Kelly Clarkson, is she a top 5 woman singer?
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A true battle would be solo singing with no background music and no electronics.
Battle of the voice boxes.
Battle of the voice boxes.
Mariah and Whitney take up 2 of the top 5 spots. Probably 1 and 2 for me in any order. Lots of contenders for the other 3 spots.
1. Taylor Swift
2. P!NK
3. Gwen Stefani
4. Halsey
5. Billie Eilish
6. Kelly Clarkson
2. P!NK
3. Gwen Stefani
4. Halsey
5. Billie Eilish
6. Kelly Clarkson
Not having Sabrina Carpenter in the top three is proof how unserious this list is.
Aretha Franklin?
Tina Turner?
Ella Fitzgerald?
Tina Turner?
Ella Fitzgerald?
Top 5 of all time? Not even close, but she is damn good. Top 5 is the rarest of rarified air.
She is really really good but she’s no carrie underwood. This song with John legend is actually one of my favorite Christmas songs now. It is the live version with just him, her, and a piano. Around the 3:30 mark they hit the finale which is amazing.
Prerecorded version is awesome too.
Runner up is her live version of how great thou art with Vince gill and is also amazing. Again, the back 1/2 of the song builds and builds, until it is an absolute tour de force at the end.
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Whenever Carrie Underwood is on the Sirius XM in the car, I will say, " Who is this, Carrie Underpants?" Slays every time
Dad joke noted for future deployment. Possibly today.
Top 5 all time? No
Top 10 all time? No
Celine, Amy Winehouse, Aguilara, Lady Gaga, Amy Lee all rank above.
Top 10 all time? No
Celine, Amy Winehouse, Aguilara, Lady Gaga, Amy Lee all rank above.
This! Kelly has a great voice, and I agree she is currently one of the better ones. All time? Maybe and maybe not.
Going back even 50 years I wonder about why there’s no mention of Streisand or Ronstadt or Kirsten Chenowith or Audra McDonald or Ariana Grande or any number of women singers blessed with amazing voices in any genre.
I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and would be amazed if I had even 20% of their talent.
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Adele as well. Beyoncé, Madonna. Alycia Keys,maybe Lauryn Hill.
Agree on all those. Clarkson isn't bad at all, not a diss on her, but like I said, in my ranking, not a top 10. I also didn't call out Turner or Whitney. Im sure there are a couple oldies I don't have a lot of exposure to so we must not let recency bias in. Anne Lennox....
I also like Dido's voice more, but that is very likely a me ranking/pref, not a global one. I grew up with Alanis M as well, again, a me ranking...
Always loved heart. It was when Carrie covered alone that I was like holy shit, who is this? Simon agreed…
I'm not a fan of her songs but Mariah Carey is an amazing singer. Any list without her isn't valid IMO.
Not even close to top 10 for all time across genres. Even narrowing down to only “modern” pop I doubt it, but she’s closer to making the cut.
For modern pop singers, it doesn’t get better than Whitney in her prime. Mariah isn’t super far behind but I don’t think her voice was as powerful.
Tina gets forgotten a bitand she had an amazing voice too across both R&B and pop genres successfully. Aretha is amazing as well when you heard live recordings of her.
And then you dig into the rock, soul, country, etc. singers and you realize there has been a ton of talent that you can’t really compare with each other.
Then, go listen to an opera singer in person and have your mind blown. Years ago my kids went to a local event that had the youth outreach person from the Minnesota Opera at it, and she sang a bit while talking about opera. Just awestruck hearing that for the first time in person in a classroom setting. And that was a mid-level singer in an organization that isn’t close to the best in the world.
For modern pop singers, it doesn’t get better than Whitney in her prime. Mariah isn’t super far behind but I don’t think her voice was as powerful.
Tina gets forgotten a bitand she had an amazing voice too across both R&B and pop genres successfully. Aretha is amazing as well when you heard live recordings of her.
And then you dig into the rock, soul, country, etc. singers and you realize there has been a ton of talent that you can’t really compare with each other.
Then, go listen to an opera singer in person and have your mind blown. Years ago my kids went to a local event that had the youth outreach person from the Minnesota Opera at it, and she sang a bit while talking about opera. Just awestruck hearing that for the first time in person in a classroom setting. And that was a mid-level singer in an organization that isn’t close to the best in the world.
I can’t take any list serious that has Taylor Swift in top 5. She’s talented but she does not have a great voice, average at best. Heard her twice at CMAs - but she’s an entertainer, much like Garth Brooks.
There is a great documentary on Whitney on Netflix. Shows how early she delved into drugs. I am glad her legacy is still as a top singer.
NO. But here is a list of living and still performing singers who could all fit in a top five:
EmmyLou Harris
Mavis Staples
Bonnie Raitt
Allison Krause
Gillian Welch
Rhiannon Giddens
Grace Potter
Brandi Carlyle
Natalie Maines
Norah Jones
Kacey Musgraves
Sarah Jarosz
Margo Timmins
Alison Brown
Rhonda Vincent
Sierra Hull
Sierra Ferrell
EmmyLou Harris
Mavis Staples
Bonnie Raitt
Allison Krause
Gillian Welch
Rhiannon Giddens
Grace Potter
Brandi Carlyle
Natalie Maines
Norah Jones
Kacey Musgraves
Sarah Jarosz
Margo Timmins
Alison Brown
Rhonda Vincent
Sierra Hull
Sierra Ferrell
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