I know Prince doesn't like to define himself, or restrict his music to any genre... but where does he stand as an rnb singer...rock singer?

i was listening to international lover with my cousins, and they changed the track saying "i dont get his singing style"..."its...its... annoying...sorry to say".

1. what do u guys think abouty that? is his voice annoying? as rnb, it is different. some ppl say he can sing like smokey robinson with his falsetto...hmmm sometimes, but he always throws in the crazy screams, or low grunts. 2 out of 2 times i listened to "eye can't make u love me", my friends couldnt stand the way he sang..."way to over dramatic". and i agree...although i enjoy it. but does he really stack up as a singer when compared to musicians that just focus on singing (boyz ii men, usher, beyonce, stevie wonder (i know, but hiis voic is craazay), the guy from the stylistics).
2. is he a good rock singer? metallica, robert plant, white snake kind of stuff? what do u think?

personally, his voice isnt the best part of his music for me, and sometimes i wish some ppl were singing his songs. but then again, sometimes, p's music can only be his, espeically the vocals.

supppedup said:

I personally LOVE his singing voice. But my brothers have BOTH bickered about his voice wrecking some of his songs.

It's hard to answer your question about being a good "rock" singer. You go from Metallica to White Snake. Two very different kind of vocals. I can't imagine Prince doing "Enter Sandman" without sounding like a dork.

I think his voice is perfect for what he does. I think his voice on Cinnamon Girl (I know I'm gonna get crap for this) is one of the best vocal performances on any rock/pop/R&B/funk album EVER.

Luv & Peace,
Alex
Clubbin' in Mpls/A Night w. Prince

[quote]

supppedup said:

If these are the groups your cousins are listening to then I can see why they find Prince's voice annoying...they have no taste.

vainandy said:[quote]

i actuallky burned the pop rnb mix we were listening to that had international lover stuck in it. boyz ii men, u cant say anything about them.. mb usher is a bit commericalized, but as far as vocals go, u can't say those artists cant sing! i know we all love prince here at the org, but as far as the general public goes, is his singing style accessible, or at least pleasing to the ears (in those rough crazy moments)?

and as for the metallica and whitesnake question, i'm just throwing that around to see where he stands as a rock singer in the spectrum of rocknroll frontmen.

i always felt that princes voice isn't strong.. in that sense that he doesn't support fully or has to yell, or slip into airy falsetto (which is very very awesome sometimes, but not always). theres no question that he has crazy range and he definetely uses it but if u heard any other sing like that, would u accept it, knowing it wasnt prince?

does he sound smoother than russell thompkins jr (stylistics lead falsetto)? i dont think so

supppedup said:

supppedup said:

well Spin magazine just voted Prince best front man EVER..so that should tell u something im sure they didnt give it 2 him just for his dancing

Why don't you decide for yourselfes, peeps?

If it works for you then enjoy it, right?

You notice when I made my comment about your cousins having no taste and included your quote...I edited out Stevie Wonder and the Stylistics. The reason I did so is because they are the only two on your list that are even worthy of being competition for Prince.

As far as Prince competing with Boys II Men, Usher, or Beyonce...I hope he never stoops so low. It's bad enough he performed with Beyonce on the American Music Awards.

I'm into music first and singing later but if I have to rate his voice, the falsetto is my favorite. As for the screams, those are my absolute favorite. Back in the day, that was Prince at his best, no one else could scream like Prince and everyone loved it. Prince had GOOD competition back then too. I would love to see him go toe to toe with Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind, and Fire.

heh im with u on that. i love his falsetto, the screaming too... this question wasn't about me, but just the average music listener. none of my friends seem to appreciate it, morel ike they get disturbed and never listen to me when i say prince is a awesome.

prince did say in an interview (i forget which one, a few i know) about today's beyonce to this effect "now that girl can sing!" i know some of her popular singles are pretty lame and soulless... but u have to admit she can sing.

prince has his own style, and i guess with such a huge body of work, its hard to get just one snapshot of him as a singer... but what i get is a screaming fanatic ( and he is!). haha i love thatp art of him too...but i do understand when my friends hear it and ask me why i like him so much.

Your friends have no taste.

Prince is an AMAZING vocalist.

I have never heard anyone say that Prince can't sing.

PurpleCharm said:

i dont think this was the point. he surely can sing, i dont think no-one would deny that, but i totally understand if people dont like the WAY he sings. His tone and the way he uses his voice are pretty unique, and to me that is why i love his singing. But its easy to see why he is not for every taste. And that is definately a good thing.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 2 6:00:32 2004 by prinssi]

He's got a distinctive sound and good range, but his voice is weak, hence is use for the falsetto.

I think most R&B singers (with the exception of the crap ones like Usher) could out sing him, but he's definitely a better singer than your average rock vocalist. His pitch is good whereas most just scream their way through songs.

I've always thought that Prince's voice was his only downfall and that Michael Jackson has him beat in this area.

But when you've got the instrumental abilities of Prince's, you really don't need a great voice.

I actually have to fast-forward the sigue between "Musicology" and "Illusion, Coma..." because I think he is SOOOOO annoying:

"Don't you hear this old school joint..."

"He said, 'I got plenty of what you need the most...and that's time."

His singing is TOO LOUD and VERY ANNOYING! I hate that part. He sounds sickly. I hate ICPC! He doesn't perform well on that song at all, vocally...

Other than that, I actually LOVE P's voice. Sometimes his falsetto gets on my nerves; it's overdone, but generally speaking, I could listen to him sing all day long. I think he does brilliant harmonizing and changing tones throughout a song...

Michael Jackson CANNOT sing! I actually think he had a better singing voice when he was young.

He is so annoying, always the "huck, umph" with every phrase; it's so annoying.

laylow03 said:

And what does your decidedly incorrect opinion on MJ have to do with Prince?

back on topic, P's a good singer, not a great singer. He's admitted so himself. He has an interesting voice for sure. I do know the odd person who detests his screams and they feel he ruins some great songs by over indulging in screaming. I like it though. The Beautiful Ones and countless other songs wouldn't be so good otr as powerful without them. When he screams, i feel the emotion he's trying to convey.

First of all, Prince's singing style is what seperates him from all other artists, vocally. The screams are not mere screams, they have soul.

I'm willing to bet that most people who criticize his singing are self-conscious males who do not feel the soul. You have to have to be at a certain state of mind to truly respect his music.

VioletBrown said:

Interesting point. I've just listened to some boots of aftershows from the current tour and his singing, screaming and wailing on The Beautiful Ones sounds sensational to me.

Annoying to one, perfection to another.

As long as you like it, shouldn't be your headache...

The "self-conscious males who don't feel the soul" may be true in some cases but that is still a very wide generalization. There are people who like classical music, people who like opera singers, people who like monotonic voices... we're not made of the same wood.

supppedup said:

Well, even many hardcore Prince fans don't like his version of that song.


There are more accomplished singers than Prince, but to me Prince is more of a great vocalist. And what he does with his falsetto can be something to behold. I don't think he ever set out to be great at the aspect of singing ALONE.


Prince's voice is perfect for the rock music that he plays. Rock music generally isn't a genre that requires a great singer in the first place. There have been a great deal of average to bad voices in rock's history.

Hetfield and Plant can't do what Prince does either. And they're perfect for what they do too.

Prince's screaming is there for a reason, just as it was for Roger Daltrey in "Won't Get Fooled Again" - a rock singer who CAN sing.

David Coverdale??? GTFOOHWTBS!

Marrk said:

Because once again, some of ya'll keep comparing him and saying that he has a better voice than P. I think P has a more versatile voice.

I like his singing voice.
It's pretty good.

It's his talking voice that annoys the shit out of me.

It has that "drag-queen who smokes too damn much" sound to it.

I have to admit that in my early years of listening I wasn't very impressed w/ his voice for some reason I can't remember what song made me really appreciate his singing style but I can see how he might sound "strange" to a new listener.

I love his voice - all ranges, singing & speaking. If they think his voice is "annoying" throw on Avalanche for them. If they can't appreciate his voice on that one they're MAD I tell ya

supppedup said:

Honestly, I like his voice and I love some of the songs with grunts and moans on them, like "Do Me Baby", but I really hated his rendition of "I Can't Make You Love Me"; I believe Nancy Wilson did it best, other than Bonnie Raitt, the song's originator.

However, I think he's a great musician and okay, if not, good singer. But, I couldn't catagorize him with Stevie, Usher maybe, but not Stevie. Stevie sings, Usher just does his thing, so does Prince.

Are Ya Crazy? His Voice ESPECIALLY FALSETTO is GREAT...I Think he's so VERSATILE..I JUST LOVE Listening to him and his SCREAMS..Well, he can SCREAM ANYTIME...ANYPLACE...

His voice isn't very toneful to be honest. It's quite bland and "dry".

But which one would you rather listen to for hours? A Fender Rhodes or one of those ethereal pads from a KORG Triton?

Did someone really say Prince's voice is annoying??

I just have two words for those people, "Damn U"! The song not the insult, well...maybe...just a little.

He used to have a great voice, but then he met Larry Graham and started to sing, talk and phrase like him and became a little Larry Graham clone (in appearance and mannerism...)
And it seems he's more and more limiting his falsetto to lame ballads, no more cool stuff like a great sleazy crooner like him could do only cos some made up religion doesn't allow him to be himself anymore and only put more restrictions on him...

Neversin.

I don't think Prince was blessed with many star-making attributes like a beautiful voice or great looks, but he was blessed with creativity and a great work ethic, which has made him great at whatever he does (in music, that is) including singing.

My ex used to hate Prince. She said his high voice was so annoying. But she loved Hendrix. I asked her why a high voice was annoying and electric guitar wasn't, and she just shut up.

Some people don't like Prince because his music is so different that you actually have to pay attention to it. Many people just don't like to be challenged.