I just watched the Musicology tour online (again) and something struck me --- his vocals in his chest voice were really on point. I loved hearing him sing I Feel For YOu in a baritone (low tenor). HIs falsetto was quite strong as well. He held back a tiny bit on the screaming portion of the Beautiful ones but I don't blame him because he was sustaining that voice for the songs to come (especially during the accoustic set.). Yes its PG-13 prince but isn't that the sign of true talent--not having to resort to shock to keep an audience glued to your every move (nothing wroing with R-rated PRince though and i am glad those times existed..LOL). Total charisma and command on stage either way..

[Edited 5/21/18 20:43pm]

Prince generally used a humidifier which is a great help for a singer, i'm a singer and I know. If your voice is conditioned well, you can do a lot with it. That's one of the things that make me think MJ was just done and going through the motions during the This Is It rehearsals, he was so lazy he didn't want to sing, or maybe I shouldn't say lazy, I should say dispirited because he went through so much shit by then. He was telling people he had to "save his voice" Or..., just maybe the rumor that he blew out his voice previously was true, i don't know but the english performances would have been hell for him if he couldn't even be bothered to do those rehearsals.

PeteSilas said:

Prince generally used a humidifier which is a great help for a singer, i'm a singer and I know. If your voice is conditioned well, you can do a lot with it. That's one of the things that make me think MJ was just done and going through the motions during the This Is It rehearsals, he was so lazy he didn't want to sing, or maybe I shouldn't say lazy, I should say dispirited because he went through so much shit by then. He was telling people he had to "save his voice" Or..., just maybe the rumor that he blew out his voice previously was true, i don't know but the english performances would have been hell for him if he couldn't even be bothered to do those rehearsals.

What are you talking about? His vocals on IJCSLY, Human Nature and I'll Be There were the best he sounded in years live.

MattyJam said:

PeteSilas said:

Prince generally used a humidifier which is a great help for a singer, i'm a singer and I know. If your voice is conditioned well, you can do a lot with it. That's one of the things that make me think MJ was just done and going through the motions during the This Is It rehearsals, he was so lazy he didn't want to sing, or maybe I shouldn't say lazy, I should say dispirited because he went through so much shit by then. He was telling people he had to "save his voice" Or..., just maybe the rumor that he blew out his voice previously was true, i don't know but the english performances would have been hell for him if he couldn't even be bothered to do those rehearsals.

What are you talking about? His vocals on IJCSLY, Human Nature and I'll Be There were the best he sounded in years live.

not what i'm saying, he sounded fine, he just seemed like his heart wasn't into it. "saving my voice" was just an excuse in my mind. rumours were that a lot of rehearsals were missed and to me, although there were flashes of brilliance, I thought Michael just may have been a broken man at that point, going through the motions. 50 is not that old for a singer, for a dancer? sure, but for a singer, he should be at or near his peak.

PeteSilas said:

MattyJam said:

What are you talking about? His vocals on IJCSLY, Human Nature and I'll Be There were the best he sounded in years live.

not what i'm saying, he sounded fine, he just seemed like his heart wasn't into it. "saving my voice" was just an excuse in my mind. rumours were that a lot of rehearsals were missed and to me, although there were flashes of brilliance, I thought Michael just may have been a broken man at that point, going through the motions. 50 is not that old for a singer, for a dancer? sure, but for a singer, he should be at or near his peak.

But not many singers are doing it professionally at the age of 11.

He was building his voice back up after many years out of the game. He was working closely with a vocal coach (you can see them together before he starts doing Human Nature). The scene where he says he's supposed to be "saving his voice" was when he was mock chastising Kenny and the dancers for cheering him on and making him sing properly after he completely nailed the end part of IJCSLY with Judith Hill.

MattyJam said:

PeteSilas said:

not what i'm saying, he sounded fine, he just seemed like his heart wasn't into it. "saving my voice" was just an excuse in my mind. rumours were that a lot of rehearsals were missed and to me, although there were flashes of brilliance, I thought Michael just may have been a broken man at that point, going through the motions. 50 is not that old for a singer, for a dancer? sure, but for a singer, he should be at or near his peak.

But not many singers are doing it professionally at the age of 11.

He was building his voice back up after many years out of the game. He was working closely with a vocal coach (you can see them together before he starts doing Human Nature). The scene where he says he's supposed to be "saving his voice" was when he was mock chastising Kenny and the dancers for cheering him on and making him sing properly after he completely nailed the end part of IJCSLY with Judith Hill.

i'm a fan, a big fan, i just don't know, probably from a physical standpoint he could do it, my thing is, from an emotional standpoint, i don't know.

Damn, you brought up MJ. Tangent alert...LOL. Back to P's voice, his deep notes were delightful and his inflections and phrasings were fun and at time nice variations on what we are used to.. Strong work.

PeteSilas said:

MattyJam said:

But not many singers are doing it professionally at the age of 11.

He was building his voice back up after many years out of the game. He was working closely with a vocal coach (you can see them together before he starts doing Human Nature). The scene where he says he's supposed to be "saving his voice" was when he was mock chastising Kenny and the dancers for cheering him on and making him sing properly after he completely nailed the end part of IJCSLY with Judith Hill.

i'm a fan, a big fan, i just don't know, probably from a physical standpoint he could do it, my thing is, from an emotional standpoint, i don't know.

purplerabbithole said:

Damn, you brought up MJ. Tangent alert...LOL. Back to P's voice, his deep notes were delightful and his inflections and phrasings were fun and at time nice variations on what we are used to.. Strong work.

PeteSilas said:

i'm a fan, a big fan, i just don't know, probably from a physical standpoint he could do it, my thing is, from an emotional standpoint, i don't know.

wasn't meant to, i know it's taboo, i was just pointing out that a top singer of that age, in proper condition and taking care of his voice, should be in peak form, able and ready to sing every night or every other night with positive results. How's that? anything less is laziness.

PeteSilas said:

daingermouz2020 said:

PeteSilas said:

not what i'm saying, he sounded fine, he just seemed like his heart wasn't into it. "saving my voice" was just an excuse in my mind. rumours were that a lot of rehearsals were missed and to me, although there were flashes of brilliance, I thought Michael just may have been a broken man at that point, going through the motions. 50 is not that old for a singer, for a dancer? sure, but for a singer, he should be at or near his peak.

Just curious In your opinion what age do most singers start to deteriorate vocally.?

depends on a lot of factors, i think female and males have different peak ages, women generally mature quicker, men later. i am watching a whitney docu right now where her ex-vocal coach is mourning her loss of voice and he says that you should be able to sing as well as ever in your 70's and 80's as you could in your thirties and forties. a lot of it is how you live, practice is important, no alcohol, no smoking. I find it interesting that Prince never sounded better before he died so it seems that his drugs had no effect on his voice. also, everyone is different, some great rockers could abuse their voices and they were fine, others couldn't. so many factors. Whitney was arguably the greatest pop singer ever, it's a goddamn shame that she was done when she shouldn't have even been half way through. I remember hearing little richard live in 89, he sounded every bit as good as he did when he was young and he was about 56 at the time. Little Richard, however, with his style, started to fall apart in his mid sixties, but so what? That style of singing is something not too many singers can pull off, and many have ruined their voiced trying to copy mr. penniman.

From 2002 through 2011, and again during Piano & A Microphone, I think Prince hit his full stride as a vocalist.

His falsetto was always great, and actually got more stable and controlled as he got older. His chest voice, however, was never a strong point, as Prince never really did much of what you'd call 'belting.' His notes in the upper fourth octave would almost never have a 'clean' sound, they would sound strained and have a rasp to them. Check out "Peach" from the Sacrifice of Victor aftershow - he's gurgling whenever he hits the high notes in that song.

The more musical, less showy performances and arrangements present during the 2002 tour allowed him to relax a little vocally, and he really matured as a singer. He was on a roll with great performances all throughout the 2000's. He wasn't quite as good in 2012-15, but P&AM are some of his best vocals ever.