Juvenile perhaps, but definitely with tongue-in-cheek, I ask the question: Beyonce or Solange Knowles, which is better? In reality, you can like them both, but for the sake of this post imagine there's a metaphorical gun to your head and force yourself to choose!
Beyonce is an entertainer who, by all accounts, strives to maintain the brightness of her star and celebrity through an incredible work ethic, a rampant desire to diversify her portfolio and a fierce micromanagement of her public image. But Beyonce's crowning glory has to be- not her intricate weave- but her finely honed voice. With it's beautiful tone, power and show stopping vibrato its a canny instrument that can be wielded and intelligently manipulated to convey the emotion of whatever she sings.
Solange: The younger Knowles sister apparently has different goals to her sister. Not wanting the level of fame that Beyonce enjoys- or endures- the singer, Dj and model, has said that the two are artistically different entities, stating that her first love is actually writing songs- insert shady joke about Beyonce's writing "credits" here if you so please.
Their different outlook on music was perhaps best shown by Solange's last release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. A release that consciously chose to turn away from the mainstream, commercial sound that her first release, Solo Star, cultivated. Instead she moved sharply towards a Motown flavour that attempted to set her apart from anyone else around at the time. The result was a critically acclaimed album that, until Beyonce's new album 4, had scored higher than any of her sister's previous albums at review site collator, Metacritic.
Vocally:
There are similarities to the sisters though: they both act, they both model for the House of Deréon and there are even certain inflections to their voices that echo each other. However, Solange's voice has an altogether rawer and edgier sound than her sister, which some prefer to Beyonce's more saccharine tones.
Listen to the Beyonce and Solange duet on the-pretty average- song Naive:
Beyonce Vs Solange Note for note comparison:
Check out:
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"People think there should be this great rivalry between us, but there's never been any competition." -Solange Knowles
Haha, when I saw you posted Solange's vocal profile, I was going to ask you this exact question. That being said I don't care for Solange's voice at all. There's just nothing special about it to me. I really like Beyonce's voice but I liked it so much better with Destiny's Child or maybe I just liked the songs better.
ReplyDeleteAs a whole I prefer solange. To me she's the more talented songwriter and less artistically challenged. As far as vocals B is of course my have the edge, but honestly I still appreciate solange more.
ReplyDeleteBeyonce. Better overall technique, especially her control and placement on those belted chest notes. Solange uses less vibrato and seems to have a more strident sound, where it feels like she's about to fall off the note! Mind you, B's got a good few years and I suspect a lot more practice under her belt.
ReplyDeleteIf it's a 'sister' off, can we have Kylie vs Dannii next please? ;O)
Solange is an artist wheras Beyonce is a performer. Beyonce does have the better voice, but my personal preference is Solange.
ReplyDeleteBeyonce is a trillion times better singer than Solange. It's not even worthy of a comparison.
ReplyDeleteSolange is an artist wheras Beyonce is a performer
ReplyDeleteSolange
beyonce is more mainstream and yes beyonce is a great star but the only problem with beyonce is that shes not creative
ReplyDeletei dont remember anything from thats innovative and what impresses me about solange is that she is trying to set herself apart from beyonce
beyonce is a performer . she doesn't write her songs , her video looks they same , i feel no emotion from her she is so robotic , she is more popular but that doesn't mean she is better .. i would say solange it takes more than number #1 hits and Grammys to be an artist
ReplyDeletesolange everyday!
ReplyDeleteSolange is the artist, songwriter, musician and the real dancer. Beyonce is only a better singer and performer than her but Solange is more talented.
ReplyDeleteSolange is an artist, Beyonce is the performer. I say that in the means of Solange is creative, she creates music, she writes her music, she comes up with the concepts of her album. Beyonce performs the material, people write music for her, she takes people idea's & make it hers, she takes people's choreography. So basically Solange makes her own material, Beyonce performs other's material.
ReplyDeleteThe question asks who's *voice* do I prefer. Regardless of what material is being sang or who wrote the song, when it comes down to technicalities Beyonce's voice is superior to Solange's in every way. She has much more control and a far better range. She even has a more pleasant tone but that is merely a personal preference. Beyonce has proven that she is capable of singing almost any genre of music well (pure R&B, R&B/hiphop, pop, rock, alternative, musical theatre, etc) Also, while she does not write all of her music she is always in control of vocal arrangements which requires a good ear. Just my two cents.
ReplyDeleteWhat does solange sing? I thought was famous for being beyonce's sister. She sings?
ReplyDeleteConfused shocked,
Gugu
I like Solange, I truly do. I bop to her music like no other. However, she is in no way better than Beyonce. Artistically, they are very different this is true. However, to say that Beyonce is simply a performer and has no artistic credibility of input is to put her on the same plane as Britney Spears or Rihanna and it's just not true. Not even a bit. She collaborates with writers. Guess what? So does Solange. Bye. People will find any excuse to hate Beyonce.
ReplyDeleteBeyonce has a stronger voice and good vocal and vibrato control but I would give it to SOLANGE because she can hit notes well like beyonce plus she can go higher than beyonce!
ReplyDeleteListen to solanges new ep True. It is so awesome!!! Her voice is amazing and the songs have substance. Theres this whole new indie pop/electronica r&b thing happening she's made a new genre
ReplyDeleteYou people are very crazy saying that Beyonce is only a performer. Yes she is a performer but she is a singer before anything else. If she wasn't a singer she would not be a performer. It all comes down to preference when listening to music but it is no argument that Beyonce is the better vocalist/singer than Solange. I like Solange a lot but you can't compare when it comes down to it.
ReplyDeletebeyonce!!!!!
ReplyDeleteagreed!!!
ReplyDeleteI prefer Solange only because I actually like her more original out-of-the-box vocal & artistic style. Technically speaking though Beyonce's voice is superior & more versatile, not to mention the woman can perform at a legendary level.
ReplyDeleteSee this is where Beyonce is underestimated and underrated.
ReplyDelete1. Just because you are a performer doesnt mean you can't sing as good. Beyonce can sing circle around a lot of the powerhouses. I have heard Beyonce keep up with J. Hud and drown her voice.
2. Just because Beyonce does not write her material does not mean anything either because guess what Solange writes for Beyonce too. So what does that say about Solange if Beyonce isnt creative?
3. Beyonce's singing technique is way better than Solange.
4. Beyonce truly shown that she can do any genre she wants where Solange stays around the R&B&Soul genre of music.
but like the question asks who's voice do you prefer meaning cut all the extra stuff and just listen for the voice. I prefer Beyonce because her voice can do any genre. Even though her voice has a roughness to it now she can still do he smooth fluid voice.
Beyonce is by far a better singer. Some people on this site really underestimate her voice.
ReplyDeleteArtistically, I'd still say Beyonce. No pop star has the work ethic she does. She puts a lot of thought into the music she releases.
i love both of their voices... but i think beyonce is overally better... she has better voice control and use of vabratto.. she also has a wider variety of vocal runs and riffs up her sleeve.. I love the way she can sing the same song at different occasions and use diffrent vocal runs and dynamics, she is not monotonous.. Solange is amazing too... she has a wider range and has a better use of her head voice.. she also has impressive vocal runs and has a great musical mind..
ReplyDelete