Male Vocalist for the Band's Band - It's A Knockout (Winner: Freddie Mercury)

[Corki]

Time to wrap up the two semi-finals, and determine who is going to be fighting it out for the position as Male Vocalist in the Band's Dream Band.

 

Well, in the first semi-final, Freddie Mercury eased to a 4-1 win over Hansi Kürsch.

 

And Ronnie James Dio achieved a similar score (4-1) over Meat Loaf.

 

So, it is going to be a showdown between Freddie Mercury and Ronnie James Dio for that position. And that is on the way!

[Corki]

The Grand Final

 

 

Ronnie James Dio

One of the most influental vocalists in the history of rock music, with a career starting with Elf in 1969, followed by Rainbow, Black Sabbath, and his own band Dio. Despite being about 100 years old, and slightly taller than the average smurf, he possesses one of the most powerful voices you can hear. He has also been credited with more or less inventing fantasy metal.

Links:

and

 

vs.

 

 

Freddie Mercury (of Queen)

Freddie Mercury is best known as the iconic lead singer of British rockers Queen, and was also a solo artist. As a performer, he was known for his powerful vocals and flamboyant performances. He was a natural baritone, but sang mostly as a tenor. He was also a superb songwriter, as many of Queen's hits came from his writing - Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody to Love, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and many, many more. Mercury also claimed never to have had any formal vocal training.

Links: Bohemian Rhapsody and

 

 

Voting ends Wednesday 31st March 2010 at 11pm (BST)

[Corki]

3rd/4th Play Off

 

 

Hansi Kürsch (of Blind Guardian)

I really am struggling to think of much to put here other than "What a Voice". It pretty much sums it up. He is able to change between soft and powerful so easily that it means he can sing a wide variety of songs. A signature of Kürsch's songwriting is his practice of doubletracking his own voice innumerable times in complex, overlapping harmonies on his recordings, effectively creating the atmosphere of a huge choir - something that Freddie Mercury employed.

Links:

and

 

vs.

 

 

Meat Loaf

Meat Loaf is an American rock musician and actor, with over 50 appearances in either TV or film. He experienced some initial difficulty establishing a steady career within his native United States despite huge popularity in Europe, where he ranks 23rd for number of weeks overall spent on the UK charts alone. During a recording session early on, Meat Loaf hit a note so high that he managed to blow a fuse on the recording monitor!

Links:

and

 

 

Voting ends Wednesday 31st March 2010 at 11pm (BST)

[Krakalakachkn]

Mercury and Kursch

[North Star]

freddie and meat loaf ;D

[Majsju]

Dio

[Imperium]

Mercury and Kursch

[Corki]

Freddie Mercury and Hansi Kürsch

[Corki]

The deadline for the Grand Final has passed! And we have a winner. And the position of Male Vocalist in the Band's Dream Band goes to Freddie Mercury of Queen, who beat Ronnie James Dio by 4 votes to 1.

 

And in the 3rd/4th Play-Off, we have a tie. So I get to cast the deciding vote, and I am going to stick with my original vote of Hansi Kürsch. As a result, Hansi Kürsch wins the 3rd/4th Play-Off, beating Meat Loaf by 3 votes to 2.

 

"Tune or No Tune" will now go up, featuring a Queen song.