The iconic Freddie Mercury once attributed his extraordinary singing voice to a unique physical trait. The Queen legend was conscious of his "extra teeth," but chose not to alter them, convinced they were the key to his vocal prowess.
Mercury's voice stood out among his contemporaries, and the Don't Stop Me Now vocalist believed his additional teeth played a role. A recent post on the r/TodayILearned subreddit delved into why Mercury never opted for dental work, despite his overbite making him self-conscious.
The Reddit post stated: "Freddie Mercury was born with four extra teeth, causing a prominent overbite. Despite being self-conscious about them, he never got them fixed, believing the extra space in his mouth contributed to his vocal ability. He feared altering his teeth might change his voice." Fans have since shared their thoughts on Mercury's choice.
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A Mercury enthusiast commented: "It is entirely possible that it would have changed his voice. Not his vocal range, which was extraordinary, but the timbre." Another fan added: "The greatest male singer ever. Always will be."
A third shared: "This is common for singers and very valid. Altering any part of vocal resonances chambers will alter the sound. Sinuses, mouth, throat. Leave it alone if you sing for a living."
The conversation has sparked further discussion among music fans, sharing anecdotes of other vocalists who have resisted corrective surgeries, wary of affecting their singing abilities.
Elton John, Barbra Streisand, and Tobias Forge from the Swedish rock band Ghost are all seemingly wary of undergoing surgical procedures that could potentially alter their signature singing voices.
A music enthusiast commented: "Not rare for vocalists to be worried about things like this. The vocalist of Ghost got his nose smashed in a fight when he was younger.
"It affected his sinuses and he very often gets bad infections that are hard to clear out.
"He hasn't gotten it fixed because he also thinks that his mangled sinuses are part of what gives his singing voice its characteristic sound."
In 1987, Elton John would have an operation that would leave a lasting impact on his vocal performance for many years of his illustrious career.
Speaking to Billboard in 2004, he reflected: "My voice is the thing that's really improved the most over the last few years. There's more resonance to it."
He elaborated on the changes post-surgery: "It started to change when I had the operation in Australia after the live album, because of the nine cancerous ... whatever it was on my vocal chords."