Highest note belted on a cast recording? — Page 5

What a man does when he sings or screams high is not a belt. The closest thing you'll get to a male belt is the "extreme power mix," where the head and chest voice are blended and then pushed forward more aggressively from the chest. It's an unusual sound, not as aesthetically pleasant as the female belt.

If you're a rock fan, you'll recognize the "male belt" primarily from Geddy Lee, lead singer of Rush, who slips into this range near the climax of most of his songs. More traditional musical theatre people will know it mainly from Paul Kandel singing the finale note in "The Bells of Notre Dame (Reprise)" in the Hunchback movie soundtrack, a power-mixed high D that he holds an impossible length of time, or from Michael Shaeffer as Annas in "Jesus Christ Superstar 2000."