Aw crap. I totally have a crush on this guy - and the more of his Upright Cabaret songs they leak, the more I totally adore him. But, good god, that voice! What I can't get over is the range, and more than that, how flawlessly he can sing in that usually dangerous mid-range that could be chest voice and could be falsetto. Apparently this transition is called
passaggio and is part of the reason why people are enchanted by his idol performances even if they don't like the style or the song or arrangement. Almost all of his most-lauded performance (
Mad World) was smack-dab in that range.
( Anyway, here's a cut behind which I share my favourite youtube vids of his pre-idol performances, but really, you should take a look, even if you think idol is ridiculous. Because it is, but this guy? Is not. )