Chase Padgett Says Competing on ‘Alter Ego’ was Difficult, Liberating
Fox Reading Time: 3 minutes
Chase Padgett, also known as Orlando DeVille, auditioned for Alter Ego and quickly found himself on the chopping block. Before Alter Ego he was performing several one man shows, premiered short films, and even sang on the Disney Cruise Line. Why was he up for elimination the day of his audition?
Chase auditioned for Alter Ego with “I Wish” by Stevie Wonder. As soon as he was on the stage, the celebrity panelists commented on his golden appearance. Chase said he chose to make his character gold to represent the golden oldies like Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles.
Who is Chase Padgett?
Chase was sought out by FOX producers after a TikTok went viral. The video featured his vocals in the background with the camera pointed at the ceiling. Before this experience on Alter Ego, he had never seen himself as a singer. He’s like Bo Burnham, known for doing a bunch of different things on stage. In the long run, FOX definitely taught him that he is a singer.
Before Alter Ego, Chase performed acoustically in his one-man show, all over America. This singer has a lot of on stage experience whether it be from his one man show, or improv career. But, singing was just never purely what he did on stage. As a seasoned performer, Chase had little things to help him when he stepped foot on stage. He explained that this experience was totally different than any other performance he had done before.
“There’s a funny thing that happens to me whenever I get on stage in front of a live audience I’m nervous beforehand then right when I get on stage the nerves melt away,” Chase said. “But when you’re backstage and you’re not in front of the audience directly, that dissipation of anxiety doesn’t happen. I stayed anxious the whole time.”
He also said he had to learn to handle his new found anxiety on stage, which made this a unique experience within itself. On top of his new nerves, he was unable to play guitar in his performances. He was typically used to performing acoustically, so this must’ve been a huge change for him. Motion capture (mocap) suits were literally worn head to toe, which prevented him from strumming and picking.
Performers Wore the Suits for HOW LONG?
If you’ve looked up any of the Alter Ego cast members on social media, you might have noticed that they sound a bit different on the show than they do online. Although it could be due to nerves, Chase shared that the cast typically wore their mocap suits for 14 hours straight.
That’s a long time to be in a skin tight suit! Don’t worry, Chase did specify that the contestants were all given personal assistants to help with eating and drinking. But that didn’t make up for the fact that the suits weren’t necessarily comfortable.
“It can be challenging to do your best as a singer when you’ve been in a mocap suit for 14 hours straight,” Chase said. “It’s not uncomfortable, but it’s not comfortable.”
He shared that the show features a lot of moving parts, and a lot of people involved. Not to mention, audience members were on set for 6-8 hours per day. All of these little moving parts are what make the one hour show on FOX happen.
Living away from family is not a new phenomenon for this singer, but the show was difficult for him because he could not share his excitement with his wife in person. He shared that the contestants of the show were allowed to have family and friends visit during filming. But, he recently got married to a Canadian and it was almost impossible for her to cross the border during the Covid-19 pandemic until their last week of filming.
Although he often missed his wife, he did share that the cast of Alter Ego quickly became his family. He said the real prize of the show was the people involved. Even though Chase had not been on a talent show before, he made sure to emphasize that the type of friendship the competitors have isn’t typical for a show like this.
We love you Chase! ❤️ #QueenDynamite