TooFab spoke with Kramer after she was unmasked as the Royal Knight on Thursday, where she talked about how doing the show helped her regain confidence as a performer.

“It was amazing. I had so much more fun because I feel like even though I’m confident at times, there are other times where I’m not confident at all,” she said. “And my self-esteem…I think in my 20s and 30s I was definitely more self-aware.”

“I always said… ‘I’m not the best singer,’ because I always knew there was someone better on my label, or I got my record deal just because I was on One Tree Hill‘, and all those things,’ she continued. And so I think I’ve always held myself back a little bit because I was never praised as the person with a good voice.

“So doing this show helped me gain a little bit of confidence because I wasn’t putting pressure on myself. I didn’t care about the judgement.”

Kramer said she was also “pleasantly surprised” by both the comments from fans who guessed her early on and the judges’ comments.

“They compared me to some singers because they had crazy voices. So I thought, ‘Okay, maybe I’m not as bad as I thought,'” Kramer joked.

And fans have been throwing her name into the ring for a few weeks now, with Kramer telling TooFab she was “shocked” by how many people were right on her nose TMS appearances during her three episodes on the show.

“When I go to the comments section on Masked Singer, they say, ‘It’s Jana Kramer! It’s Jana Kramer!’, and I was shocked that so many people would guess me,” Kramer said when asked who she thinks is will be. surprised to see her unmasked.

“So I don’t know, because I feel like I – I don’t have the best voice. I have a very distinct voice, so I feel like the people who know me know it,” she continued. “They say, ‘You can try to fool us and try to say, I don’t know.’ I thought, ‘Oh, that’s weird. I’ve never seen that show. Why do you think it’s me?’ And they say, ‘Shut up.’ So actually I don’t think there will be any surprises.”

As for how she feels about where she ended up during the season, Kramer said she got to “exactly” where she thought she would make it during the competition.

“There are so many great singers and I was happy doing the three episodes. I was actually just so excited and everything because I knew I wasn’t going to go all the way. So in my mind when I know I’m If I don’t want to go all the way for something, I think, ‘Let’s just do a few episodes and then go back to my kids,'” she explained. “So it was so much fun, and I was really happy with it, and it’s incredible talent, so it wasn’t sad that I only had three episodes got.”

Kramer’s TMS gig isn’t the only thing she’s grateful for; this Thanksgiving, she’ll also get a chance to spend time with her family in Michigan, some of whom will meet her and her husband Alan Russell’s family. one year old sonRoman, for the first time.

“We have the big ones, Jolie and Jace,” Kramer said of her oldest children, 8 and 5, whom she shares with ex, Mike Caussin. “So we’re actually in Michigan right now…with the family and my grandma is meeting Roman for the first time. So it’s definitely a special little Thanksgiving. Our guy.”

Seeing the show with her husband and three children has come full circle for the proud mother, who has had years of ups and downs in the public eye, including her public divorce from Caussin and abusive first marriage to Michael Gambino.

“It’s come full circle. I’m very grateful and I hope it gives hope to other people who are either lost or feeling hopeless and that they won’t have that fairytale ending because I think it’s there.” everyone,” Kramer said. “It’s a matter of whether we get it or not.”

Although Kramer’s 2021 divorce from Caussin was a messy one, the two are on good terms these days, with the One Tree Hill alum even carries it with him Whine down podcast — and include him among the lucky ones who know about her TMS performance.

And even though the show took her away from her children, Kramer said it’s something she’d love to do again someday.

“I mean, listen, I take every experience that I do and I find something that I can learn from and grow from, and so I’m always open to anything,” she said.

The Masked Singer heads into the quarterfinals and returns to regular evenings next Wednesday at 8pm ET on Fox.