Despite the criticism he has received for his type of voice, Featherweight has managed to become one of the mexican singers most popular in recent years. His success even led him to be the first performer of the regional genre to be invited to the Jimmy Fallon show in the United States. Although he is aware of the criticism, this has not been an obstacle to his foray into music.
Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija, full name of the artist, specializes in corridos lying down, a regional subgenre that emerged around 2020.
Since he began his career, he has collaborated with artists such as Natanael Cano, Eslabón Armado and others, with whom they have released hits such as “Ella baila sola” and “La bebé”, which have reached number one on global charts.
He has even been invited to perform alongside artists of great international caliber such as Becky G, who introduced him at her Coachella concert in April 2023.
WHAT FEATHERWEIGHT SAID ABOUT HIS VOICE
Although Featherweight has acquired many followers, some of his detractors criticize that his voice and singing technique detract from his work as an artist, since many consider that a singer is only about having impressive vocal ranges like José José, Adele or Christina Aguilera.
Featherweight has confessed that he doesn’t like his own voice either, but that doesn’t stop him from being an artist. On April 25, 2023, he was invited to the “Enjoy the Ride” podcastwhere he explained that what makes him so popular with the public is not his vocal ability, but the mix of genres he is doing, since it is different from what is released in the rest of the industry.
“I have never liked my voice. Never. But the vibe we have, dude, is what I like, is what’s different. We bring another style totally. For something to hit I don’t necessarily have to be a great singer, you understand me“, said.
In addition, he gave examples of popular artists who came before him who also gained notoriety for the uniqueness of their voices.
“Many people say that Valentín, because those dudes sang differently, that’s why the race liked him more than Valentín (Elizalde) than Chalino (Sánchez). That he sang differently and I think that’s why people liked him. Because it’s something they don’t see, it’s something unique”, he added.
And this phenomenon can be seen not only in regional Mexican and Spanish music, but in different languages and genres. A similar case is that of Robert Plant, the lead singer of Led Zeppelin whose kind of voice made the rock band quickly recognizable.
In the same way, the intense hyper-falsetto of Barry Gibb of the Bee-Gee’s set the ’70s group apart from the rest.