The new generations are growing up without many or even any great female vocalists

There’s plenty.

0/10

Beyonce is not a great vocalist.

Honey, the new generation is growing up thinking trash like Cardi B is talent. It’s a sad state of affairs.

Cynthia Erivo

Ariana Grande is leading the charge, JHud, Miley has good voice too.

In the pop world? Not many these days.

Gaga has a big, nuanced voice. Ariana has the talent, but no form. JHud for black singers. But she's not really popular.

Like R4 illustrated, said great vocalists are out there. They just aren't really on the radio/Spotify playlists. You have to find them.

Yes I’d have to say Ariana Grande and Gaga are more on par as singers, but still a stretch. The rest I would say are more vocalists.

OP here, I was referring to great big vocalists (specially black women) on top of the pop charts.

Not many of them.

It's so much about looks, attitude, fashion, sexually provocative behavior these days and they all try to outdo each other for shock effect and headlines.

I don't think popular music ever was as trashy and low artistically as it is now.

Lizzo.

I don’t think there is a huge demand for them among younger generations. Music is pretty much disposable now. Not a lot of development of sound, song composition, etc It’s more about fast production and singles to get hyped so people will download. I remember sharing some pop song that was like two months old with a 20-something friend and she acted like I’d shared something ftom the 70s.

It’s more that even if they can sing now, their songs are shit.

Obviously it’s personal taste but you can’t beat a well structured song with verses, a decent chorus, and god forbid, an actual tune.

I actually just listen to mostly 70s / 80s soul and R&B now. I wish it were different, but most music today can’t hold a candle to the music produced then. It’s partly due to COVID I’m sure, but honestly, the caliber of music has nose dived.

Emeli Sandé and Leona Lewis? Emeli often write her own songs. OP types narrow and limited.

R14: they both have great voices but haven’t had any real success for a decade now. I do love that Emilie Sandé song you posted.

Jazmine Sullivan.

There's some great new music out there, but it's not mainstreaming. One DJ on BBC radio has an amazing music show once a week. He plays a combination of old and new. Highly recommended for sophisticated RnB, Jazz, Blues, Soul lovers.

Jazmine Sullivan is great but she hardly can't reach the top 50 on the Hot 100.

What I mean is that the new generations are growing up thinking the caterwauling of Olivia Rodrigo is this kind of great singing.... when it's shit.

I don't think that's true. There are memes clowning Rodrigo's SNL vocals.

We honor those greats who paved the way for other greats. They have a place in music history that can not be denied. However, the current generation of big vocalists often cite Whitney, Mariah and Celine. They have been studied and imitated with every attempt failing miserably. That's because bombastic vocals and pop ballads are irrelevant to what is currently celebrated as popular music. We love a good vocal performance and live for the nostalgia of it all, but that alone is not going to make you a star anymore. You have to be like Normani and practically scissor yourself in your video to be relevant anymore. And don't forget to sprinkle in some faux lesbianism with Cardi B (it's a prerequisite).

The record companies force this synthesized crap on us so they can avoid paying session musicians and pocket the savings.

Well, piracy has also played its part.

So they combat it by making music so bad even pirates wouldn't steal it.

Is Jamie Cullum just known as a “BBC DJ” these days? Man, I’m old.

[quote] Ariana has the talent, but no form.

What does that mean as a singer? I’m not knowledgeable about vocals so I’m curious.

[quote]You have to be like Normani and practically scissor yourself in your video to be relevant anymore. And don't forget to sprinkle in some faux lesbianism with Cardi B (it's a prerequisite).

You can thank Madonna for the faux-lesbo shit in pop music. That stupid whore is one of the reasons talent is no longer needed in music. Everyone relies on gimmicks now.

Donna Summer came before Madonna.

Great example of artistry in OP. She's not singing her own material, engaged with the crowd and performing for the joy sharing and not just fame & fortune. The only person I can think of who even attempts those things--to varying degrees of success--is Kelly Clarkson.

Have none of you heard of the Radio 1 Live Lounge? It's very common for artists to do a cover. It's a way to go viral. "Just for the love." Gladys was looking for gambling money!

[quote]Is Jamie Cullum just known as a “BBC DJ” these days? Man, I’m old.

No, but he is actually the DJ on this/his excellent weekly radio show on BBC. I know he's a musician too.

I'd be happy if pop music was still like Madonna. Her pop music wasn't bad at all. Miles above what's hitting the charts these days.

MTV killed music when it made everything about the visuals. Plain artists don’t get a look in (even the rare fatties are attractive)

I think Celeste has a tremendous potential. She has a definite look, the right attitude and most importantly, real talent, both as a recording artist and a composer.

I love "Stop This Flame." Too bad it was released just as Covid-19 was taking hold of the world.

Beyoncé is not a singer OP. Kelli Clarkson is a singer. Jennifer Hudson is a singer.

Yes, there are almost no divas right now. Vocal pop is a fucking mess.

Ariana does this hideous thing with her jaw when she tries to do some vocal run. Like its in seizure and moves up and down rapidly. I don't think that would be considered a good technique and the bitch never enunciates the word she sings. She's like the Anti-Aretha.

That's an affectation. She enunciated when she sang Broadway.

Did people already forget about Adele?

Oscar and Grammy winner HER

[Quote] Did people already forget about Adele?

Nodules.

Beyonce is a great vocalist. Aretha, Patti, Whitney have all commended her on her vocal talent. And they weren't shy at all about calling out non-singers by name. Here's Simon Cowell saying she made him eat his own criticism of her after she came onto his show and gave one of the best live vocals he's ever heard.

[Quote] they weren't shy at all about calling out non-singers by name.

Great gowns? Beautiful gowns?

If you are into the '70s, 80's or 90's sound, just listen to it. In the past, popular tastes dictated how popular music was manufactured and brought to the popular consumption method, i.e Radio, TV.

Because of subscription streaming and internet radio, I don't think new pop music has the same place in popular culture as it once has. With this easy availability, past hits are just as accessible as new pop garbage.

Oh, it does. Rap is the pop music of today.

15 year olds are the market for pop music. Songs wont chart if artist doesnt appeal to children. Jazmine Sullivan does not appeal to little babies . These kids play songs over and over on spotify, youtube or wherever 1 million times a day, whether they are actually listening to the songs or not just to get their favorite artist’s song to chart. Which is why the charts are mainly rappers, billie eyelash, olivia rodrigo, kid laroi, bts. There are real singers and musicians out there. 15 year olds dont know or care who they are.

As previous mentioned. Great female vocalists are around but they don't appeal to kids especially if they're singing about grown women's issues. I also would say the same about great male vocalists. The popular artists with teenagers are mostly famous for their image and relatability, they often originate off of social media and get into music after the fact.

Ariana is a good singer despite her weird enunciation but her music does absolutely nothing for me and it's forgettable. I hate that she has been in the game for so long and still has yet to find a distinctive identity for herself.

Jessie J

Pink!

Rita Ora

Pink has been in the game for a while. She is an OG and earned her dues. I wish Kelly Clarkson would try to make more music with a good writer and production. Fantasia is also good and just needs a good team. I'm happy Jazmine Sullivan is still around and killing it. Beyoncé really needs to go back to singing like she did on her earlier albums.

Madonna is an excellent singer, dancer, actress, and model. At 22, she has had more success and acclaim than many of those that came before her, like Cardi B, Lizzo, and Taylor S.

By the time she hits 30, she will be a timeless icon!

In 2017, Emeli Sandé won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. Wasn't it kinda success though?

Ariana has a great voice, great sense of pitch, enormous range... and terrible technique. She is this generation's Mariah. She'll have vocal nodes in a decade's time. Adele is this generation's Toni Braxton: smoky excellent alto.

Kelly Clarkson doesn't make much music anymore because she's fried her voice from belting at the edge of her range for the last 15 years, which is a shame. Hayley Williams from Paramore is probably the best female pop-rock vocalist around right now.

There are some great singers in R&B like Jazmine Sullivan, Kennedy Rd., Shae Universe, Ayeisha Raquel, and Alex Isley, but R&B has fallen out of vogue with all the TikTok pop princess industry plants like Olivia Rodrigo being shoved down our throats.

Likewise with folk-rock people like Maggie Rogers and Phoebe Bridgers and even older ones like Ingrid Michaelson - all lovely voices making weird as hell sleepy music. Some very good singers in country, too. But none of it is teen princess pop so it's not selling or being marketed.

Some of you have never bothered to open Spotify on your phones in your lives, and it shows.

It just seems weird, but I guess if there isn’t a market for it, then there isn’t going to be a lot of energy put into developing and producing raw talent. It’s intriguing given how amateur talent shows like The Voice are an industry now. Seems like artists, much like pop music today, are largely disposable. R51, thanks for the artist suggestions!

I agree with the posters saying Beyoncé is not a vocalist. She has one high note and no range. She is more concerned with visuals than vocals and her music is bland. However she has the beauty, charisma and stage presence that makes a star.

Beyoncé is basically Diana Ross 2.0 but I think Diana's voice had more emotion to it. Beyoncé never seems vulnerable especially since she adopted that Afrocentric goddess persona since her self-titled. She had a lot of great vocal moments on B'day, Sasha Fierce and 4.

I never could get into Beyoncé for that reason. She can sing songs like Listen, but you never really feel she’s connected. It’s like she’s performing a task.

This is how to do it.

That's pretty impressive R56!

Beyonce does have range, just not a high range. Her range is about the same as Adele's. She gets quite low in "Halo," for example, and she can do it just as well live.

Beyonce can sing her ass off

Felt and did that!

Two words: Connie Francis

Oh well 🤷🏼‍♂️

Because they're being taken over by the quartet of Albanian whores:

Dua Lipa

Bebe Rexha

Dua Lipa

and the slut that started it all Rita Whora

Even though they're not singers I like5 Eliza Dushku and that actress that played George Lopez's bimbo daughter. I thought she was Mexican! George probably was fucking her

You're welcome, R52! If you want other very good female singers that are more niche pop than R&B, I recommend Tori Kelly, JoJo, Qveen Herby, and Christine and the Queens. JoJo in particular is damn underrated, IMO.

I meant Ava Max, didn't mean to repeat Dua Lipa.

I just think it sucks that music is now more about image and style and less about actual talent. Luckily I have enough music and knowledge of past genres to enjoy the rest of my life. I was just so used to looking forward to new music, but not anymore. I think it’s just about changing your mindset and not expecting great music to be released on a regular basis. Enjoy what you have!

R66: so true. I did used to think how weird it would be being, say, 70 (I’m three decades off that still), and the huge amount of music I’d have in my collection, (or on my iTunes or Spotify playlist as it would be now) but even though there’s still a fair amount of new songs I like, the days of even 10 great albums coming out in one year are long gone for me.

Please stop posting these sad clips of Beyoncé. They just convince me further that she can’t sing. The voice is simply not impressive.

r68, no.

r68, no

Awful. I’m embarrassed for you R70.

Hitting all those while dancing and pregnant

r71, I promise you I don't care. Back to Beyonce

The weird Beybot is going to banned camp like the Janbot. She's ridiculous.

r74, I don't speak mayo gay stuck in the 70's. But I'm sure that meant something to you..