Artist Nick Pitera -The Popularity of Countertenors

Nick Pitera belts out high notes that would make Adele proud and Lady Gaga drool.

He has been a YouTube sensation for several years, singing both the male and female roles for Broadway musicals and Disney cartoons and, in the process, has amassed fans without being a signed artist. His ability to reach the C5 octave has even caused chatter online with people wondering if his videos are altered.

His singing is real and he’s not alone. Pitera is part of a small group of male singers whose vocal folds open and close while singing and whose voice sounds full and natural in high registers. They are known as countertenors and many others have reached career success, especially in the classical world, including Philippe Jaroussky, Bejun Mehta and Andreas Scholl. 

Very few male singers are able to reach such high octaves. Although the pop landscape is full of talented men singing high notes including Smokey Robinson, Justin Timberlake and Adam Levine, they sing in falsetto and are not countertenors. Falsetto singers typically have a breathy voice and their vocal folds remain open while they’re hitting high notes.

Vocal instructors offer several breathing exercises and techniques to help singers extend their octave range in a way that’s safe and doesn’t hurt the vocal folds or cords.

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