Michael Jackson the vocalist

InvincibleMJ

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I feel that Michael's abilities as an amazing vocalist are very often overlooked even by people who love his music. In my opinion he has some of the best vocal performances I've ever heard both studio and live. Do you think Michael gets the appreciation he deserves for his singing?




 
Usually, popstars' vocal abilities are scoffed at, and I think rightfully so, but Michael has always been something of an exception to many. Most pop music sounds manufactured, and while it's true that some of Michael's does as well, it's not necessarily a bad thing. What matters is how it's manufactured. People like Kanye West regularly auto-tune their vocals because, well, they really don't have any; not worth hearing anyway. How many mainstream artists have albums like Off the Wall and Dangerous to compare to each other? How many popstars can go from a flawless live performance of "Gone Too Soon" at a presidential inauguration (sung in hopes to make a difference no less), to something raw like "Can't Let Her Get Away"? Michael desired to be the best he could be, which is why Bad didn't amount to a random assortment of cover songs, and ultimately what he owed his success to.

Anyway, regarding his voice. Naturally it was much lower than what he generally spoke in, but preferred the higher tones and pitches, making him a high tenor. I imagine that's partially why he was able to maintain the range that he did, which is something like three and one half octaves. It's not really powerful in say, an operatic sense, but more so in his precision and control.

Probably my favorite live performance:
4:27 - 4:51 = ecstasy.
 
Do you think Michael gets the appreciation he deserves for his singing?
Nope, not one bit.
I've seen MJ fans say MJ's vocals weren't good, and I ALWAYS see non-fans scoff at MJ's vocals.

I AM glad you made this thread though. :yes:
Maybe it'll draw some attention to MJ's amazing vocals. :D
 
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Nope, not one bit.
I've seen MJ fans say MJ's vocals weren't good, and I ALWAYS see non-fans scoff at MJ's vocals.

I AM glad you made this thread though. "Yes"
Maybe it'll draw some attention to MJ's amazing vocals. :D

What fans? I've never seen any fans say that MJ was a bad vocalist
 
What fans? I've never seen any fans say that MJ was a bad vocalist

I don't mean on MJJC I'm just talking about on the internet in general.
It (annoyingly) happens quite a bit.

Over time I've noticed that (mainly outside of the MJ fan community) its pretty much seen as a fact that MJ was/is a mediocre vocalist.
I legit have no idea where the downplaying of MJ's vocals came from either, but it happens very often *shrugs*
 
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Over time I've noticed that (mainly outside of the MJ fan community) its pretty much seen as a fact that MJ was/is a mediocre vocalist.
I legit have no idea where the downplaying of MJ's vocals came from either, but it happens very often *shrugs*

What the hell? There are millions of gorgeously written reviews describing Michael's vocals going way back to when he came of age and rolled out his adult voice-and yes, including Rolling Stone. Maybe we need to start finding THOSE and posting them.

Never ever heard the word "mediocre"-ever.
 
What the hell? There are millions of gorgeously written reviews describing Michael's vocals going way back to when he came of age and rolled out his adult voice-and yes, including Rolling Stone. Maybe we need to start finding THOSE and posting them.

Never ever heard the word "mediocre"-ever.

^^^^
This is very true, but I'm not talking about articles downplaying MJ (because I honestly haven't seen many of those) I'm talking about uneducated people online in general.


When I see people downplay MJ's vocals I imagine that it's because they just don't know much about MJ or are haters.
Nonetheless, I see it a lot, but very rarely do I ever see people downplay MJ's dancing abilities or anything else.
It honestly shocked me too when I first noticed it happening because IMO MJ has the best falsetto (and voice in general) I've ever heard, but it does happen.
 
Who are the people who call MJ a mediocre vocalist?

To be honest I don't really care what Rolling Stone critics over the years had to say. This magazine is a joke like many other rock biased magazines that people take too seriously when it's just somebody's personal taste. It's clear that those critics have their regular favorites that always get to the top of every list. I personally think it's ridiculous that Bob Dylan is in their top 10 in terms of vocal abilities.
 
Who are the people who call MJ a mediocre vocalist?

To be honest I don't really care what Rolling Stone critics over the years had to say. This magazine is a joke like many other rock biased magazines that people take too seriously when it's just somebody's personal taste. It's clear that those critics have their regular favorites that always get to the top of every list. I personally think it's ridiculous that Bob Dylan is in their top 10 in terms of vocal abilities.

Just people in general online.

And don't even get me started on how I feel about RollingStone.
I hate that magazine.
 
You can alway focus on stupid troll comments from YT or whatever and exaggerate their significance but I think most people admit that MJ was a good vocalist at the very least, even if he is not their cup of tea.

IMO he was actually a spectacular vocalist. He was not a powerhouse vocalist but it is a pretty narrow-minded view that powerhouse singing is the only great singing, so I don't really take such people seriously. I think most people who do not rate him as a vocalist are the type who only rate powerhouse singing or who simply do not like his tone because they don't consider his voice manly enough. It's more a matter of aesthetics rather than the actual rating of his singing.

The way MJ used his vocals was amazingly creative, the way he ornamented his vocals with percussive elements, used his voice as instruments - it was fantastic and unique. And I personally adore the tone of his voice. To me he has the most soothing, most pleasant singing and speaking tone ever.
 
You can alway focus on stupid troll comments from YT or whatever and exaggerate their significance but I think most people admit that MJ was a good vocalist at the very least, even if he is not their cup of tea.

IMO he was actually a spectacular vocalist. He was not a powerhouse vocalist but it is a pretty narrow-minded view that powerhouse singing is the only great singing, so I don't really take such people seriously. I think most people who do not rate him as a vocalist are the type who only rate powerhouse singing or who simply do not like his tone because they don't consider his voice manly enough. It's more a matter of aesthetics rather than the actual rating of his singing.

The way MJ used his vocals was amazingly creative, the way he ornamented his vocals with percussive elements, used his voice as instruments - it was fantastic and unique. And I personally adore the tone of his voice. To me he has the most soothing, most pleasant singing and speaking tone ever.

I don't think I exaggerate, or focus on troll comments (being an MJ fan I can normally spot a troll a mile away).
I used to hop from music forum to music forum before I found MJJC and when people would compare MJ to other artist most people would always downplay/belittle MJ's vocals.

However, I do believe you're absolutley right when you say that a lot of people only rate powerhouse vocals, (which makes no sense to me and never has) and as a result come to the wrong conclusion that MJ wasn't a good vocalist.
I've also noticed this trend of people dismissing artist that aren't good "technical singers" (as if that's all there is to being a good vocalist).

Overall though, I find it very ironic and hypocritical when people dismiss MJ as a vocalist in any way when almost every popular mainstream male artist tries (and fails) desperately hard to mimic his voice because it was/is so unique and amazing.

And your not alone (pun intended) in your adoration of MJ's voice.
I would've brought tickets to watch him sit on stage and read the back of a shampoo bottle. :D
 
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I think sometimes 999,999 could say they love MJ and people would focus on the one in a million that doesn't.

Not everyone will like everything, even The Beatles, arguably the most loved group ever have people that don't like them, but that doesn't mean they're not respected on the whole.

Again, I've never heard anyone argue his voice wasn't great. The only thing understandably, is that questioned he could still sing in his later years due to the lip syncing, luckily This Is It helped negate that.
 
Anybody who doubts MJ's vocals should simply listen to him performing She's Out Of My Life live. A song where we really get to see the true quality of his vocals as he isn't dancing.

The vocals beginning at 2:23 are especially fantastic.


Human Nature is another one.


The 'oh why' parts always show his vocal quality.

Also I'll Be There.


Heck, the whole Jackson 5 Medley is mightily impressive. The crowd's reaction at Motown 25 shows just how good it was.


I absolutely adore the The Love You Save performance. Brief, but spectacular.
 
When I saw this short video from The Wiz on Youtube a while ago I noticed people in the comment section didn't believe it's Michael and some even said it's Stevie Wonder :lol:

 
When I saw this short video from The Wiz on Youtube a while ago I noticed people in the comment section didn't believe it's Michael and some even said it's Stevie Wonder :lol:


Geesh, people in the comment section are weird. :lol: You Can't Win is an awesome example of the extraordinary quality of Michael's voice. I even watched a few videos with Seth Riggs talking about Michael just for his perspective. Nothing but glowing appreciation for Michael.
 
Geesh, people in the comment section are weird. :lol: You Can't Win is an awesome example of the extraordinary quality of Michael's voice. I even watched a few videos with Seth Riggs talking about Michael just for his perspective. Nothing but glowing appreciation for Michael.

People often forget (or just don't know) that Michael had a rare 4 octave vocal range, and from what I know a 4 octave vocal range is even more rare for men.
 
People often forget (or just don't know) that Michael had a rare 4 octave vocal range, and from what I know a 4 octave vocal range is even more rare for men.

It's definitely a rarity...I mean it's hard to find any other artist to go from singing a soft ballad like "Heal the world" to a more hard rock song like "Dirty Diana".This is just used as an example regarding MJ's vocal abilities.

Listen to his vocals on "Push me away" for example.

He was very versatile as a singer.
 
It's the changes mid-song that amaze me.

E.g. Morphine. The snarling, biting vocals of the verses to the spectral balladry of the 'Relax, this won't hurt you' refrain.
 
It's the changes mid-song that amaze me.

E.g. Morphine. The snarling, biting vocals of the verses to the spectral balladry of the 'Relax, this won't hurt you' refrain.

Or Bless His Soul.

 
respect77;4156775 said:
You can always focus on stupid troll comments from YT or whatever and exaggerate their significance but I think most people admit that MJ was a good vocalist at the very least, even if he is not their cup of tea.

IMO he was actually a spectacular vocalist. He was not a powerhouse vocalist but it is a pretty narrow-minded view that powerhouse singing is the only great singing, so I don't really take such people seriously. I think most people who do not rate him as a vocalist are the type who only rate powerhouse singing or who simply do not like his tone because they don't consider his voice manly enough. It's more a matter of aesthetics rather than the actual rating of his singing.

The way MJ used his vocals was amazingly creative, the way he ornamented his vocals with percussive elements, used his voice as instruments - it was fantastic and unique. And I personally adore the tone of his voice. To me he has the most soothing, most pleasant singing and speaking tone ever.


You’re right, Respect77. When the the media has, at times, mentioned how great Michael’s vocal abilities were (and, in what way they would be remembered, in this case), these writers who have the gall to consider themselves as “reputable journalists” often go back to when he first became well-known to the public as the “cute” little boy (at 11 years old) who sang lead with his brothers.

They frequently discuss how “mature” he sounded, for a young child his age at that particular time in his career - as the 1960’s were coming to a close and the Early-’70’s were just beginning - in part, because of the subject matter of the lyrics, and the way he sang them, with such feelings and emotions expressed in his voice (as some would later describe the way his vocals were back then as being “wise beyond his years” and “as if he had actually lived what he was singing about,” though he didn’t really understand the meaning of the lyrics).

But, O.T.O.H., the very same media that had such high praise for Michael’s early childhood vocal abilities would almost completely ignore his later-teenage and adult singing altogether - mainly, to focus on his dancing and all-around skills as an entertainer; Later on in Michael’s life, unfortunately, they wouldn’t hardly mention his musical career at all, while spreading gossip, speculation and vicious rumors about certain aspects of his personal, private life - which is really sad.

His post-puberty vocal skills shouldn’t ever be ignored and forgotten about. Why not? Because, his voice was one of THE most underrated aspects of his whole, entire career - especially, as he literally, physically, grew up out of his “cute” and “adorable” stages (becoming handsome in the process of his maturity - “pre-surgery,” of course, before everything started happening to him, that ended up with his drastically changing his appearance) - and, his voice began to change, slightly, developing into that BEAUTIFUL, always emotionally expressive but still “youthful”-sounding High Tenor we would become familiar with, a voice that never actually “lost” any of its great Upper Register even as the Lower Register was expanding later on in his life.



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When you listen to someone sing and you get goosebumps up your back, butterflies in your stomach, dizziness in the head or tears in your eyes, you know you're listening to a truly great singer.
 
To me there is nothing like Michaels vocals... beyond talent, his voice has the capability of capturing my attention and grasping me beyond comprehension.. I know this can be argued but to me by far the greatest vocalist ever in recorded history..
 
When you listen to someone sing and you get goosebumps up your back, butterflies in your stomach, dizziness in the head or tears in your eyes, you know you're listening to a truly great singer.

Yeah, but that's enough about Beiber.
 
Oh yeah, this boy could sang!

Honestly, when people ask me what my favorite MJ song is, One day in your life is always in my top three most fluctuating choices. This song to me is pure perfection and his voice is sublime here.
[youtube]JfktVRxye-Q[/youtube]

Young mike killing it with the riffs and runs. I really miss this soulfoul singing from mike in the later years (Though he took it back on some songs on Invincible)
[youtube]l3_1UWV23rQ[/youtube]

I remember when I first heard this demo many, many years ago and i was completely in awe. His rhythm, his pitch control, his sense of timing and the youthfulness in his voice tingled with the soul sensation of a young man discovering the depths of his talents is just so rare and amazing. This is truly a gem.
[youtube]HPDzTieZwtc[/youtube]

I have tried to analyze MJ's voice in his later years and try to deduct what made his voice different from his younger days (post thriller). I came to the conclusion that the significant change in MJ's voice was his vibrato (coupled with a tiny bit of nasality). His vibrato became so sharp, fast and compact. Compare this song to any song on thriller or bad and you'll see what i'm talking about. Total control over his voice, vibrato and emotion in this song. Incredible

[youtube]gHCN-Rs6JNo[/youtube]
 
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