PHILADELPHIA – Jordan Mailata has another superpower, a different one than protecting Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts’ blind side.
His voice.
‘He’s a gifted musician,’ said War on Drugs drummer Charlie Hall, the producer of the Eagles’ holiday albums ‘A Philly Special Christmas’ and their latest, ‘A Philly Special Christmas Special’. ‘Obviously, he can sing. You hear him sing and it’s no joke. It is for real.’
The man who has been on ‘The Masked Singer’ and provided the vocals for his wife’s father-daughter dance at his own wedding has been one of the major reasons why the pair of Christmas albums he and his teammates – mainly fellow offensive linemen Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson – have replicated the team’s on-field success.
But the superpower Hall described isn’t the pitch and soothing aspect of his crooning. It’s his sense of harmony.
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‘I think that’s an important aspect of what makes him such a special musician, on top of the fact that he can play everything, and he’s sort of deep in the cut at all times,’ Hall told USA TODAY Sports. ‘Whenever music is being made, his brain is firing on all cylinders. It’s pretty cool to watch. And it’s contagious. And that’s a big reason why it was such a fun environment in the studio.’
Mailata leads the vocals and has solo turns on several of the 11 songs on ‘A Philly Special Christmas Special’.
‘When it’s time for me to lead in the spotlight, I do it,’ Mailata told USA TODAY Sports. ‘But I love being in the back, man. I love being a harmonizer, I love playing the instruments. I just do everything. I love music.’
Polynesian upbringing gives Mailata his voice
There is little debate over who the best singer in the Eagles locker room is. But Mailata isn’t even the best singer in his own family, he says. That title belongs to his sister, Sess.
‘I’ve always said my sister’s got the best voice,’ said Mailata, seated in front of his locker with a guitar next to him, ‘and then my sister would probably say me.’
Growing up in New Zealand, the Mailata family honed their singing skills thanks to their Samoan Christian faith. Choir participation was a given. Services could last as long as three hours.
‘You’re around singing all the time,’ Mailata said. ‘You do a church service at home, you do a prayer at home, and you got to sing in that. It’s just you and your family. So I just always grew up around it. The Polynesian people in general just love music, so that’s where the influence (comes from).’
And Mailata, the second-youngest of five children, was never the lead singer growing up.
‘I was always the harmonizer,’ he said. ‘I could harmonize before I could sing. So that was just my ear for music.’
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How only ‘The Godmother of Soul’ could leave Mailata speechless
During the Eagles’ recording sessions, Mailata was the energizer. Always singing. Always playing some instrument.
Only Patti LaBelle could render the former professional rugby player speechless. ‘The Godmother of Soul’ and Mailata recorded a version of ‘This Christmas’ together that had him feeling honored and ‘nervous as hell.’
‘Patti walks in the room and she’s got a presence,’ Hall said. ‘She’s a legend for a reason.’
LaBelle, 79, recorded her bars at the Eagles’ facility in South Philly, not at the Elm Street studio where the Eagles laid down most of the album, and took time after to meet with team employees after the session.
‘I wasn’t nervous at first,’ Mailata said. ‘I didn’t know I was going to be singing with her. And then she was like, ‘Yeah, I would love for you to (join).’’
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How was he going to say no to that chance?
‘But at the same time I was like … ‘I don’t know if I’m going to do this,’’ Mailata said. ‘I’ve got a potty mouth, but I watched what I was saying around the queen. So the whole time in my head I’m just like, ‘(Expletive).’’
Said Eagles director of player development Connor Barwin, who is the executive producer of the albums: ‘Patti LaBelle … was the one person where he sort of got star-struck and couldn’t sing for a moment there at the beginning, which was really fun to see.’
Retelling the story, Mailata imitated his frozen face.
‘Nothing was coming out. I just couldn’t force out a sound,’ he said. ‘I was like, ‘Man, this is such a surreal moment, singing with The Queen like that.’
‘Everyone’s like, ‘You’re always singing and playing. Why can’t you sing now?’ I don’t know,’ Mailata said. ‘Why don’t you come up here and sing with Patti – Ms. Patti?’
Mailata hits the Mariah Carey high note
‘This Christmas’ was the one song Hall wanted on the second holiday album, as it’s his favorite non-traditional, modern Christmas jam. He thought he’d have to sell Mailata on the idea. But Mailata, who grew up singing a handful of Christmas tunes but not a large catalog, already loved the tune.
‘So that was a no-brainer,’ Hall said.
But maybe the most impressive vocal performance from Mailata comes on his cover of Mariah Carey’s classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’
‘The Mariah (song) was like a last-minute Hail Mary where Jordy was like, ‘I think we need one more banger on this. Let’s do the Mariah Carey,’’ Hall said. ‘I’m like, ‘What? You want to do what? You’re out of your mind, man.’
‘We kind of treated it more like a soul song, got those horns on there with the band,’ Hall added. ‘It’s still a banger.’
Hall arranged the tune in the key at the top of Mailata’s range and let him do the work from there. He obviously hit the high note for the ‘YOUUUUUU’ that ends the song.
‘Trying to, anyway,’ Mailata said. ‘I was just having fun with it. Once we found the right key to play it in, we’re like, ‘All right, let’s get banging now.’’