My 5 favourite non-mainstream singers

Hi everybody!

Today I was sitting, listening to my iTunes playlist and I realized that, besides the usual suspects (Queen, Stevie Wonder, Toto, Michael Jackson, Genesis, Yes, Aretha Franklin and Jeff Buckley), my playlist was being dominated by five artists in particular, and it is my divine obligation to share their art with the rest of the world.

Now, don’t get me wrong: the title “my five favourite non-mainstream singers” is not a hipster statement. Not being mainstream isn’t the reason why I listen to them. They are simply five artist who haven’t been signed by a major record label (that is EMI, Virgin, Universal, Sony or Warner), and therefore aren’t so well-known by mass audiences. And THEY SHOULD, because they’re really, really good and the whole world should know them.

This blog entry isn’t about the five BEST non mainstream singers. They’re just my five FAVOURITES nowadays. I’m sure tomorrow I’ll listen to five new ones and will fall in love with them. And when that happens, I guess I’ll just write a new entry.

So, without further ado, I’ll leave you with:

My 5 favourite non-mainstream singers

Marc Martel (Canada)

The good thing about the Information Age and Internet overall is the possibility of any content to turn viral and massive in a matter of hours. That was the case with Marc Martel.

Marc Martel is the lead singer of the Canadian christian rock band downhere, in which he spent a decade and a half. When Queen decided to create an official tribute band, Queen Extravaganza, an international audition to find its members was set, Marc sent his own version of Somebody to Love and it was universally acclaimed, not only because of his physical resemblance with Freddie, but also because of the uncanny similarity of their voices. He was, naturally, chosen to go through all rounds and was ultimately chosen as the lead singer of the band.

Besides his appearances along Queen Extravaganza, Marc has released his debut solo album, Impersonator, only four months ago. And clearly, Martel is much, much more than an “impersonator”. While yes, the vocal resemblance is uncanny, both in tone and mannerisms, this new album shows a much wider facet of his musicianship. Marc has clearly found his own voice, and while it does sound very Mercury-like at times (you can’t fight genetics, can you?), it is full with his own nuances and details, which makes him, in my own opinion, one of the best singers out there today.

I’ll leave you with four examples of his great talent. The first one is the already mentioned “Somebody To Love” audition. The second one is the well-known christmas carol “O Holy Night” (and trust me, a FABULOUS performance). A Keith Green cover follows, “Asleep in the Light“, and one of YouTube’s greatest pearls, the “Mercurotti“, his own version of Puccini’s aria Nessun Dorma, recorded in one take as both Pavarotti and Mercury. Absolutely wonderful.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sXLwLRXkEs

Kurt Nilsen (Norway)

Kurt Nilsen is one of the singers that I’ve known for just a couple a years and has quickly become one of my favourites. Norway is a country known for his contribution to the international metal scene, specially in genres such as death, gothic and black metal. So, when Norway did their own version of Pop Idol (like American Idol, but in Norway. Let’s just call it Norwegian Idol) in 2003, no one could imagine their first winner would be a singer with a country voice. That’s Kurt Nilsen right there.

Next year, a one-off international version of Pop Idol, called World Idol, featuring winners of the various national Idol shows around the world competing against each other was aired. Kurt won the World Idol by unanimity, beating heavy favourites like America’s Kelly Clarkson and Britain’s Will Young.

That’s how he earned a highly successful solo career in Scandinavia, from which his collaboration with his norwegian colleagues Espen Lind, Askil Holm y Alejandro Fuentes stands out. From this collab was born a lovely version of Hallelujah, which made a huge impact on YouTube.

Ian Dickson, the Australian judge, said: “Kurt, you are a hell of a marketing challenge, because you have the voice of an angel, but you look like a Hobbit.” The second part is debatable, but he got one thing right: Kurt does have the voice of an angel. Warm, mellow and with that slight raspiness of country voices. A voice not to be missed.

I’ll leave you with three songs by Kurt. The first one is the before mentioned Hallelujah. Kurt starts singing after Fuentes, around the 2:00 mark. By far, the best voice out of the four. The other two are two versions of “Never Easy“, the third single from his second album, A studio version first and then a live version with Espen Lind. A delight.

John Farnham (Australia)

Fine, I admit it: I cheated. Under NO circumstance can John Farnham be considered non-mainstream, having been signed by and released albums with EMI, Columbia and BMG. With a career spanning over 45 years, several #1 singles, the distinction of being the best-selling artist of all Australia (topping AC/DC) and his best-known single, “You’re the Voice” being #1 in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Austria, Iceland and an impressive #6 in the UK.

With a vocal range seemingly boundless, with astounding clarity and diction, John has immense control of his voice, with a remarkably raspy tone at times yet turning it absolutely soft and ethereal almost at will, no wonder he was picked as the best australian voice of all times.

Why did I decided to add him to this list, ignoring completely my own concept? Because what I chose has nothing to do with John’s solo career. In 1992, Australia staged their own version (double album included) of Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, with Farnham playing the role of Jesus. What is so special about this version? The songs are way rockier than the originals, although they take some poetic licenses regarding the chords, they veer away from the progressive rock from the original in the 70s and the more “musical theatre” style of the modern version, leaning more towards hard rock. JSC’s Jesus is one of the most demanding roles in music theatre and John did an amazing job on it.

I’ll leave you with five tracks by Farnham: The first one is the classic “You’re the Voice“, so you remember which song we were talking about. Then, I’ll give you some examples of his participation in Jesus Christ Superstar:  “Poor Jerusalem” live, the showstopper “Gethsemane“, also live, and two versions of “The Last Supper“, one live and one from the album, so you can appreciate the vocal prowess of the Aussie. This track is definitely one of the highlights of the whole thing. Either mainstream or not, John’s voice is IMMENSE. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53eBptfM17g

Jason Raize (United States)

The story of Jason Raize is both tragic and sad. An incredibly talented musical theater actor, who was casted to perform along Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson in Jesus Christ Superstar at age 19, which led him a few years later the opportunity of playing Simba in The Lion King, one of the most emblematic and popular musicals of the 90s.

Once The Lion King was over in 2000, Jason starred his own show, Keeping It Wild With Jason Raize, where he traveled all over the world and visited exotic places like Costa Rica, Africa and Australia. By his own admission, he fell madly in love with Australia: with the land, the animals and the people. In 2003, he returned to the spotlight by voicing Dehani in Disney’s animated film Brother Bear, but nobody could foresee what it was about to happen. Later that year, he went back to Australia to rethink the direction of his career. And sadly, on February 2004, at barely 28 years of age, Jason’s lifeless body was found hanging in the shed of the farm he was working on. A tragic end to a very promising career.

Owning a warm voice, full of color and resonance, and with a distinctive baritonal quality within his tenor voice, Jason fell victim of Broadway’s maelstrom, a rising star whose light ultimately extinguished.

Out of the three songs I chose to show you, two are from The Lion King. The first one, Endless Night, is the studio version of Simba’s emotional cries to his deceased father. The second one is a mashup of both reprises of “He Lives in You“, performed live by the whole cast in Rosie O’Donnell’s show; and the last one, from the album The Paul Simon Album: Broadway Sings the Best of Paul Simon”, where several Broadway stars sing different songs from, yes, you guessed it, Paul Simon, I present you Jason’s version of Simon & Garfunkel’s The Sound of Silence“. Pure ecstasy.

And the big ending. At least, but not least….

Ping An / Anson (China)

Ping An (also known as Anson) is one of my most recent unknown pearls. He was only unveiled to the world in 2012, and I’ve known him only for a year or so. Anson was one of the most remarkable singers in The Voice China, shocking the judges with his performance of the hymnic chinese traditional song “我爱你中国“, or “I love you, China“, in English.

Ping An, 36 years old today, born in Shanghai, was a well-known singer in the city’s pub circuit, until his appearance on the show rose him to national stardom almost overnight. Despite not winning the contest, the chinese audience considered the result as unfair and he is considered nowadays as the “moral and unofficial winner” of the show, performing for big audiences and on TV shows, mostly for charity. A few months ago he embarked on his first shows in North America.

His voice transcends language. I don’t know many others who can manage to excite and thrill me without understanding a single word. An angelical tenor voice, Mercurian at times, capable of the softest whispers and the most piercing screams, never losing absolute control of his instrument, and possessing a tone that just melts you. Ping sings from his heart, and it shows.

I’m going to post four songs by him. Three of them were from his appearance on The Voice: the blind audition, the battle rounds and his solo performance. The last one is a post-The Voice traditional chinese song.

An incredibly promising voice, wrapped up in a package full of humility and warmth. I wish his stay outside the mainstream is short-lived, and millions and millions of people all around the world can enjoy his art. He deserves it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU5XHx7cAHg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3_xjJm6dqw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-zYssrC0GQ

I hope you liked it! I certainly did. Let me know what you think and feel free to recommend new singers in the comments below!

Till next time!