Monday 29 November 2010

[Vocal Profile] Nicole Scherzinger


Vocal Type: Lyric Soprano
Whistle Register:Yes
Vocal Range: D3-G#6 (3 Octaves 2 Note and a semi tone)
Vocal Pluses: A trained singer, this Diva is comfortable singing in a variety of styles [Jazz: Feeling Good/ Theater: Phantom Of The Opera / Classical: Io Ti Penso Amore ] Along with control and power, Nicole is able to sing complex melisma throughout her range, expertly alter the dynamics of her voice mid-phrase and, thanks to excellent breath control, hold notes effortlessly [all demoed  here].

This Diva's mid-range is versatile and can be manipulated to add character and emotional colouring to a vocal. For instance: Nicole gives her delivery attitude and aggression and an icy, slightly gritty tone in Poison; while softening, aerating and warming her tone in Happily Never After. Whatever choices she takes with her mid-range, the character of Nicole's voice is retained making a song easily attributable.

Present is a flexible and elastic belt that is expertly controlled. The lower half is dark and rich [Right Now] with a suitable volume to it. As it climbs the fifth octave the voice takes on a nasal placement causing it to thin and and take on a metallic timbre. It's due to this shift that Nicole is able to impressively hit, and hold, upper fifth octave notes (even with with a measured vibrato) [Club Banger Nation]. It should be noted that Nicole can add a rock edge to her belts by "pulling up" her chest voice [Run Live].

Nicole's head voice has a dual aspect to it. In a contemporary setting the Diva is able to produce a soft and sweet head-voice that can be harmonized and remains unobtrusive to a song's backing [Heartbeat]. However, it can be made to sound impressively resonant with a theatrical quality to it. In this styling her tone is full, warm and measured, and the Diva is able to add a controlled vibrato, play with volume and crescendo beautifully [Io Ti Penso Amore ].

Vocal Negatives: Belted notes can sometimes sound harsh and more akin to shouting due to improper placement of the voice, especially when it forgoes vibrato.










85 comments:

  1. I've never heard any evidence of a true whistle register. Also her voice is quite weak live, and she has to shout to be heard.

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    1. Youtube this performance "Nicole Sherzinger - Phantom Of The Opera (Royal Variety Performance 2011)" I to, had never heard any evidence and was caught severely off guard by her use of the register but the command she has over it is remarkable!

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  2. the second album of the pcd there's a song which she use the whistle register.

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  3. She did the whistle registers in her old band called Eden's Crush.

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  4. She has a five octave range according to various sources.

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  5. Please correct your article, as she is a proper soprano: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpancx5pl2I

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  6. Thanks for that! very interesting!

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  7. She's also a trained Opera singer! She sang 'Phantom of the Opera' at the 2011 Royal Variety Performance http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=rCt_XnywlLA

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  8. shes a dramatic soprano!
    watch here , she singing opera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y-I-Dfo1rw

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  9. shes a dramatic soprano! watch here singing opera:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y-I-Dfo1rw 

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  10. hahahahahahahahahahaha Dramatic Soprano? 

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  11. yes. dramatic is the tone and characteristics of her voice, if you dont know it, go study first.

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  12. her voice have more to talk about. her head voice and whistles are
    soft and elastic. her voice is expressive. her vibrato is great that Eb6 was excellent. her lower range is kind of weak. her voice is versatile. her belted notes are powerful at (C5-E5) and they are either smooth or rocky and punchy on F5 above F5 is just punchy.

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  13. and if listen closely to ave maria you'll see that she can switch from her whistle register to her chest voice.

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  14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y-I-Dfo1rw

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  15. Please change this. She is definitely a soprano. Her tessitura is high, her tone is bright  and light, very agile in her head voice and whistle register.

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  16. Never knew that she could sing this well

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  17. It should be like this.

    Vocal Pluses: versatile voice that have a sultry, dark and pleasant timbre to it. the belted notes are powerful, resonate and clear with
    a rock tinge to it and are reached by mixing with the head voice. the
    head voice itself is bright, smooth, clear, connected and wide
    extending up to an E6. she can hold notes with or without her fast
    vibrato. technical singer.

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  18. I see there is a few folks that seem to think she is a soprano, sorry to break it to you but she is not.

    Firstly the clips given show her singing in an operatic style, in which, fair enough she does sing soprano she however sounds nothing like this with the application of her normal singing voice due to the extremely different techniques that are used.

    I believe she is a mezzo due to the fact that without any classical application her voice sits better in the mid/chest register than the head. There is no denying that she can still reach the notes of a soprano but her tone and weight are too much to be classified as such. Also bearing in mind that when she climbs the registers (without the classical technique) the sound starts to suffer greatly - almost becoming painful to listen to and indicating she could be forcing the larynx to produce the sound.

    Her voice for sure sounds far more pleasant in its lower regions retaining a husky sensual turn, never sounding strained and aways controlled to a far superior level than her upper.

    Nevertheless and incredible vocalist :)

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  19. She definitely is a soprano. When she sings normally in her chest voice, you can tell she is forcing a strong sound, trying to imitate big-voiced black R&B singers. Her natural tone is obviously thin and light but forcing the voice to sound big brings issues and that's why she struggles to carry the notes to a higher key.

    If anything, she suffers from technique/placement issues when singing "normally" on pop songs or you caught her on a bad day. I've always noticed that she sounds best on her high belts, she opens her mouth and she glides through high notes effortlessly most of the time and her notes are well-supported.

    When she sings classically, she is using a better technique and she is using her real tone instead of faking a big one which allows her to be agile and light like a true soprano.

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  20. She does not possess ANY characteristic of a dramatic soprano. But she most definitely is a soprano as she said so herself.

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  21. Diva please update her profile.

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  22. She is not a soprano, she is a full MEZZO-SOPRANO.

    Ok? 

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  23. A full mezzo-soprano will not be able to sing Phantom of the Opera with as much comfortability and ease as she did. She has a high tessitura for a mezzo-soprano and her head voice was light, bright and very agile. Clearly not a mezzo. And that Ave Maria from George Lopez and another video from her DWTS rehearsals strengthen that fact.

    P.S.: I heard she has classified herself in interviews before as a classically trained soprano

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  24. I love Nicole with all of my being. Such an amazing Vocalist. Being traditionally trained in Opera ,Nicole has such power that isn't seen in many Pop singers today, even in the weaker areas of her voice. It just pains me that her music isn't the best! XD. But nevertheless the beauty in her voice cannot be denied. As for her vocal type I honestly believe her to be a Soprano with a good lower extension. Her Head voice is so effortlessly executed (as seen in her renditions of Ave Maria and the Phantom of the Opera) and when singing in chest voice her lower notes sound more forced. Her belts are very resonant and powerful and her professionalism with her voice definitely leaves newcomers to her music in shock! Another pro- she does an AMAZING Britney Spears impression. 

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  25. I am starting to think you are right, just bought her album as I really liked 'Don't hold Your Breath' and I agree about her sounding much more polished and strong in her head voice and upper chest range. Infact most of the songs on Killer Love demonstrate just how adept she is upstairs if you like lol.

    Plus when she does attempt to sing say under a F3 its not really all that pleasant to listen to in comparison. My only critique though is sometimes she can apply a bit too much power to her belts, but otherwise I am pleasantly surprised and shall be bopping away to her album for a while yet...

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  26. Her belting on Casualty gives me chills actually and the song AmenJena. her vibrato and her theatrical approach was pleasant. However some songs are just bland. The song Desperate? Really?

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  27. Indeed! AmenJena in particular exceptional! I hope the next album pushes her to show off more of her vocal capabilities (slightly drowned in the clubby production)! Lol about Desperate! Very true

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  28. Check this out Diva Devotee, Nicole singing opera during her Dancing With The Stars rehearsals. Gives me chills.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3-pU0Elq8M

    And here's a collection of her head voice vs Leona Lewis' head voice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96QxlgShDGQ

    BOTH have a pretty head voice but Leona's are prettier but Nicole's are much resonant and better placed

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  29. Hey diva, check out this clip of Nicole Scherzinger singing opera during her Dancing With The Stars rehearsals. CHILLS!www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3-pU0Elq8M

    Here's another one comparing a collection of her head voice vs Leona's. 
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96QxlgShDGQ 

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  30. I found another video of her performing in the Rocky Horror Show.  It's really great, she needs to do more musicals! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLKq0gz5B5Q

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  31. As a fan of Nicole, I think the only reason why I listen to the album is her voice. The material was weak (except a few gems and the singles) which coincidentally became an advantage as her vocals were put in the driver's seat and her delivery saved the songs.

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  32. Diva please update this. I think she is a trained lyric soprano. The way she sang Ave Maria reminds me of a lyrics soprano.

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  33. I agree, the mentors on the voice have a more dynamic feel and come from more interesting musical backgrounds.


    Tulisa in my opinion is pointless (as I feel Demi will be on US version) in that she lacks any kind of genuine career experience other than working with her chavvy band.


    Lol I heard about Louis over there, that really puzzled me. Why not choose someone the American public know and care for, as far as I am aware Louis has never managed any act over there either (again pointless). Janet would be awesome I think, she can sing, dance and is part of one of music's finest dynasties with her mad bros and all hehe


    Just driving home the joke that the show is now becoming to be honest!

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  34. And don't even get me started on Tulisa.

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  35. She sings 'I Hate This' part so well live, but seems to struggle singing songs off of her solo album live, especially 'Right There'. I don't understand how she fails at hitting the belted note when she sings "Ima make you feel GOOD".

    Obviously for me, being a guy, that's easy to belt, but for her being a trained singer, I'd expect a little professionalism and control for a live performance.

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  36. TheTomimomi45528 June 2012 at 21:15

    She hit B2 in "Jai Ho" and C#3 in "Stickwitu".....her vocal range is B2 - B5 - G#6. :)

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  37. People are saing she has 5-octaves actually. can you verify it?

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  38. i hope so. soon please :)

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  39. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXK7rsgbi48 she hits a B2

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  40. Check out Nicole singing BLACK DOG in the studio :) I thin the video is on her youtube channel

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  41. You should ad her abilty to sing Opera

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  42. Sounds like a soprano, not a mezzo-soprano to me.

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  43. @divadevotee:disqus this needs update

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  44. So Nicole the new X-Factor UK full time judge, I feel somewhat cheated by this but there is no denying her musicality or even personality but to be fired from one show and appear on the next seems a bit wrong?


    Views people?

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  45. and if listen closely to ave maria you'll see that she can switch from her whistle register to her chest voice.

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  46. @everyone will be updating this profile soon!

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  47. yes, she has the ability to reach fifth octave., or even more.

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  48. Nicole has nearly 5 octaves not a measely 3

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  49. I'm surprised this wasn't included there. Her singing phantom of the opera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE6SRBnDHx8

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  50. She's a soprano all right. Any duskiness to her tone in pop music seems to be a bit forced--kinda Aguilera-ish. But she does have a damn good belt for a soprano, but that shoutiness sort of proves the point of her fach--she wants more power in her pop songs, and it might overwhelm her chords a bit.

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  51. From clips I've been seeing of her in her head voice, she seems to be a coloratura soprano.

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  52. Hmm, she seems more like a mezzo in pop and a soprano in opera... Another negative though is the slight nasality of her voice when singing pop which is not there when singing opera, in which she excels! Wish she had gone further down that path.

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  53. Diva, when are you gonna update this? She is a trained coloratura soprano.

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  54. I agree with this. Her belts can sound a little forced at times as if she is attempting to add a coarser edge to a color that is naturally much brighter. As a result she can get shouty on the belts and sometimes the notes can get a wee bit unstable when she tries to use the rockier edge. However, the natural vocal color is pretty pleasant to the ear and her operatic work was quite impressive. There's definitely talent.

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  55. Terrific post but I was wondering if you could write
    a litte more on this subject? I'd be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Cheers!

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  56. A year ago?!? Can we get this updated'

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  57. anastasia kipshidze19 July 2013 at 11:39

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDMX-1RJEEE

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  58. If Kelly Clarkson is a soprano, so is Nicole. Their voices are wrote similar in range and color, save that Kelly may have a thicker voice. I suspect they are both full lyrics, with Kelly a borderline spinto for the metallic sound she can get in her upper belts.

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  59. Both are light lyrics, if you compare Nicole and Kelly to full lyrics you'll notice their voices are a good bit smaller than say Lara Fabian or Celine Dion.

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  60. Light lyric? I disagree. A light lyric is like, Kathleen Battle or Lucia Pop. Or Mariah (yes they are all coloraturas but most are light lyrics with coloratura technique). Kelly and Nicole are much darker, and I'd say comparable to Celine, if given time to mature past thirty, when their voices finish developing.

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  61. #1- Kelly and Nicole are far from having dark voices. They have edge to their voice, which is due to the technique with which they sing, not because of the vocal anatomy.
    #2- Spintos have RICH, spinning, warm voices that produce incredible volume, not metallic sounds. Kelly's "metal" is nothing but strain from forcing her voice.
    #3- How are you going to say Kelly is a borderline spinto for the "metallic sound" in her belts, then cite light-lyric opera singers who DON'T belt in order to maintain your point? That makes no sense. If Kelly's a spinto, the vocal color and strength of a spinto voice should be evident in her middle AND upper registers, but they aren't. She can belt high and she pushes at the top of her voice, but the output of volume isn't CLOSE to a true spinto voice. Not only that, but she can't even hold it for long.
    #4- Celine's BARELY a full-lyric voice, so if Kelly and Nicole are comparable to her, it goes against your point.

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  62. Operatic work? If you're talking about that Phantom of the Opera performance, that is musical theater, not opera. Opera is singing a role (or many roles) for two hours full voice without any kind of amplification with the vocal technique and musicianship that is required for the repertoire. Nicole has displayed no such thing.

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  63. I think I meant the vocal placement in her
    "musical theater" work -- using more of a classical technique she sounds more natural. I was hardly trying to split hairs over this but point conceded.

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  64. I understood what you were trying to say, but she wasn't anywhere near close to using a classical technique. Far from it.

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  65. Okay. I see. I won't pursue this further.

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  66. Kelly and Nicole's voices aren't similar in colour, at all. Nicole's timbre is darker. Nicole also has a bigger voice than Kelly. She also uses a more Head Dominant mix from F5 and above whereas Kelly, notably (as of RECENTLY) has a more Head Dominant mix from G5. Nicole's someone I've yet to figure out. I always thought she had the timbre of a Mezzo. She could be a Coloratura Mezzo as she practices Coloratura exercises fluently.

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  67. please explain to me what does mean multi - octave?

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  68. she is classically trained for the opera :) Please include her Phantom of the Opera Performance

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  69. She's definitely a soprano. Not dramatic, I would probably say Full Lyric or Spinto. Start the video at 30 seconds and watch until the end, her head voiced is very well developed and she has awesome stamina up there.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH-wsMH60zw

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  70. She is a soprano.

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  71. she is not operatic singer.black women cant sing opera

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  72. Nicole is not black nor is opera secluded to Americans and other races alike. There are many black opera singers out there and I can tell you for a fact that most of them have made a bigger impact in the operatic world than your Judy Garland. (No shade. Judy Garland is and will forever remain the Original Diva)

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  73. can you do a review of her duet with x factor uk contestant please she was awesome

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  74. Lmao what a dick.

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  75. Nicole slays her in every aspect of singing and every register. Leona's forte may be her falsetto/head voice but her vocal creativity there is not very interesting or adventurous.

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  76. She can belt up to B5 with ease.

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  77. That's head voice, not whistle.

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  78. Well she's classically trained but I guess she just didn't want to go into actual opera.

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  79. 3 is hardly measly. The average singer has 2 octaves and she doesn't have 5, where has she even displayed anywhere near 4 octaves? Though I wouldn't doubt that she could go higher than we've heard her.

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  80. Well Nicole is in her 30s now.

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  81. No, the ability to reach the fifth octave does not mean she has 5 octaves. Her lowest note is a D3 (albeit anything below G3 is weak for her) and her highest note so far is a G#6 so it's about 3.5 octaves, but I wouldn't put it past her to be able to go higher and make it at least 4 octaves - she certainly has the elasticity, technique and therefore the potential to.

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  82. More than one octave… (usually 3 or more)

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  83. Leontyne Price, Kathleen Battle, Jesse Norman, Audra MacDonald, Denis Graves, and Laurice Lanier. Just to name a few

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