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Entertainment

The Masked Singer Australia: Ryan Moloney revealed as first celeb

WARNING: Masked Singer spoilers below.

The new season of The Masked Singer started with a bang on Sunday night, with the first contestant revealed as an Aussie TV legend.

And after a surprisingly solid rendition of the Ed Sheeran hit Bad Habitsthe knight was unmasked as none other than veteran Neighbors actor Ryan Moloney – aka Ramsay Street legend Toadfish!

The knight’s clues had teased that he was “the closest thing Australia has to true royalty” – and we can’t argue with that. But despite his ubiquity on our screens for almost three decades, he got away with his brief stint on the show without anyone from the judging panel or seemingly any viewers guessing his true identity. With neighbors finally finishing up last week, could a new singing career be on the horizon for Ryan Moloney?

Here’s who else performed on Sunday’s premiere – and who we think they really are:

The Blowfly

In their clues package, the Blowfly was shown playing cricket, said he loves “cruising in his big V8” and proclaimed that he’s “Aussie as.” There were also a couple of references to “High Fives.”

The Blowfly then performed a gravelly rendition of Miley Cyrus’ midnight sky – and between all those ocker clues and the Barnsey-esque vocals, I’m pinning the Blowfly as former australian idol runner-up Shannon Noll – and many viewers on social media have the same idea.

The judging panel was leaning sporty though, picking Freddie Flintoff, Daniel Ricciardo and, er… Stevie Nicks (good try, Hughesy).

mirror ball

Some puzzling clues for the Mirrorball, who was shown standing in front of a Mexican flag and the number 48. She was also shown lounging on a piano adorned with framed photos of pulp fiction stars Uma Thurman and John Travolta.

Things got even trickier when the Mirrorball launched into her performance of the Olivia Newton-John classic Xanadu – sounding just like Livvy herself. Surely not?

Many viewers on social media have claimed the Mirrorball as former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton, who was previously rumored to be a contestant on this season. She can certainly sing, has Mexican heritage-and she appeared in the 2005 movie be coolstarring… Uma Thurman and John Travolta.

And diehard Pussycat Dolls fans are convinced: A top PCD fan account posted a YouTube preview of the Mirrorball’s performance several weeks ago under the title ‘MELODY THORNTON ON MASKED SINGER AUSTRALIA.’

On the judging panel, Chrissie Swan guessed Olivia Newton John’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi, but I’m less convinced – Chloe is a singer but doesn’t quite have her mum’s high vocals.

Mel B seemed to have a brainwave mid-performance, insisting she “knows that voice” – she’s absolutely convinced it’s Aussie singer Samantha Jade. Given Mel B was a judge on the season of Australia’s Got Talent that Jade won, it seems like the most realistic guess from the panel.

Zombie

There’s an airplane theme to Zombie, who was shown in her clues package as an air stewardess. “I’m not as green as I used to be – or as orange. Would you care for a baked potato?” she asked. hmm. There were also references to opera singers and Wicked Witches among her clues about her.

The Zombie delivered an, ahem, limited performance of the Ava Max song Sweet But Psycho – to these ears, this seems to suggest the Zombie isn’t a professional singer – but many viewers on social media seem convinced that the Zombie is former Wiggle Emma Watkins. If so, um… first night jitters?

Chrissie Swan had other ideas though, guessing Broadway great Idina Menzel (Chrissie, I think you owe Idina an apology for that one). The rest of the panel were on the ‘non-professional singer’ wavelength though, with Mel B guessing supermodel Heidi Klum, Dave Hughes guessing Boost Juice founder Janine Allis, and Abbie guessing Aussie actress Kate Ritchie.

thong

According to the clues package, the Thong is an “Aussie icon with the background overseas,” who’s “better known for their work with M&M.” Oh, and they love fish.

Based on her performance of footloose, I’d guess the Thong is also another non-professional singer – it was a very Friday night karaoke performance. Chrissie guessed Bindi Irwin, Mel B picked surfer Stephanie Gilmore, Hughesy guessed English singer Dido (what? Why?) and Abbie guessed MasterChef and survivor star Khanh Ong.

This one’s got me stumped – it’s hard to pick when it’s clearly someone who’s not known for their singing!

And it seems there’s no real consensus among viewers on social media, with more than a few pitching their votes for Chrissie’s guess, Bindi Irwin.

The remaining five Masked Singer contestants will perform in Monday’s episode, with another celeb unmasked at the end of the night.

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Sports

Commonwealth Games: Ariarne Titmus says Cody Simpson, Kyle Chalmers love triangle affecting team emotionally

Ariarne Titmus has said the focus on the so-called swimming “love triangle” at the Commonwealth Games was taking its toll on the entire squad.

“It’s affecting us emotionally,” she said on Channel 10’s The Project on Thursday.

The Aussie team’s success in Birmingham has been overshadowed by speculation about relations between Kyle Chalmers, Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson.

Chalmers and McKeon dated for a few months. Their relationship first became common knowledge in September.

But it was revealed in May that Simpson and McKeon had become a couple and had even moved in together during a training camp.

Rumors of bad blood between the three surfaced when sprinting king Chalmers and Olympic legend McKeon appeared to avoid each other as the 4x100m mixed relay team celebrated their gold medal swim on the pool deck and during the medal presentations on Saturday morning.

Aussie swimming great James Magnussen described the sight of McKeon and Chalmers politely keeping their distance from each other as “awkward”.

All three have said there is no friction between them at all.

‘Affects us emotionally’

Swimming superstar Titmus appeared on The Project on Thursday after picking up four golds in the pool and helping break the world record in the 4x200m freestyle relay.

She was asked if the attention on the “love triangle” was hurting the team’s performance.

“We all certainly hear about it and it’s affecting our teammates so it affects us emotionally,” she told host Georgie Tunney.

“But I think we try to block it out. We’re such a close unit and we want to have each other’s backs and I think we did that this week.

“We want everyone to be happy and not going through those things so it did affect us but we certainly got through it.”

Titmus: ‘really proud’ at wins

Titmus said she was “low key confident” she would nab four gold medals in Birmingham but was nonetheless elated at her win.

“It’s crazy. I really feel proud and I’m so happy,” she told the hosts.

Grant Hackett revealed earlier this week that the trio at the center of the “love triangle” had sat down together over the storm that has swirled around them at the games.

He said media frenzy had indeed had an impact on the three swimmers, who all wanted to move on from it as soon as possible.

“They’re professionals, they’re teammates, they get along with each other, they respect each other where they need to, and they go out there and they execute performances for the country and they support one another,” he said on Nine’s TodayShow.

“This was a story that was back at the Commonwealth Games trials a couple of months ago, and the three of them put it to bed.

“Kyle’s come out very openly and said, this is a bunch of rubbish,” Hackett said.

“No one had any problems. They couldn’t believe the fuss around it.”

Meanwhile Simpson’s mother said she believed the swimmer is more than equipped to deal with the media scrutiny.

During an interview on Channel 7’s SunriseAngie Simpson claimed that the relentless media attention won’t bother her son, who previously dated American singer Miley Cyrus.

“I think he has been lucky because he has had so much history with press and media before, performing on stage for thousands of people,” she said on Wednesday morning AEST.

“I think the pressures of what he has dealt with in camp and at the Commonwealth Games has been pretty easy for him.

“It has given him an advantage to deal with a lot of those pressures and not let that stuff bother him.”

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Categories
Sports

Commonwealth Games 2022: Cody Simpson’s mum spills on ‘love triangle’ with Emma McKeon, Kyle Chalmers

Cody Simpson’s mother believes the Australian swimmer is more than equipped to deal with media scrutiny as his personal life continues to be put under the spotlight.

The pop icon picked up a gold medal in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay at the Commonwealth Games earlier this week, swimming in the heats before missing out on a spot in the final.

But Simpson’s relationship with Australian champion Emma McKeon has dominated the headlines, with the power couple embroiled in a reported “love triangle” with Olympic gold medalist Kyle Chalmers.

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During an interview on Channel 7’s SunriseAngie Simpson claimed that the relentless media attention won’t bother her son, who previously dated American singer Miley Cyrus.

“I think he has been lucky because he has had so much history with press and media before, performing on stage for thousands of people,” she said on Wednesday morning AEST.

“I think the pressures of what he has dealt with in camp and at the Commonwealth Games has been pretty easy for him.

“It has given him an advantage to deal with a lot of those pressures and not let that stuff bother him.”

Angie also confessed she was initially skeptical about her son’s return to competitive swimming.

“I feel like a bad mum… I just didn’t think he could transition from so many years of that to then go to such isolation,” she explained.

“But he proved me wrong and once he convinced me he wanted to do it I was 100 per cent behind him.”

Simpson began his swimming comeback journey in 2020 after 10 years away from the pool as something of a sideshow alley attraction — but the Queenslander has quickly proven he’s box-office on his swimming credentials alone.

On Wednesday, Simpson finished fifth in the men’s 100m butterfly final, with Dolphins teammate Matt Temple winning a silver medal.

The 25-year-old’s time of 52.06 seconds was the second-quickest of his career, but still outside his personal best of 51.79 seconds.

“I want to inspire young people to know that they can do whatever it is they want to do, even if they feel like it’s too late or they’re too old to pick something up, because it’s never too late,” Simpson told Channel 7 after the race.

“I think with experience comes confidence. And I’m still gathering the experience, so still gaining confidence.

“I am happy to be here. And I think, win or lose today, I’m going to go back to the drawing board and make sure I come back stronger. I’m already way ahead where I thought I would be at this stage.”

Earlier this week, Chalmers slammed the media for focusing on “clickbait” rather than the Dolphins’ impressive results in Birmingham, declaring he’s not sure he wants to continue in the sport if it means dealing with this kind of attention.

The 24-year-old — who has won three gold medals this week — has been forced to repeatedly deny there is any tension between himself, Simpson and McKeon, who was romantically linked to Chalmers last year.

After his golden swim in the 100m freestyle on Tuesday, Chalmers put his finger to his lips to silence the critics, revealing he’d planned the celebration to send a “powerful message” as he affirmed his desire not to let the media “win” .

“It’s all just false news that is actually just crap. It’s honestly just a load of s**t that is not true,” he said.

“I do nothing but be as positive as I possibly can. I support him on the team but, again, people just want clickbait on the article.

“It’s unfortunate that I can’t do anything right at this point in time.

“I think it’s fantastic that he’s here… it’s fantastic for our sport, it brings new viewers in. What he has achieved in two years of swimming is incredible.”

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Categories
Entertainment

Angourie Rice on Honor Society, breaking the fourth wall and the book she always travels with

Ever since Angourie Rice broke out in The Nice Guys as Ryan Gosling’s onscreen daughter, she’s been destined for big things.

Adept at a pithy retort as well as an emotional moment, Rice’s career has been seen her work with some huge names in front of and behind the camera.

Only 21, the Melbourne actor has already staked her place among Kate Winslet and Jean Smart on The Mare of Easttownnext to Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Sofia Coppola in The Beguiled and alongside Miley Cyrus in BlackMirror. She’s also made a mark in ensemble casts, as Betty Brant in Spider-Man: Far From Home and as ingenue Lisa in Ladies in Black.

Honor Society is her first lead role, exactly the challenge Rice was looking for. The teen rom-com features her as Honor, a high-achieving student who decides to take down her academic rivals in the hopes of getting into her dream school, Harvard.

One of those rivals is played by stranger thingsGaten Matarazzo.

On paper, Honor is not a sympathetic character given her scheming, but in Rice’s hands, she’s charming and relatable – and her conspiratorial fourth-wall breaks lets the audience in on her journey.

Rice talked to news.com.au about the challenges of her first lead role, staying grounded on set and how she related to Honor’s instincts to protect herself.

Is it surreal to keep going back to high school? How long do you think you’ll be content to keep playing teenagers?

I graduated [from high school] just over three years ago, so it does feel very fresh in my mind. Also, because I didn’t go to university, [these high school characters] are like the last experience in education that I had.

But there are definitely some really exciting scripts out there that are about young people who aren’t set at high school or college, and I’m excited for more of those for sure.

Are you happy to keep extending that ride for a little big longer?

Honestly, if I’ve learned anything is that as much as I try, I cannot control anything in the film industry. Whatever comes my way, we’ll see.

This character has so many fourth-wall breaks – she’s always speaking to the audience. Was it intimidating to play someone who is so deliberately trying to connect with the audience?

I was nervous to have that much dialogue and to be so switched on in those scenes.

Honor brings the audience in by talking to them, by making them part of her plan. She reels them in. Then the camera and the audience become her conscience of her. She feels judged by them because she’s making some questionable choices.

She reminded me a little bit of election‘s Tracy Flick on that she’s a little intense but not as intense or as unlikeable, even though her plan is some pretty heavy level sabotage of her peers’ future. What were those conversations like the filmmakers in terms of keeping the audience on Honor’s side?

That was important to me. I thought she’s got to be charming and the audience has to want to be part of her plan. Honor should talk to the audience like, ‘let me tell you a little secret and we’ll be a team against everyone else’. What’s exciting about her is that she’s charming, she’s funny and has a sense of humour.

And she’s able to learn and say sorry, to admit it when she’s wrong.

Every role you choose has a different aspect to it. What was new or challenging about Honor Society?

Definitely talking to the camera was a new and exciting challenge for me. Playing a lead – I really wanted to do that. And to map a character’s arc fully. She’s in scene one and scene 100 and every scene in between.

We see her, we see her entire arc and I really wanted to do that. I wanted to show this character change and grow and learn.

What was the experience like of playing the lead? You’re the first person on the call sheet, you’re almost kind of responsible for setting the tone, the energy and the work ethic of everyone beneath you on the call sheet.

It was nerve-racking and very scary. I did feel pressure. But really the thing that made it possible was my sister was there with me the whole time.

She would come to set three or four times a week, and it was great to have her there as an emotional support person.

It really helped to have someone, when you’re so in the world of [a character] and fixated on something, to have someone from home, who’s there reminding you to drink water and to stop talking about yourself, to go home and just watch movies.

For Honor, the book The Handmaid’s Tale is like her bible. I know you have Community Librarya podcast talking about books so what’s your bible that you carry with you?

It’s Pride and Prejudice. I usually travel with a copy just in case I need it. It’s like comfort food to me. I know the story so well, I’ve read it so many times. Every time I dive back in, it’s like coming home. Every time I read it, I find new things to laugh at or new things to learn.

How many times do you think you’ve read it?

Maybe seven or eight times. I read it again right now.

Have you ever pictured yourself playing Lizzie Bennett?

Absolutely! I feel like every Jane Austen fan has. Whenever you read Pride and Prejudiceno one is saying ‘I want to be Mary’.

There’s a line in Honor Society that really struck me. It’s at the beginning and it’s obviously part of where the character starts before she goes on her arc. She says, ‘To survive, I hide within myself’. Is that something you’ve ever done as somebody with a fairly high-profile job and public persona?

Definitely. It’s something that I really related to with the character because she puts up this facade to protect herself from people knowing who she really is, because what if they don’t like her?

I really related to that.

Yes, as a person with a public profile but also as anyone going through high school, anyone who has social media, anyone living a life as a teenager.

That’s what being a teenager is, it’s hiding who you really are because you are so anxious that people aren’t going to like you, and changing who you are to please certain people. That was one of the main things of the movie that really struck me when I first read it.

Honor Society is streaming now on Paramount+

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