It's been a while since we had some Ariana Grande on the site, so let's change that with her set at Jimmy Kimmel Live. Taking to the stage, the pint-sized singer with the 4-octave range gave us near enough note perfect renditions of Yours Truly's The Way and Right There.
Watching the performances it's becoming more and more undeniable that Ariana's "whistle notes" are in fact extended falsetto. That's no bad thing, as it allows for more connection to the rest of the range, as well as more dependability, than the whistle register does- unless of course you're someone like Minnie Ripperton, who could seamlessly move between head/falsetto and whistle. However, though Ariana can definitely sing in the whistle register [see here], I'm still seeing fans wrongly credit notes like those in the videos below as examples of her skill in the highest register of the human voice.
Still, whistle notes or not, the elasticity and skill of her youthful voice is something to behold! Check out the performances and see if you agree with Katy Perry, who said of Ariana's voice:
"I love her. I think she has the best female vocal in pop music today...She has literally the best voice, the best voice live. She kills it. She's so good."
Thoughts?
Is she trying to make herself hard to like? How is her nose not gushing blood? Where is her resonance? Why can't she use any chest resonance? I don't think a light lyric soprano should be singing with so much nasality. Anyways, at least her enunciation wasn't so aggravating. I'll continue to hold her up to an extremely high standard hoping that she'll eventually stop disappointing me.
ReplyDeleteWell, she's resonating in the mask because she's mixing. The sound coming out of her mouth has some resonance - it cuts through everything even when the mic isn't right next to her mouth. I think it's more of an artistic choice than anything else, and at least she's not damaging her voice by doing so.
ReplyDeleteJesus christ Ripperton is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I've discussed Ariana's vocal skills enough on this site already. So I'm just gonna give a shout out to Brian and Scott Nicholson, the two sexy ass twin dancers who I adore (even though this is a blog about singing). Thank you, that is all.
ReplyDeleteShe's so amazing *tears running down*.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my favourite live performances of her's so far. I LOVED the change in the extended sixth octave falsetto note at the start of Right There. And, in The Way, the way she played with the melody. Though I agree with @Black Robin, in that her resonance is completely subdued, she did sound very resonant as soon as she switched to full head/into falsetto.
ReplyDelete@EthanA - singing in the mask isn't the same as singing with nasality. Two very different things. The mask is about a frontal placement that resonates in facial cavities (mainly sinuses), but the air should still be exiting through the mouth. She is using stylistic nasality, but without maintaining hard resonance (just pushing air through the nose instead of first through sinus cavities). Think Celine Dion - very nasal but also very very resonant.
Overall, awesome performances, her high falsetto was 100% live and artistically used, needs a bit of work on the mixed resonance in her "belts".
Her breath control when approaching the second half part of her songs... she gets quite out of breath. Still able to perform wonderfully, but I am bored of the same thing over and over again.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet so terribly boring
ReplyDeleteShe's not singing in the mask. She's singing with complete upwards resonance but with nasal constriction which makes her tone sound a bit warm and thick... What I'm getting at is the thicnkess to her voice is artificial and sounds ugly to my ears. And the heady placement to her belts bewilders me considering that the vast majority of Light-lyircs out there can sound chesty up to their top note and still have slicing volume. She really needs to find a balance between pleasant nasality and a voluminous mix. IDK, I'm just a sucker for chest dominance.
ReplyDeleteI think she's trying to sing with a high nasal/head placement-which I would recommend she should steer away from doing since her voice is already light enough as it is. She switches placement up a little bit on one of the belts to her mask but it isnt a glory note or anything. She isn't as terrible as your passing her off to be Falco...she just doesn't belt operatically like her favorite Diva. ;D
ReplyDeleteAs per usual, Her performance of these songs are a bit repetitive but shes still really good. I wish she would sort of just do her own thing instead of sticking to choreography. ANYWAYS I love her voice still and her singing is pretty spot on. Shes said before that when she uses her real whistle voice, her throat feels raw and sore the next day so she tries not to do it too much. Pretty cool she can take her falsetto that high though.
ReplyDeleteIt still doesn't change the fact that she disappointed me... I didn't say was terrible anyways... Just that her voice is aggravating... I'll be the first to say the girl can sing but I'm still gonna voice my opinion... If anything I was more than nice with what I said. I could have said tons more about why I didn't like the performances. But I didn't... It just feels like I got to walk on glass when I'm leaving a comment because there are too many sensitive people who get butthurt over a strong yet harmless opinion.
ReplyDeleteHer voice sounds dreary live to me. She sounds miserable here.
ReplyDeleteI'm just so jealous that Ariana gets to grind with them. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteSorry, I just felt asleep. She's got pipes and an uncanny resemblance with Mariah, but I think nothing beats the original. Her voice is good but her songs are kinda boring. She needs more interesting material to showcase her talent.
ReplyDeleteThat was the biggest issue I had. She was basically sitting still... When that much sexy is on stage you sexy should be choreographed.
ReplyDeleteAll and all, I really like her. Most of the time I'm a negative person and being "positive" is taxing on me. Lol. And she's so sweet... I had to be kinda dry at one point of her run of disappointment... Lmao.
ReplyDeleteWell, that would probably put you in the 'Mariah' party of life.
ReplyDeleteAs for the thickness...I think a lot of light-lyrics do that to their voices so that they sound as if they have at least SOME vocal weight. It's artificial, that's entirely true. However, I think that the reason for it is because otherwise the voice sounds to their ears wimpy and light, such as Christina Aguilera, who constantly thickens her voice, though recent evidence indicates that she can in fact mix very well into her head voice, but chooses not to.
I don't get why they feel the need too though. Light lyrics, though they might not have plenty of vocal weight ,do have a decent amount of volume and can project in a slicing way unlike any other voice type. Mariah Carey was the queen of that slicing clarity at the top of her chest. (Mind you I really dislike Mariah Carey but I give credit where I see it is due)... All I want from Ariana is more clarity...not Mariah style clarity, but nonetheless clarity.
ReplyDeleteI know, right!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I have this blog to thank for helping me find her.
ReplyDeleteBecause it's kinda...reversed in their minds. The instinct is to either go heavy and thick as FUCK when belting (a la Christina) or going for a pretty nice heady resonance, sometimes adding in thickness because the singer feels that it's not enough to blend with head voice. The real trick is to add a bit more chest voice, and open any part of the voice that might be clouded with artificial thickness, which you're right, Mariah was absolutely the queen of until her nodes stripped her of reliable high belts. I personally, don't understand the appeal of a thicker sound because it feels like I'm throwing up, and completely defeats the purpose of a beautiful, open sound. But some people like it - search me for a reason.
ReplyDeleteI liked it, but the problem is: She's not Mariah. I think somebody needs to tell her that.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be so mean to her. I mean, she isn't a perfect singer, she is not even on Mariah's feet. but she is one of the best singers that Nickelodeon/Disney gave to the youth.
ReplyDeleteNobody is being mean to Ariana dude, she ain't here!
ReplyDeleteLOL...
ReplyDelete._. hahaha, that got me. But you know what I mean, I mean, I agree that she has to make her own personality on her voice, but I find her a very good singer.
ReplyDeleteExample: I like Christina Aguilera (The name I show is my real name, yeah, Aguilera is my last name, I'm not a fanboy e,e), I know her defects, how she strains, but I still like her xD. My tastes xD
But I see that Ariana is way better than Christina, technically
What I'm trying to say (I'm a mess xD) is that Ariana is a very good singer, not only a pretty face :)
I agree she can sing but needs to develop a musical personality. In fact I have been saying so since the first time I checked out Ariana.
ReplyDeleteI personally would not, due to that lack of personality, call her a very good singer as I think that lack needs to be filled before she can be called thus. I make the distinction between saying "she can sing" and "she is a good singer".
But all that is simply voicing an opinion. And actually I dare say ,sound advice. It does not constitute "being mean".
It is also not being read by Ariana ever I would guess. which means even if people are being mean rather than voicing a rationally achieved opinion, they would be being mean about Ariana not being mean to Ariana.
I didn't even consider the possibility of your last name being anything other than your last name btw. :-)
And I kinda like Christina too. Really loved that recent Spanish duet she did. Occasionally she comes with something I like and I do not have the musical education to recognize the many technical flaws others here seem so bothered with. To me..if it sounds good to my ears, it sounds good. If it sounds bad to my ears, it sounds bad. Don't much matter what the reasons are either way. ;-)
Christina has at times hit both marks for me.
Did you get a new acct? haha
ReplyDeleteIt's her lack of emotion, she never really had a drive to give that extra artistic prowess and character that many great singers do. I think here is her best performance, mind me -- it started of slow as usual, and the crying played a small part, but from here to the end she shows that she's capable of putting on a pretty "UNboring" show. PLEASE click the link and not the thumbnail. x)
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/32rVxVXdZ58?t=5m28s
Sorry to burst your bubble Eduard, but E#6 doesn't exist.
ReplyDeleteSorry, the E6,is clearly a whistle note, and i'´m not a fan of her fyi.
ReplyDeleteThe Xtina case is even much worse than Ariana's, xtina stans compare the Xtina "whistles" vs Mariah's when everyone and themselves know they're falsetto and even stating Xtina hits better whistle notes!
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to your account?
ReplyDeleteI closed it,trying to wean myself off internet. This way it's harder to post a comment and I am less likely to respond to certain trolls. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNah, using the guest option. :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck. the internet is addictive.
ReplyDeleteLOL I KNOW..hence this attempt. I am hoping not getting in inane discussions will free up some time better spent.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit like dieting though..problem is there's ways in which you don't want to give up completely.
I mean, for most of the music I love and general favorite entertainment, I am dependent on the internet. Otherwise I could just get rid of the whole internet connection completely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcYyoe-gLUA (D6)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdY61D52OPE (G2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUTneqOxmHc(A5 in mixed voice)
You're right, but I also believe she hits a Bb2 in that song at one point. That's pretty impressive!
ReplyDeleteThe E#6 and the F6 of the way performance are WHISTLE NOTES , the others are undeniable falsetto.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't blowing you up or anything...if thats what you got out of my comment. I was actually agreeing with you to an extent. But the blood gushing comment sends off a "hostile" vibe-plus the other comments you made- made a very strong and negative opinion of her voice. So of course people are going to disagree with you and voice their opinions as well. Thats the whole thing about having opinions. Everyone has one.
ReplyDeleteI know....Gawd... They soooo faching sexiiiiI!!!!
ReplyDeleteI think Ariana's nasality and poor diction is actually what makes her voice so interesting and distinctive, without these features I think her voice would be boring, but that's just me...
ReplyDeleteNo her first passagio is F4... Not that of a contralto...
ReplyDeleteIts kinda ironic because I can't take excess weight off my upper chest (for me all above F#4) mainly because I always had an extremely heavy natural chest dominance. Of I go for head dominance, my belts have to be between G3-F4 and above C5 which is where that chesty quality of my voice faults out (well technically Eb5 but I prefer to go for a healthier mix at my top.)
ReplyDeleteOkay, she never sings her whistles live which shows a lack of control I am a man and I can belt high into the fourth octave without a Christina Aguilera strain, Ariana is NO mariah her emotions cover she doesn't belt the same and lacks the power and personality of the lyrics the original have, if people think her emotions cover is better they must think Ke$ha has inspired this generation
ReplyDeleteCompare any of Ariana's highest songs to Mariah's, Outside, If It's Over, Anytime You Need A Freind, butterfly and when u come back and compare both you'll see
ReplyDeleteshe never said she was Mariah.
ReplyDeleteI loved the performance, even though the notes are just extended high falsettos, it just goes to show how good she is. Even though her whistles are unreliable(she has admitted it herself, I think), I still feel that she is still developing on it because she is young, and it won't be long before she sings like a songbird, though I would not compare her to Mariah. Mariah is a LEGEND, Ariana is ARIANA, not Mariah in any way, except for the whistles. Anyways I have said my piece. Bye lol.
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