Vanessa Hudgens Says Winning The Masked Singer Was ‘Definitely Quite the Ride’

The actress was unmasked as Goldfish on the May 22 finale of the Fox singing competition

Vanessa Hudgens is reminiscing about her Masked Singer triumph.

After winning the Fox singing competition on Wednesday, May 22, as Goldfish, the actress, 35, opened up about how her costume gave her the anonymity to be free.

“It was definitely quite the ride,” Hudgens — who is expecting her first baby with husband Cole Tucker — told Entertainment Tonight. “A ride I did not think would affect me so deeply.”

The High School Musical star went on to explain that she felt empowered after being able to be herself onstage for the first time in a while.

“I’ve been in the spotlight for many, many moons now, and there’s just a preconceived idea, I think, when you see yourself on stage, that you’re familiar with,” she said.

Hudgens added, “And being able to take that away and be completely stripped of that and show up as myself and feel completely free to do so, because I was completely covered up really just gave me a sense of freedom that I hadn’t had in a minute. And it was really empowering.”

Hudgens also told the outlet that she decided to go on the show after her fans kept telling her that she should sing more.

“It came at the perfect time,” she said. “We were on strike and I was trying to figure out my next move, and this is the space that I actually could work in.”

Hudgens’ final performance as Goldfish saw her perform Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” while the show’s runner-up Gumball (Ginny & Georgia star Scott Porter) sang “Renegade” by Styx.

The season 11 finale came after the pair had survived 14 unmaskings throughout the series.