DON’T BE SURPRISED if it’s not the eight-octave voice of Mariah Carey that lights up Christmas this year. Instead, it could be Aussie NFL leviathan Jordan Mailata.
The 203cm, 166kg giant Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman’s day job is acting as security detail for quarterback Jalen Hurts. But the 26-year-old former rugby league player has more than one string to his bow, with a viral clip of Mailata and Eagles’ teammates Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce belting out Carey’s iconic Christmas tune “All I Want For Christmas” setting the internet alight.
The clip has more than 5.3m views on TikTok, and when Mailata takes the mic Kelce can’t hide his disbelief.
The song will be included on A Philly Special Christmas, the second album from the trio after they dropped a seven-song debut album last year.
The new album also includes a duet of Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas”, with soul legend Patti Labelle, who was blown away by the Aussie’s pipes. “He sings his face off—I was shocked,” LaBelle said. “I said, ‘OK, let’s sing, honey’.”
It’s not the first time Mailata has shown off his singing talents; he was uncovered on season 7 of The Masked Singer US after moonlighting as “The Thingamabob”.
On the show, Mailata sung “Wanted Dead Or Alive” by Bon Jovi and “Classic” by MKTO and a killer rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”.
A promising rugby league player who came through the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, Mailata was selected by the Eagles with a seventh round pick in the 2018 draft.
His career has soared to new heights this season with the Aussie becoming one of the NFL’s highest rated offensive tackles.
The Eagles currently sit atop the standings in the NFC, having opened their season with an imposing 8-1 record.
Proceeds from the Eagles’ Christmas album are being donated to the Children’s Crisis Treatment Centre and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
News of Mailata’s singing ability comes hot off the news that NBL star Isaac Humphries also possesses a set of pipes and will be headlining next year’s Adelaide Fringe. See below for 5 more multi-skilled athletes.
5 other athletes with hidden skills
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Damian Lillard: rapping
Dame D.O.L.L.A has released three studio albums that have included collabs with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. When he’s not dropping bars, Lillard is multi-time All-Star and one of the NBA’s best three-point marksmen with the Milwaukee Bucks.
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David Beckham: Fencing
Will Smith first reported that Beckham and himself had taken up the hobby with Tom Cruise. On guard.
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Manny Pacquiao: Singing
Pac-Man doesn’t just have presidential aspirations, he’s also known to belt out a tune. In fact, his ring entrance song was one he made himself.
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Shaquille O’Neal: DJing
“DJ Diesel” has been a regular on the decks since his playing days. Since 2015 he’s moved into dubstep, performing sets at music festivals like Lollapalooza and sporting events like the US F1 GP. He released his first EDM album Gorilla Warfare, back in August.
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Harry Garside: Poetry
Appearing on The Project to speak about his preparation for next year’s Olympics, Garside’s linguistic side was exposed by co-host Sam Taunton, who said he spotted the boxer writing poetry on an ad break. The boxer accepted an offer to read his poetry on live television, choosing a poem which spoke about his drive for success.
“When your heart is pure, the universe will always ensure you get the outcome you desire, so you can inspire the rest of the population, most importantly, the younger generation to step into their power, so their golden hour ends up being timeless instead of being lifeless,” he read.
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