Freddie Mercury "is the best singer of all time", "his voice was wonderful" and "sometimes it seemed he was an exception to human biology", gloss videos and articles about the late leader of the British rock band Queen in internet and social networks.
"It was such a large anomaly that there was really scientific interest in finding out why it was possible for it to produce sounds the way it did," said a user, for example, in a video with more than four million views on the TikTok network.
Freddie Mercury, born in 1946 as Farrokh Bulsara, is famous not only for his musical abilities – he played the piano, guitar and keyboards – but also for his overwhelming stage presence.
But
is it scientifically proven that he was the best singer in history?
Despite being an extraordinary artist, there is a
lack of evidence to corroborate this statement
.
The Freddie Mercury Study: Acoustic Analysis of the Fundamental Frequency of Speech, Vibrato, and Subharmonics
, published April 15, 2016,
is usually cited in pieces discussing the science behind the singer .
Mercury, in a concert in 1986.Julio Etchart ullstein bild Dtl.
/ ullstein bild via Getty Images
The investigation, carried out by European otolaryngologists and voice specialists, clarified that their biggest obstacle was not being able to carry out live tests with Mercury – he died at the age of 45 from HIV-related complications in 1991 –, relying instead on recordings
at cappella
and interviews.
One of its authors, the Austrian singing teacher and biophysicist Christian Herbst, explained that he was intrigued by the artist's technique and wanted to understand his background: "He was an
incredibly skilled and versatile singer
, capable of a wide range of artistic vocal expressions." he assured the journal Science Focus in 2016.
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In addition to analyzing vocal tracks from songs collected in
The Acapella Collection,
the researchers had another singer mimic their style to see what was happening to the vocal cords.
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Among the findings of the study, it was highlighted that:
Freddie Mercury had an irregular and typically faster vibrato.
Vibrato is the “undulation of sound produced by a slight vibration of the pitch” and in classical singing “it usually has a frequency between 5.4 Hz and 6.9 Hz”.
In the case of Mercury "it turned out to be 7.04 Hz," the study detailed.
Contrary to what was believed, Mercury's tone of voice was not tenor (the highest among men, like that of the Italian Luciano Pavarotti) but baritone (a lower one, like Frank Sinatra's).
Trying to imitate Mercury's rough singing style, a subharmonic vibration was found that was achieved by activating the false vocal folds or vestibular folds, located in the larynx and rarely used to produce the voice.
According to the authors, the combination of these factors allowed him to create "a unique vocal style" and "adapt his laryngeal configuration to musical needs".
In songs like
Bohemian Rhapsody
or
We Are the Champions
its irregular vibrato is identified.
In 1987 he recorded
Barcelona
with the soprano Montserrat Caballé, whom he admired, which was the song of the 1992 Olympic Games.
Caballé later recounted that she proposed to Mercury to do the baritone and soprano duet for the opera
La traviata
, but he said no, that his audience would not recognize him if they heard him “really sing”.
An "amazing" technique
Despite the scientific limitations of the 2016 study, other artists have praised Mercury's technique, musicality and presence, which could be theatrical or subtle, depending on intent.
“His technique was amazing”, said Caballé, “he was able to slide effortlessly from one register to another” and “his phrasing was subtle, delicate and sweet, or energetic and forceful, he
could find the right color or expressive nuance for each word
”.
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“
Even when he was dying, Mercury poured into his majestic and operatic singing
,” explained Rolling Stone magazine, which in 2010 ranked him 18th out of the 100 greatest singers of all time.
In September of that year he was chosen as the greatest rock legend of all time in a OnePoll.com poll.
The difference between Freddie and almost every other rock star was that he sold his voice.
His technique was amazing”
Montserrat Caballé soprano
"When we lost Freddie ... we lost probably the greatest virtuoso
rock 'n' roll singer
of all time," said Roger Daltrey, founder and lead singer of British group The Who.
“He could sing anything in any style.
He could change his style from line to line and, gosh, that's an art
.
And he was brilliant at it,” Daltrey explained.
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Asked by National Public Radio (NPR) whether the Queen frontman was aware of his technique, Herbst said: “Most singers – most good singers – don't know what they're doing or how they're doing it.
And I think that's how it should be, actually.
Because, for them, that destroys the magic.”
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