Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has one of the most iconic, recognizable and cherished voices in music history. So when the filmmakers of Bohemian Rhapsody were tasked with replicating his unique vocal presence on screen, they actually had a little help from one talented YouTube sensation. Take a look:
Wow, he sounds incredible! As Good Morning America revealed, Marc Martel lent his voice to Bohemian Rhapsody’s Freddie Mercury in collaboration with masters of Freddie and Rami Malek’s vocals as well. The beautiful singer started playing Christian music before his bass player observed his resemblance to the Queen singer’s voice.
Marc Martel also auditioned for a contest hosted by Queen in 2011. The band was in search for a singer to front their Queen Extravaganza Tribute Tour. Martel sang his rendition of “Somebody to Love” which went viral and scored him the win. The singer still does a mix of playing his own music and embodying the Queen frontman in his own tribute band.
Take a look at Marc Martel’s cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” below:
Breathtaking! He certainly can pass off for the rock legend, and calling upon him to provide some additional vocals was a great call. Freddie Mercury was born with four extra teeth, which he attributed to his 4-octave range. Whether or not this is true, it’s impressive Martel can recreate some of the magic found in Freddie’s unique voice.
It would be difficult to pinpoint where Marc Martel, Freddie Mercury and Rami Malek’s vocals begin and end since it seems as though a mixture of all their talents was implemented into Bohemian Rhapsody. While I imagined the filmmakers had their hands on a bunch of raw Freddie recordings, it makes sense they would need a stand-in for “additional vocals,” which is what Martel is credited for on the film.
The collaboration between the vocals and Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie created the film experience that had audiences witnessing Queen's beginnings, rise to fame, iconic live performances and Freddie’s personal struggles. The film has been acclaimed almost indisputably for Malek's embodiment of the icon, and he’s now a front-runner for Best Actor in Sunday’s Oscars, in addition to the film’s four other nominations.
Bohemian Rhapsody is a worldwide phenomenon that has scored over $854 million, becoming the highest grossing music biopic ever. The movie had the Queen band members involved in the casting process and were frequently present on set. Bohemian Rhapsody was a challenging film to make, considering the actors pulled off reenacting the band’s famous 20-minute Live Aid set on their first days and director Bryan Singer left the project during filming.
With the Oscars coming this Sunday, you can expect to see Queen performing with frequent frontman Adam Lambert as the lead vocalist, along with the film potentially taking home some golden trophies.
