People stunned as Wheatus singer explains why he sings 'female part' in Teenage Dirtbag

Whether it's a birthday, wedding or bar mitzvah, every party needs the DJ to spin 'Teenage Dirtbag' at least once.

It's easily the most famous song which Wheatus have ever produced, so you'd think that the band's lead singer Brendan B. Brown would be sick to the back teeth of performing it by now - but he's still just as thrilled as he was 24 years ago.

However, he's been getting a few queries from fans when he's been singing it on stage as of late, who have been questioning if he can still belt out the most iconic part of the song anymore.

You know what I'm talking about...that high-pitched 'female' voice who informs us she has two tickets to Iron Maiden (baby) which she wants to use on Friday - and for the love of God, please 'don't say maybe' to her.

You might have thought that Brown drafted in a woman to sing that part, but the truth is he did it all himself.

Speaking to The Guardian in 2019, Brown explained why he wanted to take on the responsibility in 'Teenage Dirtbag'.

He said: "The boyfriend character was based on a nameless conglomeration of the many d**chebag bullies who wanted to show you their father’s gun.

"I sang both the male and female parts because, when I was getting beat up, a lot of bullies were homophobic. I wanted to irritate them by putting on a female voice."

Good for you, Mr Brown. And on behalf of music fans everywhere, thank you very much for giving us that iconic snippet.

Although I may be full of praise for the singer's vocal range, Brown revealed that he keeps receiving the same annoying question about how he belts out that part of the song these days.

He's currently on a solo acoustic tour across the US alongside Gabrielle Sterbenz and explained that when he performs the Wheatus classic, fans ask: "Does he do that because he can't sing it anymore?"

If you're wondering what people mean by 'that', Brown explained that he has been singing the female part of the song in a 'higher harmony' as he couldn't hear the original melody because the crowds have been singing so loud.

In a TikTok post on Sunday (21 July), the 50-year-old explained: "The thing is, of course because the internet is the internet, somebody said to Matthew along the line, 'Does he do that because he can't sing it anymore?'

"The answer is no, I can still sing it. I'm very lucky in that regard, my voice is still holding up at the age of 50, I can still do all of the falsettos. I do get tired, I do get sick, but that's not what's happening here.

"And what's happening here is that I was trying to sing in a place where I could actually hear myself over the crowd."

He explained that it's not the work of 'any sorts of effects, processors, or a harmoniser' but rather just that belting set of pipes he has on him.

Brown continued: "So, I am making this video to hopefully clarify that issue for anyone that's concerned. In any case, I do really like singing the higher harmony sometimes which is supposed to be harder, but isn't really harder for some reason.

"I think the reason that I have a still consistent falsetto is that I started singing along to Prince, Geddy Lee, Cyndi Lauper and Bon Scott before my voice changed when I was 7 or 8 years old.

"My mother taught me early on how to harmonise because I was watching her and she was singing harmonies to old Motown songs and so would my grandmother.

"That's what's going on in 'Teenage Dirtbag', I tried something new, I didn't mean to make anyone think I couldn't do the original, I just wanted to hear myself."

Social media users were buzzing to see Brown bust out his guitar - and female vocals - on camera, but were left stunned that he had even had to explain his vocal abilities.

One said: "Brendan's vocal range just knows no bounds."

Another wrote: "The harmony is higher so how could you not be able to sing the original? Silly internet."

A third added: "Why would they even say that? It's HIGHER?"

While a fourth added: "The girl voice just scratches my brain the right way."

And a fifth chimed in: "My biggest regret in life is that I CANNOT sing falsetto. So naturally, I am SO jealous."