Nirvana fans won't believe their ears.
Ramiro Saavedra is a 27-year-old guitarist from Arequipa, Peru, who appeared on the national musical competition show "Yo Soy" ("I am") and totally astounded its judges and host with his near-perfect imitation of Kurt Cobain's voice.
Saavedra played a medley of songs from the Seattle grunge band's breakthrough sophomore album, "Nevermind," including the singles "Come as You Are" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The latter number was a request from the judges, who could barely contain themselves when Saavedra broke into its anthemic chorus.
One judge called Saavedra "the best contestant that we've had [on the show]" in his post-performance assessment of the guitarist.
Although a purist might note that Saavedra's singing is clearly based on a phonetic, more than a lyrical, appreciation of Cobain's songs -- there are some telling word flubs that an English-language ear will be quick to notice -- in a pinch, it's pretty rad. And anyone who has seen video of Nirvana in concert knows that Cobain himself famously slurred his words and botched his own lyrics.
Cobain died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Seattle in 1994. Nirvana is regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of all time, having shifted the attention of both the mainstream music industry and the general public towards alternative rock in the early 1990s.
WATCH: Compare Saavedra With The Real Kurt Cobain:
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The Huffington Post | Posted: 04/20/2012 11:15 am