{"id":42890,"date":"2026-02-15T03:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=42890"},"modified":"2026-02-15T03:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T03:42:32","slug":"i-tasted-blood-justin-hawkins-reveals-the-note-in-i-believe-in-a-thing-called-love-that-ruptured-a-capillary-and-changed-his-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=42890","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Tasted Blood.\u201d \u2014 Justin Hawkins Reveals the Note in \u2018I Believe in a Thing Called Love\u2019 That Ruptured a Capillary and Changed His Voice."},"content":{"rendered":"

In the pantheon of early-2000s rock anthems, few songs explode with as much theatrical bravado as \u201cI Believe in a Thing Called Love.\u201d Powered by a shrieking falsetto that seems to defy human anatomy, the breakout single from The Darkness turned frontman Justin Hawkins into an unlikely glam-rock icon. But behind the glitter, spandex, and sky-high vocals lies a story far more visceral than fans ever imagined.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the heart of the band\u2019s 2003 debut album, Permission to Land, sits a chorus that became instantly iconic. Hawkins\u2019 falsetto doesn\u2019t just soar\u2014it screams, wails, and pierces through the instrumentation with operatic flamboyance. It sounds effortless on record. In reality, it was anything but.<\/span><\/p>\n

During an especially aggressive recording session for the album\u2019s lead single, Hawkins pushed his voice to its absolute limit while attempting to nail the final chorus. Determined to capture something electrifying rather than merely polished, he leaned into the strain, forcing the note higher and harder than he ever had before. Then he felt it: a sudden \u201cpop\u201d deep in his throat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI tasted blood,\u201d he later admitted, recalling the moment with startling candor. When he spat into the sink, it was red. A capillary had ruptured under the intense pressure of the sustained falsetto. For many singers, that would have been the end of the session\u2014an immediate call for rest, perhaps even medical attention. Hawkins, however, made a different choice.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than stop, he returned to the microphone and finished the take.<\/span><\/p>\n

In his mind, the pain translated into power. The rawness in his throat gave the note a ragged, desperate edge that felt authentic to the over-the-top glam spirit the band was channeling. It wasn\u2019t just a performance anymore; it was a physical event captured on tape. That very take\u2014the one recorded moments after the rupture\u2014remains on the final album.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I Believe in a Thing Called Love was released, it rocketed up charts and reintroduced flamboyant, Queen-inspired theatrics to a rock scene dominated at the time by post-grunge seriousness. Listeners heard audacity and joy. What they didn\u2019t hear\u2014at least not consciously\u2014was the genuine strain embedded in that climactic scream.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doctors later informed Hawkins he had narrowly avoided permanent vocal damage. A more severe hemorrhage could have altered his voice irreparably, potentially ending the very career that was just beginning to ignite. The incident forced him to reconsider his technique and approach, gradually incorporating better vocal care and training into his routine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet the story underscores a broader truth about rock mythology. Audiences often celebrate vocal extremes\u2014the higher, louder, and more outrageous, the better\u2014without realizing the physical toll those performances can exact. Hawkins\u2019 falsetto became his signature, a defining trait that separated The Darkness from their contemporaries. But it came at a cost measured not just in sweat, but in blood.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than two decades later, that scream still crackles with urgency. It\u2019s a reminder that sometimes the most unforgettable moments in music aren\u2019t manufactured through studio trickery or digital polish. They are captured in flashes of risk\u2014when an artist pushes beyond comfort, beyond safety, and, occasionally, beyond the limits of the human body.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Hawkins, that split-second \u201cpop\u201d changed more than just a recording session. It reshaped his relationship with his instrument and added a hidden layer of intensity to one of rock\u2019s most exuberant hits. Beneath the glam rock glory lies a note born of real pain\u2014proof that sometimes belief, especially in love or in rock and roll, demands everything you\u2019ve got.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the pantheon of early-2000s rock anthems, few songs explode with as much theatrical bravado as \u201cI Believe in a Thing Called Love.\u201d Powered by a shrieking falsetto that seems to defy human anatomy, the breakout single from The Darkness turned frontman Justin Hawkins into an unlikely glam-rock icon. But behind the glitter, spandex, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42890\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}