Entertainment & Arts

Ten Male Singers With Phenomenal Falsetto

Following a suggestion for another user, I decided I'd do another one of these singer takes, this time documenting some of the greatest falsetto registers in music. Once again, there's no way I could include every great singer on a list of ten names, so I've made this list with a couple of requirements:

-I have opted to base this list not just on how good the singer's falsetto is, but how crucial it is to their vocals, so I've opted for more falsetto 'specialists' over singers like Freddie Mercury, Michael Jackson and Brendon Urie who use falsetto very well, but are probably still known more for their vocal skill in general, not just their falsetto registers.

-Also, when I say 'falsetto', I'm really talking about that very light-sounding kind of head voice, not the more gritty kind of stuff heard from singers like Ian Gillan and so on.

Anyway, without further ado, let's begin.

Tiny Tim

The first name that comes to mind as soon as the word 'falsetto' is mentioned, Tiny Tim set the bar for musical comedians for decades to come. The ironically named singer with his tiny ukulele dwarfed in his huge hands entertained fans for more than thirty years with his ludicrous personality and, of course, his falsetto.


Barry Gibb

The usual lead singer for the Bee Gees, Barry Gibb's falsetto register was the 1970s encapsulated. Though his control to sing almost entire songs exclusively up there was probably his most memorable feature, he could go for the spectacular as well- watch out for the huge high note at 3:09:


Roger Taylor

Queen's incredible drummer graced their earlier records in particular with some stellar falsetto. Often his vocals are hidden within layers of harmonies by his bandmates, but his soaring high notes were one of the many components of their legacy, like the ethereal vibes added to this early track here:


Philip Bailey

Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire genuinely might beat all comers on this list to the crown of 'greatest falsetto register.' What's even more staggering is he's barely lost a smidgeon of it even now, live, well into his sixties. Sit back and admire the man's outrageous chops from about 3:00 onwards in this live performance from 2006- starting out with some low notes before going into some of the craziest high singing you'll ever hear.


Prince

Prince was a tough call for this list, as his name often crops up too on the lists of popular singers with the biggest ranges. But I had to throw him in, just to give the nod to his incredible falsetto register. He unleashes both ends of his crazy range in this song from 3:29 onwards, with first lows and then soaring falsetto to cap it off.


King Diamond

The King. The lead singer of cult 80s heavy metal phenomenon Mercyful Fate, and architect of a subsequent hugely successful solo career, King Diamond may be one of the most influential figures to ever grace the genre, with his shrieking vocals and comically exaggerated evil persona earning the chagrin of many a musical conservative (see Tipper Gore's 'Filthy Fifteen' list of controversial songs in the 1980s- Prince also leads that list, unsurprisingly). Having quit smoking in the last few years, the King has found a new lease of life live, and is another sexagenarian who continues to perform with exceptional aplomb for his age.


Jeff Buckley

Ethereal, beautiful. Jeff Buckley released only a single album before his untimely passing, drowning after going out for an apparently routine swim. His legacy is now woven into the fabric of modern music through his heart-rending vocals, best represented by his wonderful falsetto register. Every recorded performance of his now reverberates with poignancy, his performance at Glastonbury builds to an incredible climax post-6:30 before a stupefying high note at 6:57.


Justin Hawkins

Hooray, rock n roll Tiny Tim. But seriously, who doesn't love The Darkness? Try getting this song out of your head once you've heard it again. I dare you.


Vitas

Long before Vitas was showing up waggling his tongue on your news feed, he was alarming us all with high notes like these. He's never far from the controversies of studio editing and lip-synching (the clip below is about as live as... well, something clearly not live) but this list would be incomplete without his dolphin-like highs. :)


Sam Smith

It wasn't for nothing that Sam Smith scaled up the charts the minute his first album dropped in 2014. With four Grammys and a stack of other awards, he's one of the most talented artists to emerge this decade, and caps off our list of superb falsettos.


Yes, yes, I know, there's more who could have easily made the list. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this MyTake, and I'd be happy to see who else you think could have been on it. Thanks for reading :)

Ten Male Singers With Phenomenal Falsetto
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