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Aretha at her prime had lungs and soul, but lacked the control, clarity and technical ability Whitney had.
Whitney Houston had an amazing voice. But honestly, her music wasn't anything special. It was typical radio schmaltz, and because she was gorgeous, she was a big hit on MTV. But no one is going to be listening to her music 50 years from now.
Whitney's voice may have been more technically perfect that Aretha's, but that's part of the problem. The imperfection (some times intentional) of Aretha's songs only made them all the more perfect.
She isn't the most technically perfect singer in "Think," especially when she breaks into that sort of sassy whine. But man, that sassy whine MAKES the song. Or when her voice drops into the earthy growl in "Chain of Fools" or rises to defiant scream in "Respect," she goes beyond perfection into something for which there are no words.
When Whitney sang, she was loved by radio listeners and kids who watched MTV. Critics loved her.
But when Aretha sang, choirs of angels stopped to listen.
I'm assuming since this is in the movies forum you mean best female singer in a movie role. If that was the case I'd have to go with Beyonce for Listen in the Dreamgirls movie.
The Bodyguard was good but it was basically Whitney playing herself and singing her own songs. I didn't like the songs from the preacher's wife. I am looking forward to Sparkle though.
I've never seen the movie Tina Turner starred in and I just don't like Rhianna. At all.
What is it with this? Most of the great American female vocalists are indeed black. I'm white and I wholeheartedly agree.
I have 2 Tina Turner CDs in my console and they have some mileage on them. She is fantastic. Songs like "Private Dancer" and "Break Every Rule" are among her best. A generation earlier, Dionne Warwick was another kick-ass voice.
Listen to this, and then try to convince me otherwise.
What is it with this? Most of the great female vocalists are black. I'm white and I agree.
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Not to get too far off subject but I often wondered why popular "black" music carried across color lines but many black people didn't listen to popular "white music".
Alicia keys, plays the piano, writes some of her own songs
Alicia Keys sounds horrible! She wouldn't crack my top 20. I remember when Rick James went hard on her; hilarious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LaoTzuMindFu
Best singer as in who has the best voice?
Mariah Carey
Patti Labelle
Whitney Houston
Etta James
Aretha Franklin
Mavis Staples
Sade
There are probably some church/gospel singer women with better voices, but since I dont know them or have heard them they cannot be listed/mentioned here.
Agreed. However, in terms of vocal ability. Sade isn't that great. Even she admits she can't sing, but her sound works for her songs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HtownLove
Is this poll a joke? None of the others came close to Whitney's talent
Aretha at her prime had lungs and soul, but lacked the control, clarity and technical ability Whitney had. Whitney overall had a better voice, Aretha was the more powerful singer.
Overall I think Patti Labelle was the best vocalist of my time. She combines the Power and Soul of Aretha with the technical ability of a Whitney/ Mariah/ Celine
Best singers in my opinion:
Patti Labelle
Whitney Houston
Aretha Franklin
Chaka Chan
Minnie Ripperton
Dionne Warwick- Weaker voice but really clear and beautiful
Sade
Betty Wright
Etta James
Ella Fitzgerald
Angie Stone
Cyndi Lauper
Christina Aguilera
Mabel King
Mahailia Jackson
Gladis Knight
Stephanie Mills......
I think if you're going to call out Aretha; you have have do it to Patti too. They both are known for showing off and overdoing it.
I think if you're going to call out Aretha; you have have do it to Patti too. They both are known for showing off and overdoing it.
I am not calling out Aretha at all. She is the man. I am just give my opinion. She has lungs and technical ability but not the control that Whitney or even Patti has/had.
Aretha has/ had a better voice than Patti, but by far Patti is the better vocalist.
Let me use two different singers so maybe I can explain it differently. Sade and Cyndi Lauper. Sade has the sweeter sultry voice, she really can sing, but Cyndi with the less soulful voice is the better vocalist imo because she has more range and can get more technical with her voice.
Same with Aretha and Patti. Both can blow, but Aretha in her prime has the sweeter more soulful voice while Patti's was more edgy and could do more with it.
It is kinda the opposite with Whitney and Mariah as they had very different singing styles. Whitney sang with more power behind her vocals while Mariah worked with her upper register. Although Mariah had more range I think Whitney was the better singer because she sang across the register and sang with more power (In the same vein as Aretha, Patti and Chaka) while Mariah's voice was thinner. I think Whitney combined the Beauty of Aretha's voice with the Power and technical ability of Patti. FYI Houston does have a few songs where she hits the high dog whistle notes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark S.
Whitney Houston had an amazing voice. But honestly, her music wasn't anything special. It was typical radio schmaltz, and because she was gorgeous, she was a big hit on MTV. But no one is going to be listening to her music 50 years from now.
Whitney's voice may have been more technically perfect that Aretha's, but that's part of the problem. The imperfection (some times intentional) of Aretha's songs only made them all the more perfect.
She isn't the most technically perfect singer in "Think," especially when she breaks into that sort of sassy whine. But man, that sassy whine MAKES the song. Or when her voice drops into the earthy growl in "Chain of Fools" or rises to defiant scream in "Respect," she goes beyond perfection into something for which there are no words.
When Whitney sang, she was loved by radio listeners and kids who watched MTV. Critics loved her.
But when Aretha sang, choirs of angels stopped to listen.
I totally disagree. Whitney's songs are eternal. I still hear them on radio stations across the world (before she died). Aretha had longer staying power because she was the only **** in the hen house. Plus the music industry now is fickle. Whitney in the 60's without competition from Mariah, Shanice, Celine, Chaka Khan etc would be a phenomenon.
I saw that Cyndi Lauper was mentioned. Teena Marie (The Ivory Queen of Soul) could sang!
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