Eric Benét recently decided to show off his vocal range, singing the pirates anthem “Hoist the Colours” in his tub.
Little did the neo-soul artist know that within hours of his posting he would be the butt of quite a few jokes, with people commenting on everything from the bizarre behavior and choice of song to Benét wearing pearls while bathing.
The “Spend My Life with You” chart-topper, who once was married to Halle Berry, posted a video of himself luxuriating in a bubble bath on Thursday, April 4, to his 289,000 Instagram followers. He captioned the video, “Yes I wear pearls in the bathtub… I don’t be clutchin em tho. #hoistthecolours bass tenor alto soprano high soprano … whatchoo need? I gotchoo.”
With suds on his face and his back against the tub wall, the 57-year-old said in his best Elmer Fudd accent, “This is for all them people that say, ‘Eric Benét? Oh I know Eric Benét… He the one … He sing high. He can only sing high. That’s all he can do.’”
Adding, “This for y’all right here” before starting the song in the second octave C, the second lowest C note in his chest voice.
While a few of his Adult Contemporary colleagues, like Marsha Ambrosius, Rahsaan Patterson, and Kindred the Family Soul’s Aja Graydon, immediately were impressed with his vocal prowess, few others were not.
“RHOA” star Peter Thomas blasted Benét commenting on his profile, “You have lost your f—king mind, not the pearls.”
The next day, gossip sites like The Shade Room, got ahold of the footage, and their followers could not contain themselves, teasing Benét about the odd singing and his choice of jewelry.
“Clutching my pearls this looks and sounds crazy,” one person wrote.
Another asked, “Eric did they say you sing high or you seem high cause i can see what they mean.”
More than one person thought maybe there were something more than bubbles tickling his fancy.
“Eric Benet play too much (stop hand emoji) is it crack ??” one person tweeted. Two others said, “what is up with you?” and “Um. Is Eric Benet okay?”
Eric Benet play too much ✋🏼🤣🤣🤣🤣is it crack ??
— 🍜 𝔾𝕚 𝔾𝕚 (@xoxoSuYung) April 5, 2024
Benét’s range scans multiple octaves, with some sources clocking him at C2 to C6 and others D#2 to F4. For over three decades he has dazzled fans with his velvety tenor voice and maintained his reputation as a true voice singer, sounding exactly like his records. The song, “Hoist the Colours,” from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie is a classic to show off deep baritone and bass voices.
While that might explain his desire to share his talent with the world, only he can explain the sharing of the bubble bath, the quirky voice, and most why he was wearing pearls while bathing.
A few people thought about his famous movie star ex-wife while watching his bizarre behavior.
“I know Halle got him blocked,” one Instagram user wrote.
Another added, “More and more I reminded why Dat lady left.”
