Favorite vocalists

[Fraxinus]

I'm like 90% sure there's been a thread about this before but I can't recall one being too recent. Not the same as the favorite rapper thread, though--but if your favorite vocalist is a rapper, then definitely mention them here, too!

A lot of us here like music. And a lot of music feature vocals. Sometimes the vocals are good, and sometimes they're not so good. And sometimes they're amazing. Are there any vocalists you consider your favorites? For either their techniques or voice quality or range? Keep in mind, they don't necessarily have to be your favorite artist or from your favorite band or music group. Just whoever's voices you love the most of all the groups you listen to. Feel free to include songs that feature their voices if you want.

I'm just gonna keep it simple and do one male and female vocalist.

Favorite male vocalist: Jordan Radvansky (from Seraphim)



Favorite female vocalist: Melissa Rosenberg (from Melrose & Mechina)



I look forward to hearing who your favorites are!

 

[Dizzi]

Malinda Kathleen Reese aka Twisted Translations aka Google Translates....

 

[Azure Sage]

One of my favorite singers of all time is Aimer. Her voice makes me feel all happy and fuzzy. I love listening to her music, and her voice is always accompanied by fantastic instrumentations.



Another favorite is Yosh. He's with Survive Said The Prophet and has worked with Hiroyuki Sawano (Aimer has too actually, most of my favorite vocalists have). I love the energy he sings with and he always sounds great.

 

[twilitfalchion]

For a male singer, Takuya Yamanaka. The Oral Cigarettes have quickly become one of my favorite bands, and Takuya's vocals are definitely a big part of the reason why.


For a female singer, I'd say Ikura from YOASOBI. Her vocals blend really well with the instrumentation in their songs. She also does a very nice job with English versions of their own songs.

 

[Mikey the Moblin]

Nat king Cole, Catherine Warwick, Brendon Urie

 

[VikzeLink]

Dan Avidan from NSP. I don't really listen to many other artists or bands consistently

 

[Stitch]

Tom DeLonge's vocal style may not be for everybody, there is nothing classically trained about it, but it helped inspire a generation of singers and musicians who would never had picked up an instrument or microphone if they couldn't believed they could. He was one of them, a kid with nowhere to go and no one to love or be loved by. He couldn't afford lessons, but he had a passion and went on to write songs that we've all heard. I had seen blink-182 live after he had left, it was a great experience, no doubt the band (Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker, and Matt Skiba) are incredible without him. But he alone taps into an emotional part of himself that few others can. Seeing and hearing him live in Angels & Airwaves earlier this year reminded me of the immense potential anybody can have, even a suburban skater loser with his hands holding his guitar and eyes dead set on the stars. Seeing this performance, during a career high tour, where he sings about why he is here and where he came from...it was something else.

 

[Skull_Kid]

Dir en Grey's Kyo

 

[Jimmu]

This is a difficult question as there are so many I like.

For Male Vocalist I'd probably have to go with Yojiro Noda from RADWIMPS, his voice is really beautiful.



For Female Vocalist, Ado is super young but her voice is amazing for someone her age.

 

[Hylian Viking]

I have multiple but I will break them up into categories:
My favorite Rock Vocalist is definitely Geddy Lee of Rush (isn't it obvious with my avatar)
Favorite Jazz/Pop Crooner Definitely Frank Sinatra and Jamie Cullum
Favorite Singer/Songwriter vocalist: John Denver, James Taylor, Bob Dylan
Favorite Female vocalists: Enya, Norah Jones
Favorite Pianoman: Elton John

 

[TheGreatCthulhu]

Huh, my favorite singers is really hard for me to nail down, as there's so many I like.

There's a lot.

Favorite male vocalist would have to be Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden. His strengths are in his sheer power, his diction, and I love his wide vibrato.





That drop and locked note he gives at the end of this performance of Maiden's song "Hallowed Be Thy Name" at the Hammersmith is just gorgeous. His mouth is nice and wide, and despite him selling the performance, I can easily hear that note has tons of support and he isn't straining to reach it, a sign of great singing technique.

These days, he has aged a bit, but he still sounds pretty great. I especially love his performance on their new single, "The Writing on the Wall."





And yes, even at his age, that's not straining, as there's videos of him busting this song out a capella.

However, despite good ol' Bruce being my favorite male vocalist, my favorite male vocal performance of all time is Pavarotti's performance of the aria, "Nessun Dorma"





The thing I love about Pavarotti is despite him having perfect pitch, he's slightly sharp of the note for several reasons. First is to get more brightness and shimmer on his voice where his natural resonance sits, and how he glissandos and slides into a note.

And of course, when he belts it, you can see just how relaxed he is, and it almost seems as if his face will vibrate off of his skull because he's achieving that resonance that tenors naturally have, that me, as a baritone am envious of.

Now for favorite female vocalist, I have to go with Simone Simons of Epica. Her voice is gorgeous and she's a trained soprano, so naturally it's going to sound great.





This is my favorite performance from her. When she really goes for it in the chorus, that gives me the warm fuzzies. Nothing quite beats a soprano really going for it, a real treat for the ears.

Another amazing performance is Diana Damrau's performance of the aria, "The Queen of the Night" from Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute.





I cannot fathom how she hit that high F damn near perfectly on pitch, and that to even attempt to get this aria right as Mozart envisioned it, you need a soprano with a vocal range between two octaves, from F4 - F6, and requires a top range of A4-C6.

In real terms, only the best damn sopranos should even attempt to sing this aria.

And goddamn, Diana not only hits the notes bang on perfect, she also acts out the performance, really selling it, and getting into the character of the Queen of the Night.

 

[Bloody Kun]

Hmm, let’s see. I guess beyond Freddie Mercury, I haven’t really thought much about vocals in particular when it comes to my favorite music. Maybe Anthony Keidis of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Also Tiny Tim might be grating to some but I find that an appealing part of his performance lol. As far as female singers, it’s hard to think of any at all…not to say I avoid them or anything, but a lot of what I listen to just happens to have guys. I do enjoy those they’ve had working on the Nier games, and there are a few female cover singers on YouTube I follow. Also kinda cheesy but I feel it’s heartfelt, Demondice is someone I hadn’t heard of and somehow missed but I’ve enjoyed her despite not being too into rap. Used to listen to ICP and Twiztid back in the day but it’s been a long time since then.