Tuesday, 26 April 2011

[Duelling Divas] Mariah Carey Vs Celine Dion - "Open Arms"



At a recent show in Las Vegas, Canadian vocalist Celine Dion gave a classy, subdued and restrained performance of Journey's classic rock anthem Open Arms. Mariah Carey, who had worked with both the band's bassist and drummer before that point in her career, also covered the song in her own inimitable style on her 1995 album, Daydream.

Saturday, 23 April 2011

OMG Britney Spears slicker than the remix "Till the world ends" featuring Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha. (Preview)


I can not believe the remix that is heading our way on Monday!! Everyone's favourite multimillionairess tramp Ke$ha- who is also the co-writer of the song- and rapper du jour Nicki Minaj have teamed up with Ms Britney Spears on a Dub-step inspired remix of the already stellar Till the world ends! OMG! Hopefully this is the shot in the arm the song needs to send it rightfully to the top of the charts!

Wednesday, 20 April 2011

Amber Riley Covers Adele's "Someone Like you"

As Adele's popularity soars worldwide its unsurprising singers have been clambering to cover the English vocalist's classy tunes. John Legend gave us his, not so great, cover of Rolling in the deep a few weeks back and now Glee actor/singer Amber Riley gives an Adele song a try by covering the already classic Someone like you

Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Single review: Beyonce "(Who run the world) Girls"...what a mess!

beyonce girl video
You have to give it to Beyonce. Far from staying safe and returning with something that screams "HIT" or that treads familiar territory, Queen B takes a risk and serves up something that sounds akin to a lot of noise on first listen, in the form of new single Girls (Who Run the World).

Monday, 18 April 2011

[Vocal Profile ] Kylie Minogue


Vocal Type: Soprano
Vocal Range: 3 Octaves 2 notes and a semitone (D3- F#6)
Whistle Register: No
Vocal Pluses: An overall nasal quality is prevalent throughout much of Kylie Minogue's catalogue and as such, most see it to be a trademark of the Australian Diva's voice. It's not present in her lower notes, due to her placement, and here the voice is rounded with a warm sound and a seductive ease [All The Lovers]. But this changes quickly as Kylie climbs the octaves.

The nasal twang, as mentioned above, is what most have come to associate with the singer [Can't Get You Out Of My Head , Fever]. However, she can mitigate, or choose to forgo it entirely in her midrange; demonstrating its use being a stylistic choice rather than due to any limitations of the voice. To eliminate it, Kylie often lightens the voice, giving it a breathier and sweeter timbre [as heard in the verses of Come Into My World and All The Lovers]. As well being able to remove it, Kylie can include it to varying degrees: modifying it to being faintly present [Aphrodite], or making it so strong that the voice gains a metallic, almost computerised effect to it[Speakerphone]. This versatility and control allows for Kylie to create interesting and compelling harmonies, with the contrasting textures layering well upon one another.

Kylie's technique means she can belt into the fifth octave without any issue, all whilst retaining the character of her voice. She has  produced some surprisingly resonant notes in this part of the range [Here] that show that the voice has a power that isn't often (if ever) illustrated by her choice of singles. Kylie can also vary the quality of the notes here depending on how she mixes her chest and head-voice [Here], which once again illustrates just how technically capable a singer she is.

The head-voice is strong and robust and can be operatic and dramatic [Sound Of Music Intro, Your Disco Needs You ] or soft and breezy [Confide In Me]. Her voice seems to have no problem switching to this register, or singing notes here, which further points to her placing in the soprano fach.

Vocal Negatives: The nasal tone is where most find fault in Kylie's voice and though it is clear from a wider listen to her catalouge that this is more an artistic choice than anything else, it still remains that most of her biggest hits are recorded using this tone.

Quiz Results: "Whats the most important aspect of a Diva's voice"?

The vote results are in and you have voted the Vocal Range as the most important aspect of a singers voice. Reassuringly though it only lost out to Vocal emotiveness and vocal uniqueness by 1 and 4 votes respectively!

Thanks for voting!

Sunday, 17 April 2011

Single review: Lady Gaga "Judas"

From the Earth Shattering disappointment that was Lady Gaga's last single Born this way, the singer has thankfully began her assent back up in my esteem with the release of new single Judas. But lets just be clear, my opinion of Gaga, which hit rock bottom in reaction to the manipulative Born this way, is still nowhere near the highs of The Fame Monster EP era.

Saturday, 16 April 2011

Beverly Knight - Vocal Profile/ Range



Vocal Type: Mezzo-Soprano
Vocal Range: 3 octaves 1 note 1 semitone C#3- E6
Vocal Pluses: Natural singer, with a good technique and powerful, clear belt.
Vocal Negatives: Weak lower register.


Wednesday, 13 April 2011

Album review : Katy B "On a mission"

After building hype the last few months with a number of quality single releases- namely Lights on, Katy On a Mission and Perfect stranger- Peckham born Katy B finally releases her first album On a mission. The question is can the rest of the album cuts match the high standard of excellent singles that proceeded it?

Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Lady Gaga takes a tumble and "falls this way"

lady gaga fall fail
Lady Gaga takes a tumble from her chair during a performance of You and I at the Monstersball tour in Houston.


In what looks like what could be potentially regular feature of this blog Lady Gaga now joins Mariah Carey [whose fall can be seen here] on the list of stars featured that have taken  a tumble while performing.

Monday, 11 April 2011

Review : Rihanna S &M remix featuring Britney Spears

 rihanna britney

It was only yesterday that news of Rihanna's remix of latest single S and M would feature Britney Spears. Though the interweb seemed to be a buzz with excitement about the impending release, I was a little more reserved in my reaction to the news. In truth, I was more worried, and had a feeling the resulting release wouldn't be anything of merit- especially when considered how strong of a single the original was/is.

Adele vs Britney Spears: "Rolling Till The World Ends" (Mash-up)


Not more than half an hour ago I responded to a comment regarding a concern over Adele's longevity in the context of a perceived lack of versatility in her vocal styling.

Saturday, 9 April 2011

Q&A: "Who is naturally a better singer, Beyonce or Christina Aguilera?"

christina aguilera and beyonce

This question comes via an email from AmbeRussel [check out his youtube channel here]. If you'd like to ask a question please me email at divadevotee@gmail.com

"Hey I just found your blog online and I enjoy what you have to say. I was just wondering, since i have been having this debate, who you think has a better voice between Beyonce vs Christina Aguilera?

I personal feel that 1 girl's voice is 10x better but doesn't sing as well while the other female singers with the best tech. But there is very little to her voice. I don't want you to be biased so I've used no names. lol.

Can you help me by giving you 2 cents?"
AmbeRussel

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Britney spears : "Till the world ends" video review

A 30 second clip of Britney Spears' new video for Till the world ends has just been released on Youtube and it is looking epic!

This is the level of quality I wanted to see in Britney's last video Hold it against me; a video that seemed too cheap for not only a lead single (read the review for Femme Fatale) but for someone of Britneys' stature. Although I eventually warmed to the video after the clever symbolism was made apparent to me, it's treatment still leaves me feeling cold and uninterested when I see it now.

Friday, 1 April 2011

[Vocal Range] Jessie J



Vocal Type: Lyric Soprano
Vocal Range: 3 octaves and 5 notes C3- A6
Whistle Register: Yes
Vocal Pluses: Jessie J has the ability to sing quick and complex melisma through the range without issue, a feat often noted as being a signature of her style. Along with this ability, she has the control to sing trills, staccatissimo through complex melodies with pinpoint accuracy [Stay With Me], and add texture to vocal lines via grunts and growls.

Her control, in regards to vocal dexterity, is mirrored in her breath control. As a result she can hold notes for lengths of time without loss of quality to the sound [I Will Always Love You (Live)], and sing complex and lengthy vocal lines in a single breath [Domino (live)].