Sting Says He Became A 'Heavy Metal Singer' On The Police's Biggest Hit
By Andrew Magnotta @AndrewMagnotta
November 22, 2021
From his breakthrough with The Police to his extraordinary solo career, Sting is one of the most unique artists in the history popular music.
Sting has numerous hits to his credit, of course, but the breadth of his musical output over the past 40-plus years is preposterously varied, from punk rock to new wave to 16th century lute music.
While heavy metal is one genre that doesn't appear in Sting's catalog, that may be because the man himself believes he's too well suited for it.
In a recent conversation with YouTube's foremost music teacher Rick Beato, Sting discussed the uniqueness of his singing voice in terms of the song "Roxanne." Beato pointed how Sting's voice on the track can be distinguished, even at a low volume.
"Register is interesting," he said. "Most heavy metal singers sing up there [in the high register]. So I'm a heavy metal singer, but I have a little more melody. It's the same way, to get above the noise of the band ... you can't be a baritone in a rock band, really.
"[It's] the same way a sergeant major in the army would scream and yell on the paragram. Why? Because they had to get over the sound of artillery in battle, you know, they have to be heard. Singers have the same need."
Looking back on The Police, Sting says he's most proud of the fact that their music doesn't sound like it's of any particular era.
"The song still resonates today as if it was a modern song," he said of "Roxanne." "A lot of our songs still do; they're not rooting in time, they're sort of unmoored."
Check out the full conversation via the player above!