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The GAF POP |OT| of Diversity, Hidden Talent, and Stan Wars

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It's ADELE, with one L. Don't disappoint your madre.
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royalan

Member
There are plenty of legitimate criticisms when it comes to Kelly; like Mumei said, her lower register isn't the greatest and she has a tendency to be shouty, especially during her Breakaway heyday. I allowed you to call her creatively bankrupt and hypocritical (???), but to claim she's not versatile is the most false statement I've heard in this thread. And there are Rihanna stans in here.

I'm referring to her Ryan Tedder - "Mr. Know it All" kerfluffle, which was honestly where I cashed in my fan card.

Look at what she serves in addition to her catalog of Pop/Rock classics:
Classical
Soul
Classic Rock
Modern Rock
Blues
Country
Big Band
Folksy/Gospel/Soul/Whatever mix of genres this is
Country Fried Rock


There are even receipts that her own music is versatile- she's the only artist in the history of music to land #1s in Pop, Adult Contemporary, Hot AC, Dance, Country, and the Hot 100. I could go on but I get the feeling that nothing would be convincing enough.

*Listens*

That's...a lot of Rock.


And calling her a boring singer is obviously subjective, but here's some spilled tea anyway:

Miss Independent @ AOL
Walk Away @ CD USA
Since U Been Gone @ VMAS (this may not be her most vocally impressive performance, but it sure as hell ain't boring)















.....Oh, and she can sing the National Anthem.

No fair. You posted 2 tracks from the album era I've gone on record as saying was the ONE by her I enjoyed.

I think we may have a difference of opinion as to what "application" means. I think that at the most fundamental level of application - her technique - she has issues that need quite a bit of work, not a little. And while I do agree with you that versatility is a technical skill, the problem is that you can't start talking about her application of her instrument and how great her application is while ignoring her problems with the fundamentals.

That's understandable. I'm just of the opinion that technical ability and "fundamentals" aren't the end-all when you still have the ability to sing well, which Christina does. In her comfort range, particularly her lower to mid belt range where she is able to achieve the most power and resonance without straining her larynx, she has great tone and pitch, and near unparalleled interpretive ability (when it comes to contemporary Pop singers, at least). And she delivers stunning live performances when she sticks to this range. With her current technique she's delivered 4 diverse albums, and two exciting tours. I can't take that away from her just because her "fundamentals" aren't all there.

Then again, I tend to have an appreciation for singers who manage to sing well despite lacking a formal technique (and maybe having a few destructive habits). That Fantasia Barrino is still my favorite Idol winner is telling (and don't give me shit for that lol).

Granted, I'm excited that Christina is getting formal coaching (something she actually SHUNNED for a while), because I want her to be able to sing the way she does for a really long time, and because I do believe she has the ability to actually broaden her range with some good instruction, even at this point in her development. But the fact that she hasn't really done so until now doesn't detract from the material she's recorded leading up to this point, because she simply wouldn't have been able to record half of it if she didn't have one of the best voices in the industry. Certainly not a voice that could be ignored simply because some fundamentals are lacking.

But that may just be me.

Another interesting thought: a lot of people credit her singing ability with mimicking singers like Mariah and Whitney as a child, and that's partially true. But I think it's believable that Christina's telling the god's honest truth when she says Etta James was her real childhood role models. Apart from melisma (which Etta didn't do a whole lot of) Christina sings more like her than either Whitney and Mariah. Etta James had a tendency to raise her larynx on the high notes, an inclination toward raspiness and shouting, and no strong vibrato to speak of.

But, she went on to release timeless music and is considered one of the premier vocalists of her era....

I think that the ability to walk around on stage and sing, while probably a big change for classically trained singers, ought to be second-nature for a pop singer (at least the ones who trade on their vocal ability). Christina sounded like she was barely keeping up with the song, and honestly when I was watching I didn't think the routine seemed that intense, and there seemed to be rather large breaks (15+ seconds, anyway), where she wasn't doing any singing whatsoever and had an opportunity to catch her breath.

Absolutely disagree. Of course we're not talking "Me Against The Music" era Britney with god-tier choreography here, but that is some intense choreography to be doing while singing and NOT having musical theater training. It's not so much the rapid arm movements, as those are easy to pull off while singing relatively demanding music (and something a lot of singers do). It's the fast paced strutting and the constant level changing - going down to the floor and then back again. That's the kind of stuff that literally forces the air right out of you, not to mention fucks with your ear.

Pop singer or not, it's very impressive that she was able to sing that particular song and keep up with the majority of the choreography. Only Beyonce matches her in that regard.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
i'm still on a kylie binge. the sheer effervescent joy of Aphrodite has almost cleansed my palate of the sheer bitter disappointment of MDNA.
 
I guess you're just playing a character now. Because Aphrodite is heads and tails above MDNA.

And Vintage Mariah slays Madonna any day of the week, both in vocal talent and quality of songs.

Real talk. Not silly gurl pop GAF.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
i guess i could listen to a collection b-sides from blackout era britney, but to be honest i feel like i've given MDNA a fair chance already

I haven't bothered with Kylie since the abysmal Body Language.

As for Pariah, I'm just going to pretend I didn't read that.
X and Aphrodite are solid. They've not revolutionised pop but at least I can listen to them all the way through without skipping tracks.
 
I haven't bothered with Kylie since the abysmal Body Language.

As for Pariah, I'm just going to pretend I didn't read that.

Pretend you didn't read what? The truth? I'd love to hear you argue either Madonna's *cough* vocal talent, or the quality of the songs on MDNA compared to Emotions.

No, nevermind. That pretty much confirms my suspicions.
 

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
actually b-sides from blackout isn't fair. only half the tracks feel like blackout b-sides, the others sound like american life b-sides
 
X and Aphrodite are solid. They've not revolutionised pop but at least I can listen to them all the way through without skipping tracks.

I've only heard one song from X and it reminded me of I Believe In You... which I REALLY didn't like. I just assumed she was going in that direction with the whole album. I love her classics though.

Pretend you didn't read what? The truth? I'd love to hear you argue either Madonna's *cough* vocal talent, or the quality of the songs on MDNA compared to Emotions.

No, nevermind. That pretty much confirms my suspicions.

The singles from Emotions were excellent. I can't be bothered with the rest of the filler. She was incredibly dull and benign back then, thank god for MIMI.

I don't think anybody would dispute the vocals.
 

Mau ®

Member
Ya'll better stan the Bajan Queen right now. Rihalla has now achieved 30 TOP #30 HITS, with Birthday Cake, a non-single interlude, entering the TOP 30.

"Pon de Replay"
"SOS"
"Unfaithful"
"Break It Off"
"Umbrella"
"Shut Up and Drive"
"Hate That I Love You"
"Don't Stop the Music"
"Take a Bow"
"Disturbia"
"Rehab"
"Russian Roulette"
"Hard"
"Rude Boy"
"Only Girl (In the World)"
"What's My Name?"
"S&M"
"Cheers (Drink to That)"
"We Found Love"
"You Da One"
"Birthday Cake"
"Live Your Life"
"Run This Town"
"Love the Way You Lie"
"All of the Lights"
"Fly"
"Princess of China"
"Take Care"
"Just Stand Up!"
"Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)"

Im sorry your faves just.cant.do.it.

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twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
I've only heard one song from X and it reminded me of I Believe In You... which I REALLY didn't like. I just assumed she was going in that direction with the whole album. I love her classics though.

which track was it, a single? Wow?

you should give X a listen. also Aphrodite.
 

Mumei

Member
Ya'll better stan the Bajan Queen right now. Rihalla has now achieved 30 TOP #30 HITS, with Birthday Cake, a non-single interlude, entering the TOP 30.

Go back to stanning for Old Britney. At least she could dance.

Then again, I tend to have an appreciation for singers who manage to sing well despite lacking a formal technique (and maybe having a few destructive habits). That Fantasia Barrino is still my favorite Idol winner is telling (and don't give me shit for that lol).

I would like to start in medias res with this, because I do believe we have found the true source of your shade towards Ms. Clarkson!

You're still upset about Ms Clarkson effortlessly outsinging and upstaging your girl when they sang together live!

:3

That's understandable. I'm just of the opinion that technical ability and "fundamentals" aren't the end-all when you still have the ability to sing well, which Christina does. In her comfort range, particularly her lower to mid belt range where she is able to achieve the most power and resonance without straining her larynx, she has great tone and pitch, and near unparalleled interpretive ability (when it comes to contemporary Pop singers, at least). And she delivers stunning live performances when she sticks to this range. With her current technique she's delivered 4 diverse albums, and two exciting tours. I can't take that away from her just because her "fundamentals" aren't all there.

I don't take it away from her. I just think all that happens to place her a tier below the other singers I'm talking about.

She's obviously above the jokes like Rihanna or Taylor Swift. She's above the passable vocalists like post-Evita Madonna. But once we start hitting the singers who are hit a decent level of talent combined with a better technical ability (or perhaps more to the point, better singing habits), I think she falls off and no longer keeps up. So to continue with the idea of placing them in tiers, I would call her upper mid tier, with potential to move to upper or even top tier (though that might be beyond her at this point) with proper lab work, but not quite there at this point.

Absolutely disagree. Of course we're not talking "Me Against The Music" era Britney with god-tier choreography here, but that is some intense choreography to be doing while singing and NOT having musical theater training. It's not so much the rapid arm movements, as those are easy to pull off while singing relatively demanding music (and something a lot of singers do). It's the fast paced strutting and the constant level changing - going down to the floor and then back again. That's the kind of stuff that literally forces the air right out of you, not to mention fucks with your ear.

Pop singer or not, it's very impressive that she was able to sing that particular song and keep up with the majority of the choreography. Only Beyonce matches her in that regard.

From what little I've seen, Beyonce effortlessly slays everyone in pop music in that particular department.

Christina does not have musical theatre training, no, but she has been doing the singing-and-choreography thing for over ten years now - even longer if you go back to her childhood performance days. It's not like she is in the "classical singer now learning to move and sing for the first time" category (and that obviously would be a particular sort of hell for a classically-trained singer, with all of the emphasis on posture and position of your neck and head and alignment and all that, and then just suddenly losing all of that base as you're moving). I think you're making an apples-and-oranges comparison when you compare the experience of the people in your choir to the base of experience I think Christina has.

I suppose it is possible that the real issue was simply that she wasn't in the best of shape and so that light amount of movement combined with singing wore her out. But I thought her struggles were palpable.
 

DMeisterJ

Banned
This whole Christina/Kelly/Leona thing is getting out of hand. I mean really, when was the last time Christina and Leona have been relevant? (all shade intended)

Let it be clear I don't stan for Kelly, but she gave me life with 'Miss Independent'.
 

Zutroy

Member
Shouldn't that be posted in the Disability-age community thread?

I can't believe people go out of their way to criticise MDNA while shit like this gets a free pass.

Gross.

After listening to this constantly the last few days, not only is it better than anything on MDNA, I also think I prefer it over 'On the Floor'.
 

Sai-kun

Banned
Ya'll better stan the Bajan Queen right now. Rihalla has now achieved 30 TOP #30 HITS, with Birthday Cake, a non-single interlude, entering the TOP 30.

"Princess of China"

That is for real very impressive, but allow me to be snarky.

We all know she didn't do anything but sing on this track. :p She can thank Godplay for this one.
 

Dr. Malik

FlatAss_
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You're sure don't seem mind when an alpaca is always the lead in your fave's videos.

lady-gaga-totally-looks-like-ugly-alpaca.jpg
you should be nicer to Gaga sis, after all she is kind enough to take your fave for a walk
19p4a.jpg


Katy Perry's 'Part Of Me' Film Inspired By Madonna

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Her honesty is welcomed when other unscrupulous acts go out of their way to copy the Queen's every move and then turn around and pretend they're being original.

It's what makes the difference between an artist and a con artist.

iF4dNZIbHY6IG.gif


I am still waiting for Madonna's honesty towards copying Marilyn Monroe


After listening to this constantly the last few days, not only is it better than anything on MDNA, I also think I prefer it over 'On the Floor'.

Well that isn't hard to do, almost anything is better than MDNA
but yes Dance Again is miles better
 

Mau ®

Member
That is for real very impressive, but allow me to be snarky.

We all know she didn't do anything but sing on this track. :p She can thank Godplay for this one.

That's applied to most of her hits though. Nevertheless, I thank Godplay for giving and writing this song with Rih in my mind. It was for her 2009 album Rated R.

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twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
WHAT AM I READING!? It's on the Deluxe Edition. I'm going to pretend you have it.

It is indeed life-giving.



British pop singer who debuted at 15 or 16 in the late 90's, she was kind of like Britney.

She was on Dr. Who for a while and was the lead in Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Because We Want To

Girlfriend

Honey To The Bee

Day and Night

Something Deep Inside

She probably has other songs but I honestly WOULDN'T KNOW.

does day and night remind anyone else of the theme tune to the 90s xmen cartoon?
 

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I'm referring to her Ryan Tedder - "Mr. Know it All" kerfluffle, which was honestly where I cashed in my fan card.
Yeah, there are some similarities to that Bruno Mars song I suppose. It's not as insultingly obvious as the Halo/Already Gone connection. I'm a lot more disappointed that My Life Would Suck Without You (and now I Forgive You) are shameless, basic Since U Been Gone retreads and that she hasn't mentioned anything about it.


*Listens*

That's...a lot of Rock.
I think it's clear by now that Rock is one of her preferred genres. I think I'd rather her continue to evolve her sound in this way than try to reinvent herself every single album...which can be risky, especially when critics aren't here for it.


No fair. You posted 2 tracks from the album era I've gone on record as saying was the ONE by her I enjoyed.
Haha. Well I don't know how to say it. I've been to her concerts during the Breakaway and Stronger eras and her improvement in everything from stage presence to vocals is remarkable. She's obviously not a performer in the Christina/Beyonce/P!nk sense of the word, though. More of an Adele.
 
I'm a lot more disappointed that My Life Would Suck Without You (and now I Forgive You) are shameless, basic Since U Been Gone retreads and that she hasn't mentioned anything about it.
Retread sounds too dismissive, it's just a certain style of music. You Can't Win, Don't Be A Girl About It and Tell Me A Lie are very similar as well.

Can't believe I'm coming to her defense, and against you of all people
 
I absolutely loathe those songs
You weren't *that* dismissive of them in your album review half a year ago:

You Can't Win- Very clever lyrics. The verses and especially the bridge are complete fire but I still stand by my opinion that the chorus is pretty weak. And her vocals sound kind of awkward on the chorus compared to the leak, but perhaps I'm just too used to the leak. 2.5/5

Don't Be a Girl About It- Even though I might roll my eyes at some of the lyrics, I can't deny this is an undeniably catchy song. The "Oooooh"s aren't annoying like they were in the demos and are now a vital part of the DNA of the song. Everything about the production of this song gives me MLYSWY vibes. 3/5
 

Koodo

Banned
shMxy.jpg


The Hollywood Reporter said:
Thank You Camellia, the follow-up to his self-titled 2009 debut, features songs all co-written by Allen along with producers and songwriters Tim Pagnotta (former lead singer of Sugarcult and producer of Neon Trees' "Animal"), Curt Schneider (Augustana, Five for Fighting), Nasri and Adam Messinger, (Chris Brown, Justin Bieber), Kevin Kadish (Jason Mraz, Rob Thomas) and Boots Ottestad (Andy Grammar, Robbie Williams). According to a statement being issued today by his label RCA, Allen was also "integrally involved in the production aspect of the recording process."
More at source


No me gusta the lead single.


... and he has way too much clothing on.
 

royalan

Member
I guess you're just playing a character now. Because Aphrodite is heads and tails above MDNA.

And Vintage Mariah slays Madonna any day of the week, both in vocal talent and quality of songs.

Real talk. Not silly gurl pop GAF.

Truth, just like X took a steaming dump on Hard Candy.


Go back to stanning for Old Britney. At least she could dance.



I would like to start in medias res with this, because I do believe we have found the true source of your shade towards Ms. Clarkson!

You're still upset about Ms Clarkson effortlessly outsinging and upstaging your girl when they sang together live!

:3

I knew the SECOND I typed that you were going to go there. lol

No, I loved Fantasia because she was such an exciting, entertaining, passionate singer, and her vocals were just good enough (still good enough), to convey this each and every week. 8 seasons later and we've still to really have a contestant on Idol turn that stage out like she did.


I don't take it away from her. I just think all that happens to place her a tier below the other singers I'm talking about.

And this is just where we'll have to continue to disagree. I think that Christina's understanding of her voice, versatility, and musicality makes her one of the best contemporary pop singers, period. But, I don't think we were ever going to agree with this. LOL

I can't wait to hear the results of her work with Seth Riggs, though. From her performance of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" back in December of last year, you can already hear her sounding stronger and more relaxed than any of her Bionic-era performances, and she had only just started worked with Seth. That head voice moment...



This whole Christina/Kelly/Leona thing is getting out of hand. I mean really, when was the last time Christina and Leona have been relevant? (all shade intended)

Let it be clear I don't stan for Kelly, but she gave me life with 'Miss Independent'.

Uhhh, Christina is hosting a popular singing competition, and working with some of the hottest producers in the biz on an anticipated comeback album. Leona has an album coming out...I think.
 

Mumei

Member
I knew the SECOND I typed that you were going to go there. lol

I would have been remiss in my duties if I hadn't!

And this is just where we'll have to continue to disagree. I think that Christina's understanding of her voice, versatility, and musicality makes her one of the best contemporary pop singers, period. But, I don't think we were ever going to agree with this. LOL

I'll give you versatility. I think she has some understanding of her voice, obviously (you can't sound that big with *nothing*), but her musicality is... well sometimes it is good (in her comfort range), but above and below that it is... *insert that side-eye emoticon Crumpet's always posting that I'm too lazy to look for*

I can't wait to hear the results of her work with Seth Riggs, though. From her performance of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" back in December of last year, you can already hear her sounding stronger and more relaxed than any of her Bionic-era performances, and she had only just started worked with Seth. That head voice moment...

That's the biggest thing for her. When you listen to that performance of Beautiful, she sounds, well, beautiful (until the two times she leaves her comfort range and belts "way"). She also sounds great here. She sounds effortless and relaxed, because she's staying in her comfort range - before she starts her habit of raising her larynx and before she goes lower and starts losing her ability to project.

And I think if this vocal training works out for her that she's probably going to gain a good half octave on either end of comfortable range, which is great. And that head voice moment was great. It sounded more connected than her usual head voice.
 

DMeisterJ

Banned
Uhhh, Christina is hosting a popular singing competition, and working with some of the hottest producers in the biz on an anticipated comeback album. Leona has an album coming out...I think.

Christina's last album went stainless steel, and she's 1/4 of the judges on the second most popular singing competition. And Leona hasn't had a hint of relevance in forever.
 
I don't care if it technically belongs in this thread, but Beth Ditto and Gossip don't deserve to be on the same page as all of these lessors.
 

Mumei

Member
Mumei:

Are you a Beth Ditto/Gossip fan?

Because their new single is SLAYING me.

Well...

I am now!

I see how he won Idol. He snatched the gay vote right from under Adam, didn't he?

ibg7rJrGTa34ZI.jpg


P.S. I just listened to this:

41Gbc%2B4x-7L._SL500_AA300_.jpg


My review: Damn, yo

I love her lower register *oh so much.* She also has a gorgeous upper register (well she sounds a bit tight on some notes, but for her voice type it's great!) and head voice.
 
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