Beyonce sounds completely different live than in studio. Yes, she can sing and dance but she sounds visibly tired and has a lot of back up help.

MJ is the same.

Boybands always used to lip sync.

I hate how people consider a belting type voice to signify who "can" and "can't" sing. It's not always about holding the longest notes and being the loudest.

purplesweat said:

Which decade? Older ones definitely did, without a doubt. But that boyband boom in the late 90's/early 00's? Nuh-uh. Most of those boys were live performers. Both BSB and *N SYNC would even switch up their vocal lineup if one of the members couldn't perform properly.

Lip-syncing boybands died out with the first Bush's presidency.

purplesweat said:

No, but staying on key and not running out of breath are usually important.

But what do I know? I'm not deaf.

You know what I noticed?

She does not go up very high with her voice. She stay low or in the middle.

Also she does those little.. what are they called.. like scale things a lot on the end of notes.

I still think she has a pretty voice but I guess comparing her to Selena was unfair to Selena. I was just talking about her in another thread.. so she was on my mind.

I thought Selena was wonderful. But she was a different type of singer.. She sang with bands and had to sing pretty well live.

I still think if Britney wanted to be a really good singer or to depend upon her voice more, then she would drop the dancers and get with a band!

I like dancers.. but is like Julianne Hough. She can definitely dance. There is no question. But she keeps her dancing and singing separate. When she sings, she sings with a band. When she dances.. she dances, not sings. She is going to be singing on Dancing With the Stars tonight, I think. She is not a "great" singer either, but she has a pleasing voice. And she does sing on-key.

meow85 said:

Speak on it

And ya know, it ain't even got shit to do with "belting". If you can deliver with emotional sincerety,,,,,you'll get your message across.

I think it is such an insult to compare her to selena, beyonce etc. I never saw her as anyone like that, I always put her in the non-talent teeny bopper disney blondie turned bimbo-whore category.

Harlepolis said:

Don't you think it is because she also relies upon her dancing to convey emotion?

Of course, in the clip of "my baby" she is singing. I think she conveys emotion... But it is not the same "pathos"(??) of emotion like say an opera singer or Barbara Streisand.. or Christina, Beyonce, Mariah.. (Oh.. you know my favorite Mariah song is "My All." Now there is subtlty and emotion in that song, I think. She starts soft and then ends full-out. I really love that song and her performance of it.)

I still think this song "My Baby" is heartfelt. She is singing it like a lullaby.

lascantas said:

It could've been an emotional outlet had it not been so choreographed and "Janet-sized"

To me, if you're going to say it's OK for her to not actually sing because she's dancing, then she should be marketed as a dancer, not a singer.

It's also naive to think that when she's not dancing they just stop using all the pre recorded tracks, computers, and backing tracks.

Britney is a product, not a singer. I listened to that new track that she stole from the other chick this morning. You never hear her actual voice, she's always got digital filters, backing tracks and pitch correction.

meow85 said:

janet lyp syncs everything but the slow songs

Mars23 said:

This is a large part of why her music sounds soulless to me.

purplesweat said:

The soundboard-switch(es) of her mic which connect to the monitors onstage are off, but nevertheless the soundboard-technician can still hear her voice with a headphone, like Dj's do when they're mixing.
But it can indeed happen that when singers can't hear their own voice on the monitors or on their headset, that they have less pitch-control as a result, depending on how they've trained their voices for live-performances.
I've experienced that with singers when playing in a band. And the earlier-mentioned combination of dancing influencing her voice is indeed another factor as well in this case.

the broad can't sing at all. Period!!

Cinnamon234 said:

ehuffnsd said:

Oh, I know. But in spite of the fact that she doesn't often sing live, previous performance have shown that she actually can.

Mars23 said:

That's why I posted My Baby, because, to me, it's not filtered or corrected at all.

purplesweat said:

First of all she is a POP singer, there havent been many POP singers that had pavarotti-like voices, so its apples and oranges to talk Britney and janet and madonna etc..different but the same. I dont think she has a "bad voice" for the music she is putting out, her vocals fit her music, someone like Christina and Beyonce are doing similar music to britney but have "stronger" voices but they just dont fit. Also the whole singing through her nose, is something that her first producer discovered doing her first album and those demos, and he has pushed her to do it more, one major he did it was her accent, and also as he put it, as she got older, the vocal and the way she sang got deeper in register and sexed up her image and it all fit for her. So to me Britneys voccals fit her music, and someone like Mariah and Beyonce they tend to not fit their music, so which would you rather? Britney trying to sing some aretha franklin gospel stuff, or Mariah singing some wack ass midtempo song that any kid could sing.

Her voice is horrible on ballads.

C'mon people-she is NOT a good singer. She CAN carry a tune, but she can't do much with it. Very weak voice. If they didn't have all those voice enhancers in the studio, her songs would sound even worse. I never understood why she is so damn popular. She defines crap music.

I really soft singer or a really loud singer... it's all the same - lacks dynamics.


b/w

lastdecember said:

Completely agree, which is why I think she's lasted until now, because she's doing what's RIGHT for her vocal ability and it works.

It's a shame people's bias makes them miss out on such a lovely voice. Who cares if it's not amazing? It's what she does with it that's great.

purplesweat said:

I just don't think you make the point by saying she can sing but it is subtle.

Cinnie said:

Why? It's true, she (or she and her team) don't go for the big in your face knock you out of your seat vocals. They go for a more toned down yet still catchy and entertaining vocal that you can enjoy.

I do enjoy "bigger" vocals, but only live or in small doses. Listening to a whole Beyonce or Christina album gives me a headache because while they have the strength, they don't have the variation or creativity behind them. The songs are solely about/for their vocals. With Britney's songs, it's about the beat, the lyrics, her voice, the dance moves and so on. Critics will say that's to disguise her lack of ability but why is she still selling so well these days? Fans are aware she's not the best singer ever so what keeps them dedicated? How did she become an icon? She's performed with some of the best performers in the world - MJ, Aerosmith, Madonna. James Brown called her a tantalizing performer. If there's nothing there like the general public loves to think, why does the industry place her so highly?

purplesweat said:

As has already been pointed out to you on this thread, it's not about how "big" her voice is. Its' the fact that she can't seem to stay on-key with the aid of a computer, and can't perform without running out of breath. A good singer, if nothing else, should be able to breathe properly. Not only that, but she can't emote properly to save her life. I've never heard a Britney song that had anything that could remotely be called real emotion in it.

As for why she sells so well or why her fans are so dedicated, Christ only knows. It's certainly not because she's any good. I can think of loads of performers who actually do have talent that don't have half the fanbase as Britney.

On the other hand, these artists at least don't have dumb shits like that gay kid screaming and crying on Youtube. Thank God.
[Edited 11/18/08 22:55pm]

meow85 said:

In the entirety of this thread I've posted three videos that prove she can and no one seems to notice them.



Did you even listen to the song I posted on the first page? Have you heard her song Everytime?



You totally avoided what I wrote about the respect she has within the industry. She can click her fingers and have a bevvy of top producers at her feet - why? Is anyone, besides me and lastdecember, brave enough to admit she may just be talented? Just not in the conventional way?

Don't you think if she didn't have anything going for her, lastdecember, who works within the industry, would be constantly praising her and calling her the best in American pop?



And I can "thank" that wonderful individual for completely ruining my chances at anyone ever taking my opinion on her seriously. He doesn't realise his video didn't help her, it made everything so much worse.

Look, you're fully entitled to your opinions on Britney's singing.

I watched the videos, and I've heard a lot of her music. Every single track I've heard she's heavily supported by a computer, and she seems to be as well when she performs live.

Being able to call up producers means her handlers have the money to pay for it, it doesn't have anything to do with respect within the music industry. I know a lot of people out here in the business, some of whom have connections to the big leagues. Britney's a joke. Everyone whose met her seems to agree that she's a nice girl, but as far as talent goes there's really nothing there.

She sells because she's become a tabloid princess. A celeb who makes it into the gossip rags never has to do anything again in their life worth mention, so long as People keeps slapping them on the cover. Doubt me? Dig Paris Hilton. She's rich, but is there any reason she keeps getting cast in movies and allowed to sing? She's got the talent of a doorstop. But National Enquirer and TMZ are all over her ass, so Paris is money in the bank. Same goes for Britney.


You want to prove Britney's got vocal chops? Find me some audio of her singing a cappela, and doing it well.
[Edited 11/18/08 23:42pm]

meow85 said:

Even My Baby?



Most who've worked with her comment on how professional she is and how fast she can finish a vocal recording.



lol you're getting it all mixed up. She wasn't a tabloid princess until around 2004. She set and broke all her selling records BEFORE that point. Now she's not so much a tabloid princess yet she's still had a #1 hit this year.

And please don't compare Britney and Paris ever again, Britney worked from 9 years old to get where she is, Paris was born into her riches and walked into her "fame".



Aside from the fact that I already did earlier on :






0:14 onwards

These two are acapella's of studio versions, still interesting :





Not acapella but live :

The reason the music industry is over is because they handed the keys to the future (1998) to people like Britney Spears all easy money to make off tweens yes! But they cant sing and their isnt any drive or willing to learn and improve as performers.