Can Adele Sing?

hlfo718 · Post by **hlfo718** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:07 pm

Is it me or her voice horrible? I have been told she sold 13 million records but so what? I think her voice sounds like she has a sore throat and she ran out of NyQuil.

tyrion · Post by **tyrion** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:10 pm

hlfo718 wrote:Is it me or her voice horrible? I have been told she sold 13 million records but so what? I think her voice sounds like she has a sore throat and she ran out of NyQuil.

My wife can't stand country music, Garth Brooks in particular.... what's your point? Obviously Adele is appealing to the large number of people who have purchased her music.

leonidas · Post by **leonidas** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:18 pm

I can take the voice but the actual songs are just painful to listen to.

FabLab · Post by **FabLab** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:19 pm

Not heard of this singer before.

Tim_in_GA · Post by **Tim_in_GA** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:23 pm

tyrion wrote:My wife can't stand country music

Adele is not a country singer! Give her a break - she's had issues with her vocal cords and had surgery. Her voice was incredible before and I'm sure after a good recovery it will be incredible again.

Helloeeze · Post by **Helloeeze** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:24 pm

She is not country western. She's more bluesy. I think she damaged her vocal cords and has now had surgery. I don't know if it was affecting her sound. Well, somebody likes her. She won a few Grammy's. I think she is very good, but I also think she sings "improperly." Her voice may not last a full career. You know the song "Rolling in the Deep"? That's her.

HongKonger · Post by **HongKonger** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:27 pm

Yes she can. Is she really considered 'Country' in the US? She is from the UK - there is no 'country' music in the UK :lol: Or is that a generic term for a female solo that isn't either Lady Gaga or Rihanna? ...and she hasn't sung whilst her voice is healing - she even talks through an artificial device like Stephen Hawking.

tyrion · Post by **tyrion** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:28 pm

Tim_in_GA wrote:
tyrion wrote:My wife can't stand country music
Adele is not a country singer! Give her a break - she's had issues with her vocal cords and had surgery. Her voice was incredible before and I'm sure after a good recovery it will be incredible again.

Helloeeze wrote:She is not country western. She's more bluesy. I think she damaged her vocal cords and has now had surgery. I don't know if it was affecting her sound. Well, somebody likes her. She won a few Grammy's. I think she is very good, but I also think she sings "improperly." Her voice may not last a full career. You know the song "Rolling in the Deep"? That's her.

Oops, didn't mean to imply she was a country singer. Just pointing out that different people have different tastes.

My wife hates country
I can't stand Boys 2 Men
My neighbor doesn't like XYZ

It's subjective....

For the record, I like Adele but am not one of the 13 million who has purchased her music.

ebeard · Post by **ebeard** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:31 pm

Adele sings about love lost. I think her last album is one of the best of the last year. Apparently I'm not alone. :peace

hlfo718 · Post by **hlfo718** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:36 pm

Then maybe is my speakers because her songs sound like she has a scratchy voice, the one's you hear from some contestants in America Idol. I don't really know her story but every time her songs come on I need to shut down the volume to zero.

TomatoTomahto · Post by **TomatoTomahto** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:41 pm

I have not purchased her music, but she is one of the few of my daughter's favorite performers that I can stand to listen to. She actually is musical, and her voice seems good (not great, IMHO, but at least good). On a scale of 1-10, to me she's a solid 7.

Grt2bOutdoors · Post by **Grt2bOutdoors** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:45 pm

hlfo718 wrote:Is it me or her voice horrible? I have been told she sold 13 million records but so what? I think her voice sounds like she has a sore throat and she ran out of NyQuil.

You have a choice, you don't have to purchase or listen to her songs. Selling that many records or copies of her songs means she has (pardon the pun) struck a chord with her audience. Ever listen to the words? She sings of heartache - there is plenty of it for those who've ever been in a dating relationship.

There are many artists whom I find distasteful, simple solution - I switch the station when they come on.

mmmodem · Post by **mmmodem** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:54 pm

I would say the vast majority love her voice. I've heard amazing quite often used to describe her voice. I for one disdain her voice. It is scratchy and she seems to reach for a high note she isn't capable of. Like how most people sound when they sing "Loving You". As she got more and more famous her song is played more and often. At least twice every hour on my favorite modern soft rock stations. I used to just change the station when I hear her voice but she's gotten so popular that inevitably she'll be played on the next station soon after or worse at the same time I switch. I really hope she is a 3 hit wonder and then go away. I heard a contestant sing her song on American Idol last year. Wow, incredible. Her songs and the lyics are simply beautiful. Now if only someone else sang it besides her.

Swamproot · Post by **Swamproot** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 1:56 pm

hlfo718 wrote:Then maybe is my speakers because her songs sound like she has a scratchy voice...

Not a Tom Waits fan I presume.

downshiftme · Post by **downshiftme** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:18 pm

Love the scratchy voice. I'm not a big fan of the actual songs she sings, but her voice really fills the space and I enjoy listening to it.

Sulvar · Post by **Sulvar** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:30 pm

I'm a fan as are lots of people judging from her record sales numbers.

chaz · Post by **chaz** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:11 pm

RonV wrote:Not heard of this singer before.

Me either.

compounder · Post by **compounder** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:26 pm

I've heard one song of hers on the radio. "Uma has it!". I thought, how interesting, yes, I suppose Uma Thurman does have it. You go girl! Turns out the song is "Rumor has it". Crazy British accent. heh.

MidnightX · Post by **MidnightX** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:29 pm

Okay, I had to look her up. Nice melody and I like the piano in this song. But I can see how the opinions of her voice can go either way. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0

bish0p · Post by **bish0p** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:43 pm

I think she sounds a lot better than most "pop singers". You can hear she was influenced by blues, gospel, and country.

A lot of great blues singers have scratchy voices. Listen to John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" for an example. I think he also growls in this one.

investnoob · Post by **investnoob** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:45 pm

hlfo718 wrote:Then maybe is my speakers because her songs sound like she has a scratchy voice, the one's you hear from some contestants in America Idol. I don't really know her story but every time her songs come on I need to shut down the volume to zero.

I take it you don't like Janice Joplin either?

edit: did not see Swamproots reply, above. Yeah, he's probably not a fan of Tom Waits!
Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

TRC · Post by **TRC** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 3:54 pm

I hate the color green! Who's with me?

nisiprius · Post by **nisiprius** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:03 pm

Not as well as Fred. And he can't sing as well as he dances.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY2RkGT5-qo)

Midpack · Post by **Midpack** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:05 pm

Great voice, I just don't care for her music. That's why we all have our own tastes and so many artists to choose from. Obviously Adele has many, many fans...nothing wrong with that.

CaliJim · Post by **CaliJim** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:15 pm

.Yes.

yukonjack · Post by **yukonjack** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:22 pm

I think she owes a lot to the sound Amy Winehouse created and the fact that it is now gone. I am personally not a big fan but it is nice to hear distinctive voices in music. And she is without out a doubt very popular.

snyder66 · Post by **snyder66** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 5:56 pm

Amy Winehouse? Country? Have you actually listened to her music? I think she is great. She appeals to many different styles and people.

bru · Post by **bru** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:32 pm

Really funny SNL skit last month using "Someone Like You". I'm sure it's on Hulu.

Her concert in Chicago (before she blew out her voice) was picked as one of the top concerts of last year by the critics.

We like her well enough. But she is overplayed on the radio here.

DouglasDoug · Post by **DouglasDoug** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 6:53 pm

Does it matter? There's room for everyone. As Tennesee Williams wrote in The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, its not talent but what you can convince others you possess, or words to that effect. A better question is does anyone know what "Rolling in the Deep" means?

MP173 · Post by **MP173** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:00 pm

True story.

I was riding with my 16 year old and Rolling in the Deep came on. I was instantly moved by it, went home, and found it on Utube and was blown away. This is from a 56 year old. It has an R&B feel with outstanding vocals. Read about how she wrote it...the story is on Wikipedia. Her boyfriend broke up with her and she was so livid she wrote it with the producer the next morning. The story is that the beat (107 bpm) was set to her heartrate at the time she was relating the story of the breakup.

Now to be honest, I havent heard another song by her, or at least knew it was her.
ed

Kenkat · Post by **Kenkat** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:31 pm

I like her songs. She is not a technical virtuoso, but her songs have emotion and a sound that I think just clicks.

anonenigma · Post by **anonenigma** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:36 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J4L4FP1WDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_62OHCwBvQ

Adele is incredible!

SteveB3005 · Post by **SteveB3005** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:53 pm

Yes, Adele can sing. I enjoy that little grit to her vocals, in the same bluesy way as Bonnie Raitt, one of my all-time favorites.

TxAg · Post by **TxAg** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 7:56 pm

I love her raspy voice

nisiprius · Post by **nisiprius** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:00 pm

Just listened to "Set Fire to the Rain." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlsBObg-1BQ

I think she's got a good voice, maybe a well-trained one. Always hard to tell because I don't know what kind of electronic processing they do. The quality that hifo718 calls "sore throat" to me sounds like the sweet violin-like resonances a good singer gets. Unless hifo718 is talking about those low raspy notes she throws in, which I think she's doing intentionally, for effect.

However, to me, she falls in the category of "singers who don't sound as if they understand the words." All music, no poetry.

P.S. Just read more of the thread. If she's damaged her vocal cords and needed surgery, that's a darned shame, and it suggests that she has not had voice training.

verbose · Post by **verbose** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:02 pm

I hate her voice. It's made worse by DJ's raving about it.

I sing in a chorus. That kind of singing has no place in choral music. I'm sure that's part of my issue.

Imperabo · Post by **Imperabo** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:03 pm

A voice with some scratch and rasp in it is distinctive and emotionally evocative. A pure clean voice like Whitney Houston (pre-crack) is bland to me.

Imperabo · Post by **Imperabo** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:06 pm

nisiprius wrote: I think she's got a good voice, maybe a well-trained one. Always hard to tell because I don't know what kind of electronic processing they do.

Listen to a live song then. Probably still processed, but perhaps not so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qemWRToNYJY

wbond · Post by **wbond** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:11 pm

mmmodem wrote:At least twice every hour on my favorite modern soft rock stations.

I don't have a dog in this "young Brit sings a pop version of the blues with an American accent" fight (nothing new here in fifty years, by the way). However, have you considered the problem may be the phrase "favorite modern soft rock stations?"

Cheers, wbond

HongKonger · Post by **HongKonger** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:01 pm

yukonjack wrote:I think she owes a lot to the sound Amy Winehouse created and the fact that it is now gone. I am personally not a big fan but it is nice to hear distinctive voices in music. And she is without out a doubt very popular.

I always thought Adele was more akin to Duffy personally.

Polar_Ice · Post by **Polar_Ice** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:50 pm

She has a lot of emotion in her songs and I like her style.

This is my favorite song of hers on youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri7-vnrJD3k

chaz · Post by **chaz** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:58 pm

http://digg.com/newsbar/Entertainment/a ... skit_snl_2

An Adele skit.

FabLab · Post by **FabLab** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:36 pm

chaz wrote:http://digg.com/newsbar/Entertainment/a ... skit_snl_2

An Adele skit.

Now, I know absolutely nothing about this singer, but that skit was choice. Nice find, Chaz.

HardKnocker · Post by **HardKnocker** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 2:39 pm

Adele must be able to sing because she cannot get by with her looks. She is just average looking.

Therefore she must be a really good singer.

Cb · Post by Cb » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:00 pm

I'd give up my Boglehead's book and maybe two Rick Ferri's to play in a band with a woman who could sing like Adele. She's a one in a million performer, IMO.

Some of y'all are kRaZIe.

Cb

chaz · Post by **chaz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:17 pm

HardKnocker wrote:Adele must be able to sing because she cannot get by with her looks. She is just average looking.

Therefore she must be a really good singer.

I like her looks & her voice.

chaz · Post by **chaz** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:17 pm

HardKnocker wrote:Adele must be able to sing because she cannot get by with her looks. She is just average looking.

Therefore she must be a really good singer.

I like her looks & her voice.

HardKnocker · Post by **HardKnocker** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:55 pm

Adele

Rihanna

joelly · Post by **joelly** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 3:58 pm

Yes, I think she can do more than just singing, she writes her songs too, I believe. However, I can't stand her song anymore because the radio play it too often. They forget Adele is not the only singer.

ryuns · Post by **ryuns** » Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:23 pm

Taste is subjective, but it's hard to make a case she's not talented or doesn't have a "good" voice. http://www.npr.org/event/music/13368790 ... sk-concert I'm not a huge fan, but this Tiny Desk concert is AMAZING.