Marc Martel of Downhere sings Queen!?

I found these auditions on youtube via another music site I go to. This is a video of Marc Martel (frontman for Downhere) auditioning to sing lead in a Queen tribute band sponsored by the members of Queen themselves! Needless to say, the video has gone viral with well over a million views now (the closest to his only has around 30,000 or so). He pretty much has the competition in the bag and will be singing in a Queen tribute band all next year! And no, he's not leaving Downhere, he decided to do this because their tour schedule was very sparse next year and he has the time to do it. Here's the tape (and no, it's not actually Freddie Mercury singing and he isn't lip syncing )

With the right wig, he even looks somewhat like Freddie. He definitely has the sound.

Wow he sounds fantastic. If he has the stage presence too, it would be great to see.

Yeah, I saw this on FB and posted my amazement at his talent... I had no idea it was the dude from Downhere !?!?

Wow, I'm down with the talent, and think it's cool he's gonna have some work, but will he be compromising his faith any by taking this gig ? Some of Queen's songs have lyrics against Christian values and some are even blasphemous.

(ie "Bicycle")

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

Yeah, I saw this on FB and posted my amazement at his talent... I had no idea it was the dude from Downhere !?!?

Wow, I'm down with the talent, and think it's cool he's gonna have some work, but will he be compromising his faith any by taking this gig ? Some of Queen's songs have lyrics against Christian values and some are even blasphemous.

(ie "Bicycle")

I don't think he would, but I guess it would depend which songs they sing and whether he would be the one picking the songs. He said the only reason he's taking this gig is because touring for Downhere would be very sparse next year so it would be the perfect time if ever. I would like to think that after he's done with the tour that sales for Downhere would skyrocket because of his voice's mainstream exposure too.

As a die-hard Downhere fan, I am glad to see the attention he's getting with this. Where did you hear that he did this because of the sparse touring schedule next year? While they won't be touring in support of a new album next year (their latest album came out about a month ago), I hadn't heard that, and I've been following this pretty closely (especially because I run their messageboard ).

The lyrical content of Queen songs could indeed pose a problem, but if he doesn't let that influence his faith, I don't think it'll be a huge issue.

I do feel kind of bad for the others who entered for the vocal part, as there's no way anyone else is going to be able to compete with him, but it seems like most of those who entered are very supportive of Marc and his voice.

I showed the video to my brother who's 49. His jaw was on the carpet. He said that's an amazing gift to sound exactly like Freddie, all he's missing is Freddie's overbite. lol

Quote :

The lyrical content of Queen songs could indeed pose a problem, but if he doesn't let that influence his faith, I don't think it'll be a huge issue

I'm not primarily concerned that it would affect his faith (although His Savior wouldn't care too much for him mis-using the Name of Christ), I'd be concerned about it affecting his fans... If he wasn't a self proclaimed Christian artist, it's no big deal, but since he IS, he has a responsibility to represent.

That Stryper dude sang for Boston, but I'm pretty sure he only did their morally clean/neutral songs. I'm not sure if he performed "smokin'" or not, which isn't an anti-Christian song, it just glorifies smoking. Unfortunately Queen has a few songs that would be impossible for a Christian to sing without changing the lyrics.

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

Quote :

The lyrical content of Queen songs could indeed pose a problem, but if he doesn't let that influence his faith, I don't think it'll be a huge issue

I'm not primarily concerned that it would affect his faith (although His Savior wouldn't care too much for him mis-using the Name of Christ), I'd be concerned about it affecting his fans... If he wasn't a self proclaimed Christian artist, it's no big deal, but since he IS, he has a responsibility to represent.

That Stryper dude sang for Boston, but I'm pretty sure he only did their morally clean/neutral songs. I'm not sure if he performed "smokin'" or not, which isn't an anti-Christian song, it just glorifies smoking. Unfortunately Queen has a few songs that would be impossible for a Christian to sing without changing the lyrics.

I don't think he has much to worry about as far as it affecting his fans. Everyone seems very supportive of him and excited about this opportunity. I do understand the concern with the lyrics though - "Fat-Bottomed Girls" isn't a very friendly song, and "7 Seas Of Rhye" seems like a rather strange tune. I'm really only familiar with their biggest hits though - "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", "Bohemian Rhapsody", etc. Hopefully Roger Taylor will be willing to work with Marc to choose a set list that will please the fans without forcing Marc to sing stuff that he'd be against singing.

Oldiesmann wrote:

As a die-hard Downhere fan, I am glad to see the attention he's getting with this. Where did you hear that he did this because of the sparse touring schedule next year? While they won't be touring in support of a new album next year (their latest album came out about a month ago), I hadn't heard that, and I've been following this pretty closely (especially because I run their messageboard ).

There's a post on a Wall Street Journal blog about the whole thing actually. He talks about it in the fifth paragraph down:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/09/23/marc-martel-channels-freddie-mercury/

I knew about the WSJ blog, but must have overlooked that part.

It has now been announced that he'll be appearing on Ellen on Monday (4pm eastern on ABC)