Meet Carlos Silver, the Dominican who sang for 106 hours but had his world record bid rejected
In a heartbreaking turn of events in April 2019, Dominican singer Carlos Silver's ambitious attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest singing marathon was thwarted.
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Despite singing for an astonishing 106 consecutive hours, surpassing the previous record set by Indian singer Sunil Waghmare, Guinness World Records officials disqualified Silver for breaching the organization's stringent rules.
Silver's determination to break the record was evident as he performed over 5,000 songs during his epic five-day singing marathon, marking his second attempt after an unsuccessful try in 2016. The Dominican artist had seemingly achieved his goal by surpassing Waghmare's record, but elation turned to disappointment when his attempt was invalidated.
Guinness Records cited video evidence revealing that Silver took breaks of up to two minutes between songs, a clear violation of the specified 30-second break allowance. Although Silver admitted to occasionally exceeding the prescribed break time, he argued that his seamless transition between songs should compensate for the extended breaks.
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The rules dictated a 30-second rest between each song and five minutes of rest per hour of singing. However, Silver's team consolidated the five minutes per song into half-hour blocks, allowing him extended breaks for necessities such as rest, bathroom visits, and meals.
In a candid interview, a disappointed Silver expressed his frustration, stating, "I gave Guinness an extra 6,420 seconds, and they took away my record for taking 30 seconds longer between a few songs." He criticized Guinness officials for being overly methodical and urged them to recognize his humanity in the face of such a monumental feat.
Despite claiming to have suffered "50 electric shocks in his brain and enduring two heart attacks" during the performance, Silver maintained his determination, putting his life on the line for the record. At the end of the marathon, he claimed to have lost his voice completely.
Not ready to accept defeat, Carlos Silver vowed to take legal action against Guinness, emphasizing the significant financial investment he made for their involvement. "I will sue them, even if I have to go to an international court because the evidence is there,” CostaVerdeDR quotes Silver as saying. “I want them to review the attempt amicably because I paid one and a half million pesos ($29,630) to get them here, they didn’t come out of the goodness of their heart.”
The singer expressed his gratitude to the Dominican people, asserting that their support meant more to him than a Guinness certificate.