Thursday 6 June 2002

Less is more?

Am I the only person to notice that there is a new disease in town? One that seems to have crept up without us paying attention and now seems to be spreading like wildfire? I feel that it's my duty to inform you of this curious disease that seems to afflict the modern day singer. The disease in question? The "over-singing syndrome" (OSS). This rapidly spreading illness which affects mostly female artists, has become chronic and there seems to be no cure.

It seems that many singers, for whatever reason, feel the need to sing every note, in every variation, in every pitch making up new notes in their quest for "greatness", culminating in overusing such devices in a single song. Forget about the wonders of the melody and its importance to be heard and understood, OSS singers want us to forget all about that and have us focus on them screaming down a microphone, at the highest pitch known to man or woman. They mistake bombarding us with unnecessary notes as greatness, style and charisma.

So who are the main carriers of this affliction? There are quite a few, but the most notable are; Mariah Carey (in my opinion the absolute queen), Beyonce Knowles, Christina Aguillera and the relative new kid on the block Anastacia. Ill-informed critics crow that these singers and those who emulate them have voices to "die for". I beg to differ. Talk to anyone who's ever had singing lessons (or indeed to a singing coach) and they will tell you that the "techniques" of these singers leave a lot to be desired.

Listen to any Mariah Carey track (except Vision of Love which was how she should always sing) and you will hear that her voice, in my opinion, lacks tone, soul or character. She unwittingly demonstrated how weak her voice really is when a few years ago she took part in a "VH1 Diva's Live" concert along with Aretha Franklin, Faith Hill, Gloria Estefan and Celine Dion. Mariah mistakenly believed that her voice would outshine Aretha, You had to feel sorry for the young pretender as Ms Franklin wiped the floor with her, without even breaking into sweat. What it also showed was that a "million octave" range does not maketh the singer.

What is this culture that in order to be considered a great singer you need to out-sing even yourself? Surely the voices that young singers should admire are those that don't rely on what I call the "extra bits" or "warbling" but use it as an enhancement not a replacement for hearing the melody and soul of a song. Singers who have got it right are Whitney Houston, Beverley Knight, the late Aaliyah, Mary J Blige, Brandy, Alicia Keys, Faith Evans and Lauryn Hill to name a few. Those from the "old school" such as Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Patti LaBelle, Dionne Warwick and many more, you can learn a lot from. I should mention Jazz singers Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn and such like who have wonderful voices, which scream "character". Even the "Latin" voices such as Celia Cruz conveys passion. They have brilliance in conveying not only what is sung, but also what they don't sing. These singers allow you to savour the words, the melody and how the song is sung.

When you get Beyonce Knowles murdering the beautiful Bee Gees song, Emotions, by creating notes that just weren't needed, you wonder who told her that "more is great" and "even more is better". In my opinion the person with the best voice in Destiny's Child is Kelly Rowland. She strikes the balance between singing and adding that little bit extra when needed. She knows how to express a note without over doing it. She knows it's not about hitting every note all of the time, it is about conveying the words and feelings you want to put across. Christina Aguillera has a great voice but lately she has caught the OSS bug. The other newcomer in the mix, Anastacia, has believed people when they tell her that her voice sounds black and therefore in order to "maintain" such high regard, she sings in this weird fashion that only someone like Macy Gray can get away with.

I just hope I don't see the day when with every song I hear, I have to wade through the unnecessary screaming to get to what a song is all about. Can't we just have the character, style, passion and melody right from the start?

(Precious Magazine)



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