This article contains ‘The Masked Singer Australia’ spoilers!
Wizard was the mask that Australia chose to uncover on ‘The Masked Singer Australia’ tonight, and he was revealed to be none other than Australia’s 2017 Eurovision representative Isaiah Firebrace!
Guesses from 'Masked Singer' fans for who could be under the Wizard mask have ranged from Cosentino the illusionist to speed skater and Winter Olympic legend Steven Bradbury, Red Wiggle Murray Cook, Troye Sivan, and even Zac Efron...
However, many Eurovision fans were able to recognise the distinctive voice of Australia's 2017 entrant straight away. We polled Aussievision followers after his first appearance with 66% of people thinking it was him.
Wizard’s performance of Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ in Episode 2 left him in the bottom 3 after losing his vocal battle with Sloth, and he came close to being unmasked once more in Episode 4 after singing 'Somebody That I Used To Know', made famous by Gotye and Kimbra. Wizard was saved by the panel of superfans, living to sing another day in Episode 6. Unfortunately, Wizard’s magic ran out tonight, with the superfans and judging panel choosing to unmask him after his performance of ‘Raise Your Glass' by Pink.
Let’s get to know more about Isaiah Firebrace through a breakdown of the cryptic clues from the show:
Wizard was shown to be using fire powers: a reference to Isaiah’s last name, Firebrace
“My abilities were recognised young and my mentor showed me the road I should take.” During his time in Season 8 of The X Factor Australia, Isaiah was mentored by Adam Lambert as part of the 14-21s category, and eventually, he went on to win the show.
Not everything has "come up roses" for the young singer. Isaiah first auditioned for The X Factor Australia in 2015, where he got as far as the bootcamp stage before being eliminated from the competition after forgetting the words to a song. Isaiah managed to "work and strive" and "defy the odds" to come back and win the competition the following year.
“There are others like me. Many others…but I found myself in a smaller group, just alone” – while this could represent Isaiah winning the X Factor after the show started with many hopefuls, Isaiah is also one of 12 children.
“I feel connected to the earth…the power isn’t in everyone, but when you can feel it, you need to use it to help others” – this clue is a reference to Isaiah’s Aboriginal heritage – his father is Yorta Yorta and his mother is Gunditjmara.
Some pictures of famous Murrays (including Murray Cook and Andy Murray) in Episode 4 are a nod to Isaiah's hometown of Moama, NSW, located by the Murray River.
Wizard was pictured with the Australian desert in the background, holding a toy bus in his hand. The bus in the context of this clue is a reference to the 55-date ‘Spirit and Beyond’ tour he took through central and regional Australia in 2019, where his goal was to speak to as many Aboriginal school children as possible about the importance of finding a passion and working hard to achieve goals.
The theme of helping others has appeared frequently in Wizard’s clues, and Isaiah is also writing a children’s book called ‘The Purple Platypus’, which aims to send a positive message to children who feel different.
Of course, this article wouldn't be complete without some clues referencing Isaiah's time at Eurovision. Some clues in Episode 4 teased that his greatest success "was not in the land of [his] birth" (but rather, in Ukraine at Eurovision) and that "nothing of value comes easily" - a reference to his Eurovision song 'Don't Come Easy'.
The quote "it's in my DNA" is also a cheeky reference to DNA, or David Musumeci and Anthony Egizii, the songwriting duo that penned 'Don't Come Easy'. DNA also wrote and produced Isaiah's biggest hit 'It's Gotta Be You'.
17 candles were shown in Episode 6: Isaiah won The X Factor on his 17th birthday. Isaiah was also 17 years old when he competed in Eurovision in 2017.
A magpie was shown on screen in Episode 6: Isaiah barracks for the Collingwood Magpies in the AFL and even had a tour of the club's facilities.
Isaiah represented Australia in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine with the song ‘Don’t Come Easy’. He earned 173 points, coming 9th.