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Does the World Under-Rate MJ's Voice?

JichaelMackson

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We as fans love his versatility, MJ effortlessly sang from falsetto and regular smooth to suddenly aggressive and raspy. We love his vocal tics, beat boxing, the hiccups and the large variety of shouts (my favorite is the chook chook and achahooo heard in smooth criminal and TWYMMF). We love how he becomes one with the music when he goes full woohoo and heehee or when he seems to invent words or sounds often during the final couple of minutes of a song (shamon baby!)

Let me tell you to me he is the greatest singer I've ever heard, he is the only singer that is able to give me goosebumps when he opens his mouth. There's an effortless passion and almost possession when he really gets going.
I love George Michael's and Marvin Gaye's voices but they couldn't do what MJ did, no way (Marvin Gaye influenced MJ as a singer a lot though, that's obvious).

MJ transforms songs with his energy and self confidence vocally. "can you feel it" turns from danceable disco tune to an inspirational epic when it's MJ's turn to sing. When he sings "all in your name" with the often praised singer Barry Gibb he transforms the tune and every single hair on my body stands up and me eyes well up every single time! That's power without feeling the need to shout or hold notes for ages it's just pure feeling and emotion.
He doesn't have to write the song to make it his, he makes the song his own with his brilliant vocal delivery and arrangements that in itself is also a big part of song writing.

Yet I never heard anyone giving him credit for his vocal abilities. Except for his first couple of years during Motown. But then again when does he ever get credit for anything? When he scores a hit its because of Quincy, when he visits sick children it is for grooming and when he performs a dance he stole it from James Brown, Fred Astaire and various breakdancers.
 
I never felt that way – I always consider Michaels vocal abilities undisputed.
You should watch the BAD 25 documentary by Spike Lee again... some big names sort of saying Michael's singing is the golden standard.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

Some beyonce fans were trying to say MJs vocals are "overrated" lol. If anything they are underrated. Some people look at him more as a dancer. "He also never sang live" smh. Ignorant people. They probably only watched the history tour.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

JichaelMackson said:
....But then again when does he ever get credit for anything? When he scores a hit its because of Quincy, when he visits sick children it is for grooming and when he performs a dance he stole it from James Brown, Fred Astaire and various breakdancers.
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I know right!
Same with his song-writing. People love to point out how he had a huge team working on songs.
I guess, for some people, it's just impossible to understand how one man coud have done all that. Especially if they are familiar with only 2 or 3 of his songs.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

Is Michael Jackson underrated as a vocalist, should have been the topic title.
 
ChrisC;4282835 said:
Is Michael Jackson underrated as a vocalist, should have been the topic title.
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This. I don’t understand why so many fans give everything a negative twist recently.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

his vocal ability, I don't want to say is underrated - because people know. But it's taken for granted! People got so used to MJ being the standard that his greatness became the expectation from him.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

My title is correct. Do we overrate him as it is only us the fans that praise his voice?
Just think about it when have you last heard a radio presenter gush over MJ's singing? Whenever I hear Elvis on the radio or Adele or Marvin Gaye or Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey etc it's always about the voice. When it's Michael it's about eccentricities never about his voice or artistry in general.

It doesn't really matter of course as I rate his voice highly and that's more than enough but I think legitimate questions about this can be asked as it is quite clear MJ was a great vocalist.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

You should listen to some MJs acapella versions. I listen to his music jst for his voice, I dont care to much about dancing etc tbh. MJs voice is pure gold.
 
JichaelMackson;4282848 said:
My title is correct. Do we overrate him as it is only us the fans that praise his voice?
Just think about it when have you last heard a radio presenter gush over MJ's singing? Whenever I hear Elvis on the radio or Adele or Marvin Gaye or Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey etc it's always about the voice. When it's Michael it's about eccentricities never about his voice or artistry in general.

It doesn't really matter of course as I rate his voice highly and that's more than enough but I think legitimate questions about this can be asked as it is quite clear MJ was a great vocalist.
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You could have written it as “Does the world underrate MJ’s voice?” Because that’s what you just said. But the way it is now, especially on the automatically posted Tweet, looks as if we’re doubting our own judgement.
 
JichaelMackson;4282848 said:
My title is correct. Do we overrate him as it is only us the fans that praise his voice?
Just think about it when have you last heard a radio presenter gush over MJ's singing? Whenever I hear Elvis on the radio or Adele or Marvin Gaye or Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey etc it's always about the voice. When it's Michael it's about eccentricities never about his voice or artistry in general.

It doesn't really matter of course as I rate his voice highly and that's more than enough but I think legitimate questions about this can be asked as it is quite clear MJ was a great vocalist.
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Michael is more famous for his dancing ability, which is why hardly anyone associate Michael with elite vocal ability. It’s because his dancing has overshadowed his singing.

It’s similar to how Thriller has overshadowed the rest of his albums. Thriller is overrated by the public while the rest of his albums are underrated.
 
Nite Line;4282851 said:
Michael is more famous for his dancing ability, which is why hardly anyone associate Michael with elite vocal ability. It’s because his dancing has overshadowed his singing.
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This is one reason why I'd have loved seeing an acoustic concert by Michael... Just him sat on a chair and a guitarist. No dance, no pyrotechnics, no spaceships or fake tanks... Only his (underrated) vocal ability.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

No not at all a song like Someone In The Dark proves that. The control in that vocal is beyond compare
What other singer do you know could have Stranger In Moscow, This Time Around and then Earth Song on the same album, and have them all be vocally astonishing

Frankly I think Michael is underrated as a singer, like Jackson Rules said, maybe his dancing somewhat overshadowed his vocal ability.

This isn't a dig at you JichaelMackson by the way, I was just answering your question. Also I love Marivn and George Michael as artists (What's Going On and Faith are two of my most favourite albums) but in my honest opinion Mike is a better vocalist
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

It's as if most of you just read my title and not what I wrote :-S
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

I do not get this question is ever ask.MJ came in a time you had to SING. Neyo is compared to MJ vocal along with the weekend and many others. Human Nature is the song. MJ voice was variety from R & B to pop. He can change his vocal style when he wants
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

Jackson Rules said:
This is one reason why I'd have loved seeing an acoustic concert by Michael... Just him sat on a chair and a guitarist. No dance, no pyrotechnics, no spaceships or fake tanks... Only his (underrated) vocal ability.
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One of the biggest missed opportunities of Michael's career is that he never did a MTV unplugged concert. People would appreciate his vocals more had he done one.
 
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I think MJ is underrated vocally because people don’t realize just how versatile he was. Not just his range and vocal prowess, but many people don’t truly know what makes a great singer.
Of course, few sane people would deny Michael was a great singer. Many know the soaring ad-libs Of Man in the Mirror or Remember The Time. But not many also know his heights, such as his ability to sing soprano in Who Is It, and Someone Put Your Hand Out or his low Register shown in 2000 Watts and Burn This Disco Out. His Staccato singing in Smooth Criminal and They Don’t care about us is not to be taken lightly, nor the ferocious deliveries heard in Scream or 2 Bad. The power of his chest voice is heard in songs like Beat It and The Way You Make Me Feel. Tender vocal performances like Shes Out Of My Life and Smile speak to the purity of his voice. His delivery of Earth Song is in a league of its own. To be fair, one must explore almost all of Michael’s catalog to see his full abilities. Not many have taken the time to.
People know that Michael can sing, many just don’t know the full extent of that. It’s not entirely their fault. Some of his greatest efforts aren’t included in the well-known hits. But still, in that way I’d say he’s underrated.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

Jackson Rules said:
This is one reason why I'd have loved seeing an acoustic concert by Michael... Just him sat on a chair and a guitarist. No dance, no pyrotechnics, no spaceships or fake tanks... Only his (underrated) vocal ability.
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That would be impossible for Michael. This is the same guy who can't resist breaking out a few dance moves for Heal The World. He wouldn't be able to help himself.
 
When it comes to pop music, people and fans do not really care if the singer is a good or a bad vocalist.

And this is the case also with Michael Jackson, especially considering that due to his impressive dance abilities he was perceived by people and fans mainly as a dancer/performer, rather than as a vocalist.

Michael Jackson reached his apex as a vocalist during the ‘BAD’ album recording sessions (he was even voted as best male vocalist by readers of the Swedish newspaper 'Aftonbladet' right after the release of the 'BAD' album).

But in the following years there was a gradual and steady decrease in the quality of his vocals.

The BAD World Tour played a big role in that decrease because his vocal cords underwent a lot of damage due to the many hours that he was singing live and on consecutive nights during that tour.

Also, the aggressive and staccato vocal style that he was adopting more and more in his songs (after the ‘BAD’ album) put his vocal cords under a significant, additional strain, which in turn did more harm to his vocal abilities.
 
So you guys just change my own chosen topic title because you perceive it as negative. Holy cow, where is freedom of speech and thoughts? What's next changing my written words as well? Dictatorship.
 
Overall, MJ is respected as an overall singer, dancer, entertainer. I have been around since MJ came on the scene and I never heard such. MJ can change his style because he wanted to make music for everyone. He can R & B, pop, etc.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

Robbsaber01 said:
Some beyonce fans were trying to say MJs vocals are "overrated" lol. If anything they are underrated. Some people look at him more as a dancer. "He also never sang live" smh. Ignorant people. They probably only watched the history tour.
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No hate to beyonce. but lol really? pfff.
 
Nite Line;4282851 said:
It’s similar to how Thriller has overshadowed the rest of his albums. Thriller is overrated by the public while the rest of his albums are underrated.
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Ain't that the truth.
 
Re: Are we as fans overrating MJ's vocal ability?

Jackson Rules said:
This is one reason why I'd have loved seeing an acoustic concert by Michael... Just him sat on a chair and a guitarist. No dance, no pyrotechnics, no spaceships or fake tanks... Only his (underrated) vocal ability.
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That would been interesting.
 
mj_frenzy said:
When it comes to pop music, people and fans do not really care if the singer is a good or a bad vocalist.
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Ha! maybe today. but back then you had to know how to sing and dance. there wasn't no autotuned etc.

JichaelMackson said:
So you guys just change my own chosen topic title because you perceive it as negative. Holy cow, where is freedom of speech and thoughts? What's next changing my written words as well? Dictatorship.
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????

analogue said:
That would be impossible for Michael. This is the same guy who can't resist breaking out a few dance moves for Heal The World. He wouldn't be able to help himself.
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LOL! you got a point. Michael had to dance. he even said that himself. :laughing:
 
Please use the Multi-Quote button! We know now that you know how to do it. :laughing:
 
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