00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for those memorable falsetto
00:10vocal moments that we'll take with us to the hereafter.
00:1410.
00:23Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake
00:25JT busted out what would eventually become something of an iconic modern falsetto for
00:31his debut solo album, Justified.
00:36That LP contained a number of hit singles, including Cry Me A River.
00:44The tune would serve as an early defining song for this X and Sync boy bander, signifying
00:50a more adult sound that went along with Justin Timberlake's freshened-up image.
00:54Cry Me A River is slinky and sexy, while Timberlake's falsetto feels impossibly cool.
01:09It doesn't feel hyperbolic at all to signal out the success of this song as something of
01:13a blueprint for future young pop stars that were seeking out a similar path to solo stardom.
01:18Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake
01:23Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake
01:279.
01:28Somebody To Love, Queen
01:30Fans of the hard rock legends in Queen can honestly take their pick when it comes to powerful vocal
01:36moments on this track from 1976.
01:46Somebody To Love opens up with an epic-sounding chorus of voices setting the stage.
01:51But who are we kidding?
01:52We all know that it's actually the end of Somebody To Love that takes the proverbial cake.
01:57Somebody To Love
02:04Freddie Mercury's soaring falsetto hits after a tremendous rocked-out coda from the band.
02:10That supersonic note on the word to is stretched out for all its worth, and fans have been hanging
02:16there, suspending in amazement ever since.
02:308.
02:31Blinding Lights, The Weeknd
02:33Anticipation seemed to be high in the months leading up to the release of The Weeknd's
02:37fourth LP, After Hours.
02:47This was due primarily to the success of its early single, Blinding Lights.
02:51The tune was released a year prior to After Hours Street Date in 2020, and makes the most
02:57out of The Weeknd's retro-sounding falsetto.
03:06This is upbeat, driving synth-pop with a modern edge, and the falsetto vocals simply add to
03:11the magic at hand.
03:13Blinding Lights crossed over big time back in 2019, and helped introduce The Weeknd's
03:17music to a whole new cross-section of appreciative listeners.
03:217.
03:30Trouble, Coldplay
03:32The music of Coldplay has been in the news as of late for its, let's go with, ability
03:37to bring people together.
03:48Gramatic and melancholic hits like Shiver, Fix You, or The Scientist stand alongside other
03:54Coldplay songs that make the most out of Chris Martin's fragile falsetto.
03:59Songs like Trouble, which was more successful abroad than in the United States, yet nevertheless,
04:04showcases Coldplay's penchant for the pensive and thought-provoking.
04:07Martin's natural charisma as a frontman also helps his falsetto transcend on stage, reaching
04:18those people in the audience with a palpable sense of importance.
04:22What is it about doomed musicians that somehow make their recorded legacy feel all the more ghostly
04:39and not of this world?
04:47The legend of Jeff Buckley has only grown since his sole LP from 1995, Grace.
04:53The album gains particular critical prominence at the time for its inclusion of Hallelujah,
04:58a cover of Leonard Cohen that's perhaps the best ever set to tape.
05:10That isn't the only cover on record, however, since Buckley also utilized his fantastic falsetto
05:15voice on the traditional folk hymn, Corpus Christi Carol.
05:25This holiday tune, with religious connotations, takes on a whole new life under Buckley's care
05:31and adds further magic to the man's depressingly slim recorded output.
05:35Corpus Christi written there on...
05:435.
05:44Cheri, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons
05:47Songwriting can be a wonderful business, and it's interesting to research a song's evolution
05:53from idea to hit.
06:00Cheri was written by Bob Gaudio of the Four Seasons, and was just one to make the most
06:06out of that group's lead singer, Frankie Valli.
06:09Other examples like Big Girls Don't Cry or Walk Like a Man are great, but it's Cheri that
06:14Gaudio allegedly wrote in 15 minutes that's a stone-cold classic.
06:21It went on to not only serve as one of the finest doo-wop songs ever recorded, but the success
06:31of Cheri also underlined how Gaudio's melodic songwriting worked perfectly with Valli's
06:36Helium Falsetto.
06:37They're called classics for a reason, after all.
06:484.
06:49Holocene, Bon Iver
06:51Fans of the modern folk rock icons in Bon Iver could likely point to a dozen examples
06:57of their favorite falsetto moments from the band's lead singer Justin Vernon.
07:08Stax is one that comes up often in conversation, as does Holocene from 2011.
07:13This tune from Bon Iver's self-titled sophomore effort earned both commercial and critical acclaim,
07:19with Holocene being nominated for both Song and Record of the Year at the 2012 Grammy Awards.
07:31It's easy to see why this song was so beloved, too, since Vernon's warm and inviting falsetto
07:36never steps over what Bon Iver is trying to do musically.
07:40It's a great performance from a very talented singer.
07:433.
07:50Svefgejenglar, Sigur RÃ¥s
07:54It isn't just every experimental band that can create a fictional, phonetic language for
07:59their music and get away with it.
08:05Yet Iceland's Sigur RÃ¥s aren't your average, everyday rock band.
08:12Their music is one of crushing, terrible beauty, grand melancholy and hope.
08:17It's impossible to describe for those outside looking in, but songs like Svefgejenglar from the band's sophomore album
08:33Augiteus Burien, possessed the ability to connect with listeners in a remarkably genuine manner.
08:39Jan Thor Jansi Bergesen's whispered, faint falsetto feels like it's made of glass, a sparkling cascade of sound that's impossible to resist.
08:492.
08:50Writings on the Wall, Sam Smith
08:58One of the most brilliant aspects about the world of Bond themes is their diversity.
09:03They're essentially a snapshot into what's cool, hip and happening during the production of each 007 adventure.
09:172015's Spectre was a critically divisive entry, both with regards to its film and title theme from Sam Smith.
09:24Speaking subjectively, however, we still think that Writings on the Wall is one of the best James Bond title songs full stop.
09:36Smith utilizes their falsetto throughout much of the time and captures that spirit of cinematic space and grandeur that's so indicative of the franchise.
09:46The double chorus at the end is particularly striking, and it brings us near tears every time.
10:01Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:05Take on me, aha, Morton Harkett's iconic work on that chorus.
10:19Nights on Broadway, Bee Gees, made falsetto singing cool again.
10:24Nights of Cydonia, Muse, epic prog moves meets falsetto greatness.
10:36No one's gonna take me alive.
10:43Don't Worry Baby, the Beach Boys, the kings of harmonized falsetto.
10:48Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
11:01You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
11:06If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
11:11Number 1. Paranoid Android, Radiohead.
11:15We don't know about you guys, but we kind of want to live in a world where both Sam Smith's and Radiohead's songs for Spectre found their ways into the finished movie.
11:31That said, it isn't as if we're in any deficit of Tom York falsetto vocal moments, because, you know, Paranoid Android will forever remain a thing.
11:40A thing of beauty, of weirdness and epic musicality, a song where the aggro meets the psychedelic, and where York's amazing falsetto does a lot of creative heavy lifting.
11:58The From a Great Height sequence around the halfway point is the sort of Radiohead moment that basically cast in stone their reputation as generationally talented songwriters.
12:16What are your thoughts about male falsetto vocals? For? Against? Ambivalent? Sound off in the comments!
12:29We'll see you next time.
Comments