[Vocal Profile] Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson

Vocal Type: Spinto Soprano
Vocal Range: 3 Octaves and 2 notes (E3-G6)
Whistle Register: Yes
Vocal Pluses: Clarkson is known for her expansive vocal range, technical skills, emotive delivery as well as having a strong sense of musicality. Her extensive list of cover songs, on not only American Idol but as part of her Stronger tour, display this perfectly; with her being able to take a song and add a personal stamp to it via her vocal delivery [Can't Let Go/ Give Me One Reason/At Last]. She is also able to sing complex melisma and hold notes without any issue.

Clarkson's lower range can be described as breathy and more difficult to control and deliver upon, being slightly less audible to that of the rest of the range [Star Spangled Banner]. However, this part of the range tends to be well supported, displaying a raspy and husky texture.

The mid-range is delivered in an extremely confident and technically sound manner, with her technique, in this area of the range, being far superior to that of the lower range. Yet it still retains an earthy and grounded quality making her voice extremely identifiable [Since U Been Gone]. Due to this mirroring of characteristics in the lower and mid-range, it gives the two parts a fully connected sound.

Clarkson is known more for her superb belting range, for which she possesses a strong and expertly placed range between that of E5 and a soprano C6. This part of her voice contains a powerful slicing tone, which is not only able to easily cut through the heavy instrumentation of her backing band but also that of an orchestra [Hear:My Country, 'Tis of Thee]. Clarkson's upper extremes of the range, as well as the head voice, contains the characteristics of a full lyric soprano. However, the entirety of the voice is of a grounded nature, containing a powerful and incisive upper register, which would place her voice in the spinto category, due to her lack of full dramatic power.

Whilst her head voice is slightly disconnected from that of the rest of the range, this is an area that Clarkson truly blossoms. Some have claimed her head voice and falsetto to be that of the most beautiful in contemporary music- with it being known to be clean and potent as well as fulsome [Ave Maria (live)]. Whilst Clarkson can belt up to a C6 her head voice is known to commence around the A5 region. Again her technical virtuosity has displayed her vocally as both direct and solid [Invincible (live)] but also gentle and breathy [Because Of You], depending on the artistic choices of the material she delivers.

The whistle register is known for having a full and piercing nature [Hear: Natural Woman] or soft and gentle (Honestly - Stronger), although this is an area of the voice known to be underutilized.

Vocal Negatives:Critique has been levelled at her voice sounding slightly hoarse at times- which is probably due to her extensive touring schedules creating vocal fatigue. At times her voice can sound pushed, particularly in the chest range. As previously noted her whistle register is underutilized, although this could possibly be more due to artistic choice than physical ability.

Did Lady Gaga's "Born this way" Rip Off Madonna's "Express yourself"?

For those who can not hear the similarities between Lady Gaga's Born this way and Madonna's Express Yourself a kind Youtuber has created a video to aid the journey towards awareness of this fact.

Review: Lady Gaga "Born this way" So bad it's terrible!

The hype for Lady Gaga's new single Born this way has been building steadily for months. A hype I readily admit being caught up in, and finally today, after it's release date was pushed a week forward, we got a chance to hear a song that, according to Elton John, would "obliterate 'I Will Survive'".

Review: Nicole Scherzinger "Don't Hold Your Breath "

Nicole Scherzinger in the video for Dont hold your breath.

Nicole Scherzinger is back with new single Don't Hold Your Breath and ironically its quite an apt title for anyone expecting amazing things from it.

The song is essentially an underwhelming, mid-tempo, electro-pop fluff of a track that lyrically deals with Nicole telling an ex-partner not to hold their breath about her reconciling the relationship.

Review : Rihanna's S &M Video

Rihanna isn't helping with the claims of her being associated with Illumanti
when at 3.20 "Rihanna Princesss of the Illumanti" is flashed on screen.

Rihanna's video for S and M, her third release from Loud, bypasses what could have been a risqué and provocative look at the underworld scene of S and M by approaching the subject matter in a playful, light-hearted and toothless manner.

The video does manage to include some imagery that is synonymous with the S and M scene- such as whips, bondage and PVC- but they are rendered ineffectual when contrasted with the "suggestive" way Rihanna "eats" a selection of fruit towards the end of the video.

Review Ellie Goulding: Lights

Ellie Goulding in the video for Lights

Ellie Goulding's new single Lights, taken from the album Bright Lights, is a glouriosly dreamy track that ushers in the listener with twinkling, hypnotic, electronic sounds that can't help but make you picture  a night sky scattered with stars.

Happy Birthday Aaliyah

It's been a decade since Über talented Rn b singer and actress Aaliyah tragically died in a plane crash. Today would have marked Aaliyah's 32nd birthday. 

In circumstances when someone dies tragically and at a young age there is always a danger that we can become too caught up in thoughts of "what may have been" but this serves no useful purpose and only distracts from their achievements. Therefore, lets rejoice in the singer and focus on what made, and still till this day makes, Aaliyah such an enduring force in music.