Range: D3 - F#5 - E6 (C7) Longest Note: 29 seconds Vocal Type: Lyric Mezzo-Soprano (3 Octaves, 1 note) Vocal Rating: C+ Recommended Listenings: Cosmic Love, No Light, No Light Positives: An instantly recognizable voice that possesses an ethereal quality. Incredible stamina in recorded and live settings. Even her longest notes, topping out above 15 seconds, never waver in pitch in live and recorded situations. Her lower register is the weakest part of her voice, but strength and warmth are gained as she ascends. Welch sounds comfortable in this range though she sounds far more comfortable in her lower belting range (G4 - C5) (or at least uses this register more than her other ones). Her head voice is full and semi-operatic, maintaining an ethereal quality. Negatives: Her pitch in live settings, especially on television, is hit or miss. The vibrato is also far too fast, and is rooted in her jaw (tremolo). Her voice often shows strain in belts and in vibrato.
There are two A6's in here, but they are being counted as exclamations. D3-A6
Positives: Wide chest register, topping out at Bb5. The belting register has been developing a healthier mix, and generally sounds easy in the studio. Her melismatic control has grown stronger through practice, and can now stay in key. Her raspy mid-register and voice in general, accompanied by solid understanding of phrasing, conveys emotions very well. Though her lower register is hit or miss due to placement, it has shown the ability to resonate fairly well down to C#3. The whistle register is piercing with a rolling vibrato. Demi's voice is able to transcend through genres, including Pop, Rock, Ballads, Jazz and Musical Theatre. Her stamina live is notably strong, keeping up with the demanding nature of her works. Capable of singing arpeggios that travel through different ranges of the voice.
Negatives: Her cracky rasp is not to everyone's taste. Her upper belts can sound shrill at points, sound unstable without mixing, and can be interpreted as shouting. She employs the use of melisma very often in live performances and often takes deep and heavy breaths, which can become irritating to some, as well as creating a tremolo (uneven and unnatural oscillations of vibrato). The falsetto and head voice are underutilized and sound weak. Support is also an issue, only being present from around A3 - C5. While Lovato has recently developed her technique, she is still wildly inconsistent, often due to fatigue.
Rihanna has been an unstoppable force since the release of
Good Girl Gone Bad, and has busted out a new album in November for the past 3
years. Unapologetic is her 7th studio album in 7 years. Phresh of the Runway: If I ever had to guess what music from
3000 sounded like, this what be what it. It’s eerily similar to Cockiness,
especially the drums, but who cares? It’s still an interesting listen. With
lyrics that could rival P!nk in cursing, it’s pretty hollow, but that
instrumentation is fascinating. B
Diamonds: Sadly, I feel that this is the best song on the
first half of the album. I was hoping to have a stronger showing from the first
6 or 7 tracks, but the only bone to really chew on was Diamonds. With one of
Rihanna’s best vocal performances ever, she takes a trip back to last years
“Yellow diamonds” in We Found Love. A-
Numb: Another futuristic instrumental track, the chorus is
pretty bland by Rihanna standards. “I’m going numb/ I’m going numb/ I’m going
numb” is repeated God knows how many times in the chorus, and it can feel soul
sucking at points. Lyrically it’s nothing spectacular and instrumentally it
doesn’t sound very different from the rest of the album, except for the dashes
of reggae, but that doesn't mean it's not catchy as hell. As for Eminem, or “the butt police,” I would prefer he not be on the track. C-
Pour it Up: Rihanna, why in the hell are you at a strip
club? This is has to be the most IQ reducing song on the entire album. Same
drums as the rest of the album, soul draining lyrics, and no creativity what so
ever, one the weakest cuts on the album. However, that riff in the chorus is
might catchy. D+
Loveeeeee Song (Feat. Future): The song starts off with the relatively unknown “Future,” who is basically a D-List T-Pain, and by God he might just be the worst thing that could have happened to this song. With the same
beat, same instrumentation, as the rest of the album, and a lot more autotune, it's nothing more than a dreadful ballad. F-----
Jump: The most club ready song on the album. “When you f**k
them other girls, I bet they be wonderin' why you always call my name” she
crows, and while some might brush it off as a pathetic bad girl attempt, she
actually does make it work. The dub-step breakdown is the perfect crescendo for the amount of energy this song produces. Single? Probably not, way to dub-steppy for pop radio. And who
is that random man with the auto tune? Turns out it's Kanye West. A featuring in the title might be nice. A-
Right Now (Feat. David Guetta): We have moved from 3000 back
to 2012, and I’m thankful. The album was starting to fell redundant. A
breakdown reminiscent of “Where Have You Been” and a chorus production similar
to Guetta’s own “Turn Me On” and it feels like a standard Rihanna hit. A
sure-bet for a single choice. However it's easy for this song to be drowned out by every other dance-pop song on the airwaves, and frankly, "Right Now" doesn't bring anything new. C-
What Now: Finally a
piano and no “Cockiness” drums! As she belts her face off passionately
screaming “What Now?” Rihanna creates one of the catchiest hooks on the album
without really trying. “What Now” is one of the few songs that can make your heart
ache, while also giving you a beat worthy of head banging. This electro-pop
ballad is one the best songs Rihanna has under the belt of her career. A+
Stay (Feat. Mikky Ekko): “Stay” proves that Rihanna has come
miles vocally since 2005. She never would have been able to pull of this ballad
on “Girl Like Me” or “Music of the Sun.” Her voice is raw and stripped, and
even though the song starts wandering into “Someone Like You” territory, the
fact that it moves into a duet saves “Stay” from feeling like a copycat. While
there’s only one true power note at the end of the song, this is one of
Rihanna’s best vocal deliveries ever. A+
Nobody’s Business (Feat. Chris Brown): Of course this song
is going to stir obvious controversy, which is a shame cause it’s a good song,
and a break from the hardcore production on the rest of the album. A sweet
disco duet with sultry lyrics and smooth vocals make for a sure fire R/B #1. B+
Love Without Tragedy/ Mother Mary: The "Love Without Tragedy" section is mighty catchy with some interesting lyrics such as "I was his Marilyn Monroe," and a simple instrumentation make it one of the most addictive parts of the album. And the "Mother Mary" section is there mainly because it’s not a pop
album without some Christian innuendo isn’t it? No creativity what so ever to
be found on this section, even if it is a whopping 5 minutes long. C-
Get It Over With: An F-Bomb in a ballad? Only Rihanna. "Wont you just f**king rain and get it over with?" She asks, actually creating a light and airy ballad reminiscent of Sara Bareillis. Except, the latter would pull it off better. C-
No Love Allowed: From the moment the Caribbean instrumentation comes in, it sounds like a Disney version of "Man Down." Her delivery is almost laughable, sounding like a comedian when she asks "N***a is you blind?" D-
Lost in Paradise: One of the funnest tracks comes at the end of the album. With heavy-hearted lyrics, the synths don't seem to help her get her heart broken message across. Thats what makes it seem like Karmin's "Brokenhearted," heavy lyrics with fun instrumentation. B
Unapologetic is a mixed bag of songs. With her best ballad work to date on "What Now," "Diamonds," and "Stay," she also falls flat on several tracks, where her bad girl image seems to crumble. It doesn't seem like she's aiming for a mainstream sound on the first half of the album, but the latter half seems to have some single potential, but not much. This is not much of an artistic shift from "Talk That Talk," and Unapologetic doesn't feel like it's predecessor, but some tracks make it feel like Rihanna is copying herself.
I have been aware of Rita Ora's existence for the past few months, but I've never given her music a listen until now, and I'm glad I did. Rita is basically a hybrid of Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, not as much as a vocalist as the former, but not nearly as much of a rapper as the latter. She delivers the lines with strength and vigor, without beating the notes down. The strength lies mainly in the "Talk That Talk"-esque synths that lace the track combined with hints of electric guitar. The biggest weakness is Tinie's rap, which is irrelevant to the rest of the song and takes away from an otherwise "sick" track, instead of bringing anything to the table. The song is bigger than a cinema, and I hope it becomes a smash just as big.
Range: Bb2 - A5 - A6 Vocal Type: Light Lyric Soprano (4 octaves) Vocal Rating: B Recommended Listenings: All I Wanted, Decode, Ignorance Positives: Voice that is well connected throughout all registers. Sharp tone that allows her to be heard over the roaring instrumentation of her band. Her vibrato is one of her strongest assets, as it can make her notes roaring and can give them a mystical quality (See the chorus of Decode). Her stamina and breath control are excellent, allowing her to headbang without the pitch changing, or sounding out of breath. She can also control voice cracks as a way to convey emotions (See Still Into You). Her lower notes are dark, well supported, and accessed with a neutral larynx down to D3. As Williams ascend, she cuts the weight found in this register in favor of a brighter tonality. Her middle-register is well projected and contains an original "twang" thanks to her articulate diction and phrasing. This area is bright and girlish. Her upper belts are cutting and resonant, and convey emotions better than the rest of the range. As she ascends, her mixed voice becomes headier, though overall is chest-dominant. Her versatility here shines, projecting a much bolder and edgier sound in some instances (Decode), while being smoother in others (Renegade). Her head voice, though very underutilized, is extremely bright and full (Miracle), and connected to the rest of the voice. The whistle register, though also underutilized, is piercing and executed excellently.
Negatives: Her head voice and whistle register are rarely used, though this is common in Alternative and Rock music. Her upper belts can sound like shouting, and sound strained towards the top of chest voice. Her upper belts live are inconsistent and falter in intonation. She has been known to blow out her voice after and during concerts due to having vocal nodes, however, the feats she has accomplished with her nodes speak to her endurance and technique.
