If Freddie Mercury had a secret love child...

[BigB08822]

It would be Marc Martel! This guy is amazing. His video has gone viral over the last 24 hours and I found his videos on youtube. Here is the one that went viral, it is of him singing Somebody To Love. He is NOT lipsynching so please don't start with that. There are plenty of other videos to prove this is his voice:

Somebody To Love

Then this live performance of Bohemian Rhapsody is insane:

Bohemian Rhapsody

The name of his band is Downhere. It is a Christian band and their music is really good but I don't care for Christian music. I might make an exception for his voice. I hate to sound rude but I wish he would do something more mainstream with his talent but whatever makes him happy. I just know he could do a lot with that voice and make some amazing money.

[Cachoo]

I wonder if Queen would want to hire him much in the same way that Journey hired a Steve Perry sound alike. Of course there will always be only one Freddie...

[IceAlisa]

This just makes me miss Freddie Mercury. Today he could have been saved.

[BigB08822]

I am glad someone finally responded. I was beginning to think I was the only person to think this was amazing.

[uyeahu]

I am glad someone finally responded. I was beginning to think I was the only person to think this was amazing.

When I saw the original video earlier this week it had around 5,000 views and now it's near 2 million. I don't think you're the only person to think it's amazing.

[overedge]

He has a nice voice, but to me it sounds a little thinner and breathier than Freddy's.

[IceAlisa]

He sort of looks like Freddie too.

[michiruwater]

Marc Martel performing 'Nessun Dorma.'

And a mash-up comparing Marc and Freddie.

He's pretty amazing.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I thought this thread was about Mika.

[dinakt]

This just makes me miss Freddie Mercury. Today he could have been saved.

Oh, be still, my heart.
I worship Freddie Mercury, his voice, his musicality, his intensity, his band's songs.
Marc has an amazing voice, absolutely; and he has all the Freddie's mannerisms. But it's just too "clean", he is singing it like Broadway. He does look like Freddie's love child though.
I hope Marc has a great career as a Broadway singer, or a cross- over singer like Bocelli, Il Divo member or such. His Nessun Dorma is very good, despite the pop mannerisms. I think I am more impressed with it than with the Freddie impersonation.

[haribobo]

Marc has an amazing voice, absolutely; and he has all the Freddie's mannerisms. But it's just too "clean", he is singing it like Broadway. He does look like Freddie's love child though.

This. He's like a good karaoke singer who has great pitch but a subpar voice. I'll take Elliott Yamin's version any day of the week over Marc's wonderbread copy....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqt_C9DWH9Q

[cailuj365]

I thought this thread was about Mika.

+1



Marc does sound very much like Freddie. Great voice and cover. A little too good actually, haha. The cover was almost like a copy.

[julieann]

I miss Freddie....and Marc is very good.

[Civic]

He has a good voice and sings "Bohemian Rhapsody" well. However, there is more to being a successful rock front man than just singing. Freddie Mercury had panache, swagger and incredible energy on stage. This guy doesn't have the same command of the stage. Also, Freddie wrote many of Queen's songs, including "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Btw, is it just me or did Marc Martel flub some of the lyrics. Weren't the original lyrics "put a pistol to his head, pulled my trigger now he's dead"?

[IceAlisa]

No. It was always "put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead". Believe me I know, I've been singing along for decades.

Oh Freddie, Freddie...

[Really]

Wow...

ETA: Canuckistani too! PatC, he's from your neck of the woods

[agalisgv]

Just some background--as Really said, the band Martel plays in, Downhere, is a Canadian contemporary christian music (ccm) group. They haven't made it big in the US yet. Anyhow, in this band, Martel is actually a back-up singer and guitarist. There's another guy who does keyboard and lead vocals.

Now, one thing common in ccm is doing covers of other widely known music--particularly praise songs, but also mainstream stuff. Much of the music Downhere does at this point are covers. They do them fine, but they don't stand out bc of it.

I say that all as preface--the singing Martel is noted for is covers. In the vids above, he sounded very similar to Mercury. But in other covers he's done, he sounds almost exactly like the original singers of those songs (I'll post a link later). All of which is to say Martel is very good at imitating the voices and styles of others, but isn't known for a distinctive voice and style of his own. He can imitate a wide range of singers very well, but if he's not imitating others, he sounds rather average. Ergo why he's a back-up singer only at this point.

Maybe the popularity of these vids will encourage him to further develop as an artist.

[agalisgv]

Here's Martel doing a cover of Keith Green's Asleep in the Light.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yopyz...e_gdata_player

Just FYI--Green was a giant in ccm a few decades ago. He was tragically killed at a young age in a plane crash. His music was concerned with making Christians less comfortable so they would walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. Asleep in the Light rather sums up Green's approach to music ministry IMO.

Anyhow, in this cover, Martel sounds *exactly* like Green. It's uncanny how similar it is. In other songs, Martel will sound just like DC Talk (before their lead singer switched to Newsboys). Martel is very good at imitating other singers. And he has a good voice regardless. But he's kinda a chameleon that way.

[nubka]

The child would have really baaaaaad teeth.

[genevieve]

I agree with others - Martel has a very good voice, and I'd say his voice is well suited to Queen songs - but I don't think he sounds just like Freddie Mercury. He's definitely no Arnel Pineda (Journey's replacement singer who does sound astoundingly like Steve Perry).