Who is the better singer between Aretha and Whitney

Not the crack whore street trash

OP what the fuck is wrong with you? How the hell do you even manage to use a computer let alone post on Datalounge? You are one of the rudest son of a bitches I’ve ever encountered on here in years. There’s already been a thread on this OP. As a matter of fact, you selfish asshole, there have been several threads on this, but ohhhh nooooo “I don’t have to do a search” says Mister Head Up His Ass. Well pull your fucking head out of your ass for once in your life you selfish son-of-a-bitch and have some consideration for others for a change and do a goddamn search first. Is that going to kill you? Is it? Can you just answer that question? Can you? Is it really going to kill you to do a search first? What is wrong with you? Are you that much of an idiot that you can’t use Google? Don’t even try the old “search function doesn’t work” line because every cunt on here knows how to work around that. Do a search before you post a thread next time you fucking asshole. You’ve ruined my day and I hate you.

R1 Please don’t speak about Aretha Franklin in that manner

r2 I love you too

Jesus Fuck, R2, who pissed in your corn flakes? If that is an honest response, you might want to consider therapy for your anger..

Whitney is the best singer ever. So everyone, no matter how good, follows the heavenly Whitney.

Look at the difference between r1 and r6. This thread is going to be wild.

Aretha Franklin had two kids by the time she was 15. Her father was a known pedophile and her first husband was a pimp. She also had a problem with alcohol for a number of years. Anyone that wants to play the morality game when deciding whose the better singer gets an automatic laugh from me. r1

Head says Whitney, heart says Aretha.

R8 But she didn't die in a shit bath, so she wins

Whitney a better singer than I? She wasn't, she isn't, she ain't ever gonna be.

r10 Did she shove a spiked dildo up your ass or something? I’ll never understand the unhinged disdain you all have for certain celebs especially if they are Black and woman. There was no shit in the bath last time I checked so at least she’s a level up from Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, and Jim Morrison. Morrison’s body was in the bathtub for days before they found him, I can’t imagine the state of that thing.

IMO Whitney Houston is best singer that ever lived, when it comes to technical singing.

Aretha Franklin however, was an incomparable musician and artist. We have said many times before that Whitney's songs are some of the most mediocre material ever, but her incredible voice brought it to life. After the voice was gone, Whitney was done. Aretha Franklin's catalog is timeless art that influenced culture way more than anything Whitney ever sang.

Yes, Aretha is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of class and elegance.

They were both great singers, but I feel that Franklin was an American cultural icon in a way that Houston simply wasn't. A lot of it had to do with time and place. Franklin became a star at a pivotal moment in American history and she was one of the many who represented important milestones in the evolution of American popular music. No one from Houston's era came anywhere close to that sort of iconic status.

r13 I didn’t ask who you thought had the better music catalog now did I? In the end, most of Aretha’s music catalog will be/has been forgotten by the mainstream public outside of a few hits. It’s the same for most music acts so that’s neither here not there.

While her singing style is influential, I wouldn’t call her discography groundbreaking or culture shifting. She has more covers than Whitney.

R12 Your taste is poor

R16 is either a troll or an idiot.

Trick question. It's Patti.

R2 is cray cray don’t forget to take your medications

OP, Whitney had a much more beautiful and pleasant voice

r15 You’re kidding right? Aretha wasn’t even the biggest Black star of her time period. Whitney, MJ, and Prince were far bigger than Aretha ever was internationally. They still are more well known and get more streams in the present day. How do you define Icon? Ask someone under 30 to even name an Aretha song.

r19 Patti sounds like a cat in heat

Aretha managed to keep her voice throughout most of her career. Whitney's voice was shot to shit by the time she died. Aretha wins this one.

r23 Strongly disagree, Aretha’s voice is unpleasant from the 80s on.

r17 At lease I’m not a troll.

In their peaks I preferred Whitney's tone, warmth, suppleness and vibrato. Aretha's voice lasted better than Whitney's, though, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Apart from the odd mega-hit, Aretha had better songs overall, too.

I wish Whitney had better material. Or was interested in finding better material. She had a great voice, but it was mostly wasted on schlock and urban contemporary R&B.

Beat this Ree Ree.

“Was”, OP, not “is”.

They’re both dead.

Or “they’ve both passed”, as you would probably say.

r27 Ew, only a old white gay would think there’s anything wrong with contemporary R&B. What, was she suppose to sing show tunes??? Whitney was a damn good R&B/Pop star. I only wish she had sang the entirety of the Waiting to Exhale album like was originally planned instead of dividing it up with multiple singers. It might have won her another album of the year.

I would say Aretha. Whitney and Mariah both had range and power but one thing they never had was grit. Aretha had plenty of that. I would argue she could sing a broader spectrum of music than either Whitney or Mariah.

R21, although you are correct, you have to consider that Aretha's prime was at a much harder time for black artists, especially if they were making "black" music. It was also her success that paved the way for the likes of Whitney and Mariah. Don't forget that "Respect" is considered one of the most iconic songs of the 60s.

Miss Aretha

I know that “old white gay” is the supreme insult among the woke crowd, but you’re really just showing your ignorance and lack of good taste.

R31 Whitney might not have had grit on record but she had it live. I think Whitney had more potential than Aretha for the genres she could have covered. Aretha only sounded good singing Gospel/R&B/Soul. I think Whitney could have sang literally any genre and made it sound good. Compare their versions of the SSB for instance

Yeah, sure but she’s not more iconic. She’s a very local music act and honestly, Aretha would not have crossed over even if she came out in later years. It’s still very hard for Black music acts to crossover and you have to have a certain look or sound. There has never been a major Black female artist that wasn’t been beautiful(Whitney/Sade), glamorous(Diana), wild(Tina/Beyoncé), or sexy(Rihanna/Donna). The Black equivalent to Adele isn’t going to be a big star.

r36 was in response to r32

You better thank, OP!

[quote]Aretha wasn’t even the biggest Black star of her time period. Whitney, MJ, and Prince were far bigger than Aretha ever was internationally

That makes perfect sense to compare Aretha to singers who hit their commercial peak some fifteen years later in a completely different era.

Aretha was most certainly huge from 1967-1974. She had 14 million selling singles. She went on to have 20 number one R and B hits, and for the longest time held the record for most Billboard hot 100 charted songs. Diana, Dionne and her were the reigning crossover queens of black music at one point.

It's people like Aretha who even made it possible for the others to have crossover success.

Whitney had much better voice which is also much more pleasant and versatile than Aretha’s.

I think Whitney's voice and songs were better. Aretha is overrated because she came to prominence during the civil rights era. She was basically in the right place at the right time.

Whitney's voice is one in a million while Aretha sings like every big lady that can be found at any black church across the US.

Whitney was simply spectacular.

No way Whitney's songs are better than Aretha's. Whitney sang the epitome of forgettable fluff during her peak. The Bodyguard was a turning point for the better, though.

Team Aretha.

Other than Respect, Think, and Natural Woman what else did Aretha even sing?

Whitney has at least a dozen classics.

R44, you can't really compare their entire catalogues because Aretha was an actual soul singer singing soul music while Whitney was (during her peak) a pop singer. Respect is more iconic than anything in Whitney's catalogue or probably any other female artists catologue from the rock n'roll era. Aretha also has Chain of Fools, her version of I Say a Little Prayer, Spirit in the Dark, etc. I'm sure I'm forgetting some others. Whitney does not have a dozen classics.

Whitney wasn't even considered the best at Arista Many at that label gave that title to Phyllis Hyman. But Phyllis was stubborn and didn't want to be molded into some mainstream pop artist sing MOR songs. Whitney didn't mind being told what to do, so she got all the attention and top songs. But many at the label say she got the career that Phyllis deserved.

Barbra, Whitney, Mariah, Christina, Ariana, Gladys Knight, and Karen Carpenter were all better singers (as far as vocal quality) than Aretha.

r46 Lol, STFU. Hyman is my mother’s favorite singer and she got the career she deserved. Her voice was too deep, she didn’t want to sing Pop songs, she had lost her looks by the mid 80s, and she was out of her fucking mind with severe substance abuse problems. She did not have the makings of a superstar nor did she want it so no she did not deserve superstardom. Whitney took nothing from her. She was over a decade younger. When will you stop that insane drivel.

Hyman doesn’t even have a good discography. Lol.

r45 Ask some under 30 to name any of her songs, you’re out of your fucking. Whitney has multiple iconic and well known songs wether you like the not. I wanna dance with somebody gets more streams than all of Aretha’s music combined. Looool

R50, the opinions of uncultured children under 30 don’t matter.

r46 Anyone at Arista that said that is a dumbass. Hyman couldn’t even get consistent hits on the R&B charts. She couldn’t even manage an Anita Baker’s success level but she was a hidden superstar? Her voice was not extraordinary or at least not suited for pop. I wouldn’t even put her in the top 30 female singers of all time much less compare her voice to Whitney or Aretha. She was also charmless both on stage and in interviews. It wouldn’t have happened with her.

LOL at the Whitney fans. Take it up with the Arista people who were interviewed for her biography who said it. I was kind by not even including that Clive wasn't even completely enthralled with Whitney's voice at the beginning either.

As for Phyllis problems, people in glass houses.... She was smart enough to know not to bring kids into a fucking mess. And she didn't have a man go on TV and brag about pulling shit out of her ass.

r53 I don’t know what Whitney doc you watched but it sounds laughable. No one is throwing stones at glass houses.I sympathize with them both for their demons. I’m not delusional enough to think that Whitney deserved a big career in the 2000s when her life was a mess just as I am not delusional enough to think that Hyman should have been a star in late 80s or 90s. Their careers did not coincide with each other at all and their voices aren’t similar at all. Whitney would have been a star no matter what company she signed with, Arista was not her only option, and Hyman didn’t want to be a star. There is no reason to compare them.

There wouldn’t be a Whitney without Aretha. Aretha hands down. Whitney had some of the same problems that Christina Aguilera has in spades- lack of artistry. Whitney had a spectacular voice when healthy, not the artistry- which is why her recorded material is so mediocre- or at least does not approach her talent. Clive Davis molded her as a pop singles hit maker- not singer. She was too fucked up to break loose and explore her artistry.

There wouldn't be an Aretha without Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday and the countless of other African American female singers That came before her.

Aretha Franklin all day, every day, until the end of time. Whitney could never touch the Queen of Soul.

Whitney had a great voice but was not a song stylist. She was clueless when came to interpreting lyrics. She did not understand phrasing. She too often relied on vocal tricks and caterwauling. Aretha often did too, but she genuinely understood jazz and the blues and could even take on the standards. Whitney didn't and couldn't.

Here's Aretha singing "Moon River". Whitney could never do this.

Anyone that says Whitney couldn’t interpret a song and had no artistry has never heard her live and really isn’t worth arguing with. Aretha sounded terrible doing Jazz

Comparing her to Christina Aguilera is worse than calling her a crackhead. My God, clean out your ears

Aretha singing "If Ever I Would Leave You".

Yeah, she could be over the top, but she milks every drop of meaning out of the lyrics.

Whitney could never do this. Did not have the intelligence.

Loool r61 lives in fantasy world

Aretha's "Somewhere" from "West Side Story".

Whitney could never do this.

"She is the reason women want to sing."

vocally, Whitney was unmatched by any female or male singers . She was the only female vocalist called The Voice in the last 40 years

R65 Junkie

…'musty', that's the word that comes to mind when I think of Dionne Warwick, R39. Musty spirits who wear Cliff Huxtable sweaters. She's got to be musty underneath all that wool and polyester, and all those synthetic fibers. A musty Demon. My flats have more soul. Someone tells me they're a Dionne Warwick fan, I say "what? Do you like mayonnaise?' I know you do!"

[quote]Their careers did not coincide with each other at all

Phyllis was dropped from the label a year after Clive introduced Whitney on Merv Griffin. In fact, he pretty much gave up on both Phyllis and Angela Bofill's careers right after being introduced to Houston. So, yeah, they did coincide.

[quote]Whitney would have been a star no matter what company she signed with

Would the other labels have put as much work into her? Passing her off as "The Voice" was Clive's idea. He put a lot of effort into her career. It's effort that he had wanted to put into Hyman's career but she refused. Talent isn't everything. Marketing is the key, and what made Whitney stand out from the others not just from her talent was the huge amount of marketing they did to promote her.

R65, that song is proof that Whitney sang poor material during most of her peak.

R65 3-rate material.

And Whitney just mindlessly slides up and down the scales. Has no idea how to interpret lyrics.

It's really garbage.

Here's a singer with only a fraction of Whitney's vocal abilities, but listen to how beautifully she phrases the lyrics. She tells a story. She builds the song. It all makes sense.

With Whitney you have no idea of what the hell she's singing about....and neither does she. It's just a shit-show of caterwauling.

As beautiful is Whitney's (peak years) voice was, I do agree that she didn't always interpret songs on record as well as she could have. I never saw her live, unfortunately, but on YouTube I've seen some lovely performances with real emotion from her. She definitely had the ability but it wasn't consistent.

That's why I prefer Mariah - when you step away from a lot of her bombastic singles, you can find some genuinely stunning and emotive compositions. I'd even go so far as to say that when Mariah tones her voice down, she can better connect with the listener who isn't so distracted by the belting, the whistle register, melisma and endless vocal runs.

R72, very true of early Mariah. And like Aretha (but unlike Whitney), she could writer her own material and sometimes, the results would be outstanding (see the attached song). From what I understand, the Emotions album was her attempt to become a more R&B-oriented singer. But when it didn't sell well, Tommy Mottolla told her to tone down her singing and continue to sing pop music. Hence, Music Box.

Aretha. No question. And I loved Whitney. But Aretha had a quality, an intangible quality, that just hit you in the gut with the emotional power of her singing. Technically, I’m not qualified to judge. But can you imagine Whitney singing Dr. Feelgood? Drown in My Own Tears? Nessun Dorma?

Aretha Franklin was also a fantastic pianist and I think this musicianship informed her singing. She seemed to have an instinctive understanding of and appreciation for the way her voice functioned as a musical instrument. I love Whitney Houston's voice but I always got the impression that she was performing a song and playing a part very well whereas Franklin inhabited the song and became the character.

Houston, to me, was a bit like watching someone like Meryl Streep act. I can appreciate the skill and the technique but that takes me out of the moment as I realize I'm hearing (or seeing) a skilled performer. Franklin, at least in her prime, makes me forget that she's not always singing about herself.