base talk Why hasn’t there been a successful “vocalist” to take off since Ariana?

[barbiegrande]

Every new girl is either doing the songwriter aesthetic or appealing to Eurocentric crowds, but what about the vocal girlies? Ariana and Adele represented for the 10s, Mariah, Xtina and Leona Lewis dominated the 00s, will there be a vocalist to take shape this decade? 

[Johnny Jacobs]

No industry executives are looking for vocalist anymore

 

They are looking for a tiktoklist

 

 

[FreeXone]

Look at the top 20 of the hot 100 and tell me which of those tracks require powerhouse vocals? 
 

Ariana even tones down hers to fit the music of today. 
 

Adele is pretty much the only outlier. 
 

If someone one day goes viral on tik tok for their original powerhouse vocal song maybe then they will be the next lol

[Sheep]

ice spice is right there smh 

[Tylerbv]

I’m sorry but  at Leona Lewis over Kelly Clarkson.

 

People don’t want vocalists anymore. Ballads smashing are usually rare occasions. Even then, they’re the quiet ballad type (ex. Billie/Olivia) instead of a power ballad. It’s a shame because it takes a lot of the art out of music when everyone’s just trying to make a 90 second Tik Tok sound.

[Diesel is Desire]

Because the era of the vocalist has been over.

[suburbannature]

Modern music has moved away from vocalists, sadly. R&b has changed heavily since the 90s/00s as well. 
 

Everything is cyclical and they’ll return at some point, I think. 

[vale9001]

as someone already said even Ariana last albums are not exactly build on "powerhouse" vocals. We could say the same about Beyocè last works too. 

 

Right now pop is more soft- confessional- rap influenced so they don't search for these kind of singers.

Edited October 13, 2023 by vale9001

[Kimbra]

It's all about "connection" now.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Kimbra

[liquiddiamonds]

These people were also the outlier of their era. Most had mediocre vocals. It’s not about hitting impossible notes, but knowing how to use your instrument and I think charts are better now because those that whisper stay in their lane, those that can hit high notes do it without oversinging to a point that’s damaging even for the vocalist, and those that talk sing their lyrics do that too. The industry is just not pushing power ballads that much anymore. Back in the day we had people with zero skill trying to sing impossible ballads 💀

Edited October 13, 2023 by liquiddiamonds

[PoisonedIvy]

Been trying to tell y’all for ages that you can have some of the strongest vocals in the world but if you don’t have anything worth listening to no one will care. Go into any southern, predominately black church or into any on-or-off Broadway theatre production and you’ll find singers even more technically skilled and with wider ranges than the likes of Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, or Beyonce — but beyond that vocal prowess that initially impressed you there’s nothing of substance underneath. Even with the vocal legends like Celine and Whitney, they faded pretty quickly because there was only so many variations of ballads that could be written for them. Mariah assimilated a little better in the 00s thanks to her pen game. Songwriting will always trump vocals in history if you ask me. 

[Kimbra]

I have a theory that all around entertainers were exiled like the supermodels before the prada effect took place. The talent had too much leverage and "relatable" disposable artists are constantly churned out for cheap and high reward.

[Kimbra]

Not people talking about songwriting being the key to success when even the best amongst the crop of this generation are still terrible. How many more "confessonal" songwriters do we need. I hope that bubble pops. Even though I listen to singer-songwriter types exclusively.

 

[liquiddiamonds]

4 minutes ago, PoisonedIvy said:

Been trying to tell y’all for ages that you can have some of the strongest vocals in the world but if you don’t have anything worth listening to no one will care. Go into any southern, predominately black church or into any on-or-off Broadway theatre production and you’ll find singers even more technically skilled and with wider ranges than the likes of Jazmine Sullivan, Jennifer Hudson, or Beyonce — but beyond that vocal prowess that initially impressed you there’s nothing of substance underneath. Even with the vocal legends like Celine and Whitney, they faded pretty quickly because there was only so many variations of ballads that could be written for them. Mariah assimilated a little better in the 00s thanks to her pen game. Songwriting will always trump vocals in history if you ask me. 

Agreed. A strong songbook will always thump vocals because most people are hooked by a song and not vocal acrobatics. It’s the same reason why guitar solos also have gone to oblivion. Not everyone is hooked on technical skill, but there’s always a niche (i’m part of it)

 

I’d like to add that at the same time we had people like Whitney and Mariah smashing the charts with their powerhouse ballads, there were other singers singing slow tempo music without the amazing vocals being central to their expression. People like Tori Amos, Sinead O’Connor, Fiona Apple, Sarah McLachlan, Cat Power, Feist, Amy Winehouse, Imogen Heap are clearly influential and a lot of their styling with ballads have crossed over with new generations by the way of new artists. 

[liquiddiamonds]

3 minutes ago, Kimbra said:

Not people talking about songwriting being the key to success when even the best amongst the crop of this generation are still terrible. How many more "confessonal" songwriters do we need. I hope that bubble pops. Even though I listen to singer-songwriter types exclusively.

 

The bubble won’t pop because “confessional” singer-songwriter has been a staple in pop music since the 70s with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Laura Nyro, Carly Simon, etc It was going strong all the way until the late-2000s, and then faded a bit (but still there) and has been repeaking for a while. Mitski is top 5 in the US and it’s refreshing

[Kimbra]

6 minutes ago, liquiddiamonds said:

The bubble won’t pop because “confessional” singer-songwriter has been a staple in pop music since the 70s with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Laura Nyro, Carly Simon, etc It was going strong all the way until the late-2000s, and then faded a bit (but still there) and has been repeaking for a while. Mitski is top 5 in the US and it’s refreshing

No they haven't how many of these writers you've named are draws nowadays or even back then? Carole Kings biggest song was covered by a vocalist and that cover is the one that exists in the public consciousness. Vocaist have always been the draw.

[liquiddiamonds]

6 minutes ago, Kimbra said:

No they haven't how many of these writers you've named are draws nowadays or even back then? Carole Kings biggest song was covered by a vocalist and that cover is the one that exists in the public consciousness. Vocaist have always been the draw.

??? Carole King had the highest selling female artist album in the US for at least two decades with Tapestry. It used to be the longest charting too (for 40 years) and it went Diamond at a time most artists struggled with a platinum certification. It’s currently at 14x Platinum and it has more streams than some ATRL’s faves tbh lol You tried it and it’s showing how misinformed you are about pop music. 

Edited October 13, 2023 by liquiddiamonds

[whiteferrari]

I really don't know tbh, I wish mainstream made a return to vocals. But this is 2023 and hits are more easily accessible and disposable. Ariana, our last supreme 

[vale9001]

4 minutes ago, liquiddiamonds said:

??? Carole King had the highest selling female artist album in the US for at least two decades with Tapestry. It used to be the longest charting too and it went Diamond at a time most artists struggled with a platinum certification. You tried it and it’s showing how misinformed you are about pop music. 

It didn't write carole King has not hits, It wrote carole King biggest hit It's more famous in the version a vocalist made and it's true. To Say a generation needs both to create relevant music, you Need the songwriters, you Need also people are more specifically Singer and iconic voices. 

It's true right now the new "excellent voices " are missing. 

 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2023 by vale9001

[liquiddiamonds]

1 minute ago, vale9001 said:

It didn't write carole King has not hits, It wrote carole King biggest hit It's more famous in the version a vocalist made and it's true

So 14 million copies of an album were sold because of Aretha’s cover? When Aretha herself never saw those numbers? Delusional. Aretha and Carole both benefitted each other. It’s Too Late is Carole’s staple and biggest song

Edited October 13, 2023 by liquiddiamonds

[Talento]

The industry wants MPGs instead (Meme Pop Girls) 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Talento

[Rev8]

Because it isn't about being "Vocally Gifted"

It's being about delivering good music and having a memorable tone.

 

It Always has been.

[DawnAnti]

Cause the gp is tasteless and loves basic songs

[Ampersand13]

I could see Reneé Rapp breaking through and she’s got an extensive theater-trained and versatile range. What’s interesting though is that I don’t think she’d necessarily garner much support for the sheer vocal prowess she possesses (and she’s got it, believe me) but more for her style of personal songwriting.
 

There definitely is this shift toward marketed ‘authenticity’ and ‘vulnerability’ which often gets equated with an emphasis on lyric and delivery rather than melody and versatility. I’m sure the cycle will shift back or to something else in due time, but I do miss the powerhouse pop bridge climax and abundance of ad-libs during final choruses, the hallmarks of previous generations. Obviously there are exceptions and some acts still doing them but you get what I mean. 

[Miichael]

"Big" vocals kind of died commercially in the 2010's, even Ariana rarely utilises her full vocal range on her most recent albums, and now more stylised kind of singing is more popular, but I can see big vocals having a comeback at some point.