You know that iconic moment in Teenage Dirtbag when the lyrics switch to “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby”? The part everyone belts out at karaoke, half the time in the wrong key? Yeah, that one.
Well, turns out loads of people are only just finding out how Wheatus actually pulled it off, and no, it wasn’t some mystery guest singer in the studio or fancy editing trick.
Frontman Brendan B Brown, the man behind the whole track, actually sang both parts himself. Yep, the male and the ‘female’ voice.
Brown first came up with the riff while, in his own words, “lying on a futon staring at the ceiling” back in his Long Island apartment, according to The Guardian. Inspired by all those John Hughes-style high school movies he never really got to live (he went to an all-boys boarding school), he built the song as a kind of teenage fantasy; prom dates, bullies, and of course, Iron Maiden.
But when it came to recording, instead of hiring someone else for the ‘female’ part, he just… cranked his own voice up a few octaves and went for it. Footage even shows him taking a deep breath before hitting the high-pitched verse; no autotune, no studio trickery, just him squeaking it out like a champ.
And honestly? People are only just realising. One TikTok user summed it up: “I was today years old when I learned this.” Another added: “It seems obvious NOW but no, I had no clue.”
Others always suspected it was him, but thought the studio had given him a boost: “Tbf I thought they pitched up his voice but I could always tell it was him,” one person admitted.
As for why he decided to do both parts, Brown has explained that it was kind of a middle finger to the bullies he dealt with as a teen. “When I was getting beat up, a lot of bullies were homophobic. I wanted to irritate them by putting on a female voice.”
Now, more than 20 years on, Teenage Dirtbag is basically immortal, and Brown says he still feels proud whenever it comes on the radio. “It’s this weaponised piece of pop culture. When we play it, if the room is full, the crowd sing so loud we can’t hear ourselves.”
So next time you’re screaming along to “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby…” just remember, that high-pitched bit? Yep, that’s still Brendan.