After claiming victory in the season 6 finale on Wednesday, Jewel is excited for the future.
The Masked Singer has a new champion, who took home the Golden Mask trophy at the end of the season 6 finale on Wednesday. After two epic performances, The Queen of Hearts won the audience vote, and had to finally unmask.
With some help from host Nick Cannon, The Queen of Hearts revealed herself to be none other than beloved singer-songwriter Jewel!
Jewel spoke with ET ahead of Wednesday's big finale, and reflected on the rewarding experience of taking part in Fox's wonderfully surreal singing competition series.
"The show allowed me to focus on the most essential, most sincere, most authentic part of myself, which I find really sort of surprising, but is one of the things I really love about the show," Jewel shared.
Because of the anonymity inherent in being a part of the show, Jewel marveled at being able to perform without the weight of any preconceptions or expectations from the audience.
"You weren't focused on my name, my past accomplishments, those were just clues that let people guess you," she said. "What I got to show about myself was the most sincere thing about me, which is my heart and what I stand for."
In the season finale, Jewel's Queen of Hearts went head-to-head with The Bull, who was unmasked and revealed to be singer Todrick Hall. While both contestants delivered breathtaking performances in the finale -- and all season long -- Jewel's jaw-dropping finale performance of Katy Perry's "Firework" seemed to have sealed the deal.
Throughout the season, Jewel routinely delivered covers of hits that she put her own unique take on, and it turns out the singer was exceptionally involved in her musical choices on the show. Which is why she's recorded and released an EP featuring the covers she performed on the show, titled Queen of Hearts, which dropped right as the finale came to a close.
"I loved these songs, and I worked so hard on the arrangements," Jewel shared, explaining that she worked with the "tireless" music supervisors on the show to create her dream covers. "It was just so fun and so collaborative, I just wanted these songs to be available, I knew my fans would want them."
"And I was really proud! I was proud of how I sang 'La Vie En Rose,'" she added, referring to her performance of the iconic, French Edith Piaf tune, which was an undeniable highlight of the season. "I'm really glad I got to sing these songs that I worship, so I wanted them to live forever."
Apart from her arrangements, Jewel also had a hand in the creation and design of her particularly memorable Queen of Hearts costume.
"I'm a visual artist and I was working on a sculpture of a heart that was breaking open and an eye was coming out of it... and it was based on something that I wrote, 'All of our hearts are destined to be broken, it's what we do with the pieces that make us extraordinary,'" she recalled. "So, when I decided to do this show, I wanted to base my costume on that. So I worked with the costume designers to make it happen."
The end result of their efforts was what fans saw on stage during the season and is one of the most visually striking costumes in the show's history.
Looking to the future, Jewel is gearing up to go on tour next summer. She's also preparing for the release of her new album, Freewheelin' Woman -- her first studio album in seven years.
"It's leaning on the pop side, but has more of a soul feel," Jewel said of her forthcoming studio album. "I wrote more for my voice, which was the first time I've really challenged myself as a writer to write melodies that challenged me vocally."
However, with everything that is on her plate, Jewel said that she's focused with her heart and soul on her 10-year-old son, Kase.
"Not a lot of people talk about this, but being a mom in the music business is hard," Jewel said. "The industry is not kind to women once we have children. Part of it is just the lifestyle, because we have to tour and travel and promote, and I made a commitment to my son that I was going to be a dedicated and present mom, and so I'm always looking for things that let me do my art... but then let me be a mom."
"So The Masked Singer was like a perfect fit," she added. "It doesn't take a ton of time to film, it let me push myself vocally and show a part of myself I've never shown before, and it let me be on a really popular show, it let me talk about a new record without having to leave my son at home right now."
Ultimately, Jewel had nothing but praise for her time on the show, which clearly resonated with fans and those who got the chance to see her perform live. And for the beloved singer, it seems like it's the impact she can have on people that matters to her when it comes to her music.
"I don't think people remember how good you sing, they remember how you make them feel," she said. "So I just try to stay focused on that."
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