<p>I think ‘Grace’ needs to change her name as it is not becoming of her at all. I have no problem being selective with who she collaborates with, but why get so nasty about it? Lady Gaga has actually grown on me and I was refreshed to hear her publicly assert her belief in celibacy (although her sexual practices are really no one’s business) last week.</p>
<p>ew, who the hell is grace jones? lady gaga is amazing. i wasn’t even a big fan of her…until, that is, i heard her sing, live…& then, it was like, WOW.</p>
<p>(A local HS-run dance music radio station claims that they were the first who “discovered” Lady Gaga. I believe them - I remember them playing her songs long before they became mainstream.)</p>
After watching many youtube Lady G videos at my kid’s insistance, and having never been much of a Madonna fan, I stick to my original opinion. Gaga is all flash. She has a sweet voice if you go back to early recordings but nothing special. It’s all media hype - even a moderate talent like Madona has more basic singing skill. Now if you want to measure bold in-your-face marketing, Gaga has it all.</p>
<p>Gaga played the piano at a very early age and did some composition. She was talented enough to be admitted to NYU Tisch but didn’t stay to graduate. She’s unrecognizable in the videos during that time. I never paid much attention until her Grammy performance and I was impressed with her ability to sing live. She held her own with Elton John. I’m always more impressed with singers who are actually musicians.</p>
<p>I am going to demonstrate my ignorance here – as a non-musical person, I hear that some popular singers are really talented (Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, and apparently Lady Gaga) while other popular singers aren’t (such as Madonna) - but I have to be honest, they just all sound like singers to me. How does someone who doesn’t have musical chops evaluate this type of thing? I mean, if you hadn’t all said Lady Gaga has an amazing voice, I don’t know that I could have thrown her in one group or the other.</p>
<p>I am not a Mariah Carey fan. I have trouble hearing her voice through all the machinations and breathiness, and her whistle range is not appealing to me. Aguilera tends to do a little too much “styling” for my tastes too but I heard a good song by her recently. I can’t remember where - the Haiti fundraiser I think. I’m sure you can find it on You Tube. </p>
<p>Quite simply, I want them to be able to carry a tune - live. I like to hear a natural vibrato, no gasping, not too much raspiness, smooth transitions between head and chest voice (switching to falsetto), good enunciation, not nasal. I expect them to be able to move around a bit and sing. Madonna is famous for lip synching because she is a better dancer than singer.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s because I don’t have the language. I think I get what you mean by vibrato; is more vibrato always a better thing or the mark of a “better” singer? I wouldn’t know what you mean by head and chest voice and I wouldn’t know what you mean by not being nasal (I mean, I know what it sounds like when someone has a cold, but I’m guessing you mean something different). I kind of feel like I need to hear someone sing and hear someone say, “This is an example of X” for me to understand/ hear the differences.</p>
<p>I* think I get what you mean by vibrato; is more vibrato always a better thing or the mark of a “better” singer?*</p>
<p>Generally it is taste, but less trained / aging vocal cords lean toward vibrato, some coaches feel it is a healthier way to sing.</p>
<p>A few of my favorite singers ( female- you already know who my favorite * male* singer is. ( I’ve limited it to living)
Joan Armatrading
Annie Lennox
Chrissie Hynde
Madonna
Sinead O’Connor
Bonnie Raitt
Star Anna
Joan Osborne</p>
<p>Enjoyment of vocal instrumentation isn’t just about being able to hit the note, and quality of the sound, it is also about delivery and emotion as well as song selection and difficulty. ( IMO)
Joan Armatrading for example excels in all those areas.</p>
<p>Lady Gaga’s shtick is quite a bit like Grace Jones’–you can understand that Grace might be galled by seeing the much huger success Gaga is getting. But I think Madonna is the better comparison, because what has made Gaga a big success is marketing. There are lots of good singers–but marketing is key. Look at Katy Perry, who (in my opinion) isn’t a very good singer, but who has been well marketed. Madonna is the queen of this kind of marketing, and she has been doing it very well for decades.</p>
<p>Listen to vintage Whitney Houston. “I Will Always Love You” is a good example. You can hear some vibrato but not warbling. She transitions easily back and forth between her belt and falsetto. There is no nasality and you can understand every word she sings. She also has great phrasing. If you want to see where she gets it, look at some old (60s) Dionne Warwick videos. Early Aretha Franklin is a good choice too. She did great versions of “Walk on By” and “Say a Little Prayer” that you can find on you tube. She screams too much for me generally but no doubt the voice is there.</p>