I've long known Ravens kicker Justin Tucker could sing opera, but never heard it. Tucker kept it contained to team meetings, the shower and his car.
Finally, Tucker shared his gift with everyone as part of his Dr. Pepper “/1 Of A Kind” web campaign, which debuted today on YouTube.
Wow. Yes, Tucker is definitely one of a kind.
"People kept asking me about it," Tucker said of his opera talents. "It was a cool way to show all this stuff off and have some fun with it."
Tucker can sing opera in seven different languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Latin and Russian). He was a music major at the University of Texas, focused specifically on recording technology. Tucker records hip-hop and dubstep beats.
He did some freestyle rapping for the video. Yes, it really came "off the top of the dome," as he put it.
Sippin' on my soda, 23 flavors.
Dr. Pepper in my cup, that's a life sava.
Charm City kick it, I can do this blind.
Dropping beats, slamming Peps, I'm one of a kind.
Tucker's relationship with Dr. Pepper started last year after he kicked the game-winning field goal in San Diego. He posted a picture of a can he was drinking from on Instagram with the message, "Nothin like a frosty cold Dr. Pep after a road win!" Dr. Pepper called just a couple days later.
The commercial was filmed over two days in early April at a recording studio in downtown Baltimore, the Hippodrome Theatre and Towson University. Tucker said he enjoyed getting back behind the studio controls and singing in the empty and historic Hippodrome. He posted some behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram, here, here and here.
Tucker saw the final version of the video Monday and thought it was really cool. For now it's just a web campaign, but it* *will eventually turn into a television commercial. Here's the ad (mobile users tap the "View in Browser" button at the top of the page):
