Masked Singer" ended with the double-elimination of Chapman, who was then unmasked from his armadillo costume, and Jennifer Holliday, who was unmasked from her glaring orange Miss Teddy costume.
During the interview, Chapman revealed that his being a martial arts black belter helped him last longer in the show without getting booted and guessed for who he really was before he was unmasked. The black belter also disclosed that "Amazing Grace" was one of his mother's favorite, such that singing it was really close to his heart. He said he sang the song every night to his son. Chapman, in addition, said he particularly chose to sing the song out of his desire to proclaim his faith.
"I am trying to be a Christian, so we negotiated a Christian song and that song happened to be my mother's most favorite. It really was very emotional for me to show my faith, that Fox is cool enough to do that to anybody," Chapman said.
Chapman's execution of the song brought judge Nicole Scherzinger to tears. Scherzinger, who was the former lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls, said Chapman's song resonated with her since she felt the latter really believed in what the song was saying. While co-judge Robin Thicke, who is a songwriter turned record producer, gae the impression that he was also moved by Chapman's number. Thicke commented that the song was also special to him for it strengthened him during a challenging time in his life.
After elimination, Scherzinger took to Twitter to express her sadness about losing Chapman from her team but commended him for his exemplary performance. Thicke, on the other hand, tweeted he will surely miss Chapman from the show. He pointed out that Chapman's mother surely is proud of him that night.
