2011 marked the 40th anniversary for legendary rock band Queen whose style through the unique voice of the late great Freddie Mercury has not been repeated since. To celebrate the occasion, Queen drummer Roger Taylor launched a talent search to find incredible singers and musicians capable of joining the remaining band members on their Queen Extravaganza tour, planned for 2012.
Cue thousands and thousands of YouTube videos submitted, some good and some not so good. Every so often though, along comes a Marc Martel to ace the audition with such natural talent and ability that it almost seems too easy. Here’s Marc’s audition below and further down, another clip he recorded featuring his performance of Nessun Dorma, the operatic piece made famous by Luciano Pavarotti when it was sung as the signature theme of the Italia ’90 FIFA World Cup football competition.
Marc Martel’s “Somebody to Love” audition for the Queen Extravaganza competition.
Marc Martel’s thoughts on how he learned to sing and his performance of Nessun Dorma.
Aside from his YouTube clips, Marc Martel is also the lead singer of Christian rock band “Downhere” and regardless of your religious persuasion, their music is absolutely worthy of a listen.