Lead singer of Busted and FightStar, Charlie Simpson, has released a new EP which includes covers of songs which he sang on TV show, The Masked Singer UK. Charlie Simpson was announced the winner on the final of the show on Saturday (18 February) after being revealed as the star performing in the disguise of a Rhino. The EP is called KIFARU, which is Swahili for rhino. The EP features three covers of songs he performed on the show, Lewis Capaldi’s ‘‘Before You Go”, ”Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol and ”Use Somebody” by Kings Of Leon. The extended play also features a new version of his song, ‘‘I See You,” the original version of the song was his first release from his fourth studio album, Hope Is A Drug.
Following Simpson’s The Masked Singer win, he shared the announcement of his EP to his fans on Instagram, where he posted a video singing ”Use Somebody” and takes off the Rhino mask he wore on the show. During the video, an on-screen statement from the musician is shown, stating ”Well this has been a hard secret to keep… Reading all of your comments each week has been awesome. Ive been so blown away by all the support. So I’ve decided to release a few songs I sang on the show, as an EP named ‘KIFARU,’ the Swahili word for rhino.I hope you like it. Big love x”
During the final of The Masked Singer and prior to Charlie Simpson’s win, other disguised contestants were revealed. 49-year-old pop-star, Natalie Appleton, from girl group All Saints, was revealed as Fawn, whereas Phoenix was revealed as Kaiser Chief’s frontman, Ricky Wilson. After Simpson was unveiled as the man behind the rhino mask, The Masked Singer panellist Rita Ora asked Simpson, ”So can I ask you, were you taken back by the experience?” to which he responded ”I was terrified the entire time because the thing I was scared most about was remembering lyrics, because I often forget lyrics to my own songs on stage.”
During his Unmasked interview, he explains that the experience was a ”rollacoaster of emotions” and reflects on his time on the show.
The Dad-of-two is renowned for his distinctive vocal tone and astounding music career, during bands and as a solo artist, releasing twelve studio albums overall. Charlie Simpson is most well-known for being a part of Pop-Punk band, Busted, from Southend-On-Sea, Essex. Alongside Simpson, the band consists of James Bourne and Matt Willis. During their career, the band has had four UK number one singles and released four studio albums, self-titled album Busted (2002), A Present for Everyone (2003), Night Driver (2016) and Half Way There (2019). Selling over five million records, the band also won two Brit awards. Charlie Simpson also fronted London Rock band, FightStar, with band members Alex Westaway, Omar Abidi and Dan Haigh. FightStar released four studio albums as a band before their hiatus in 2015, Grand Unification (2006), Be Human (2009), One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours (2007) and Behind the Devil’s Back (2015). Simpson also succeeded in a career as a solo artist releasing four studio albums, Young Pilgrim (2011), Long Road home (2014), Little Hands (2016) and Hope is A Drug (2022).
KIFARU is available to listen to on all streaming platforms.
