Female vocalists? (opinions)

[Liam]

Ok, another music topic I wanted to start.

Now, I like to think I have a broad music taste, but....and I don't know why....I don't really dig female vocalists. Of the 400 odd CD's I have, off the top of my head I have possibly 4 just female fronted CD's (one by The Gathering, one by Arch Enemy, and two Norah Jones), and 4 where the female is joined with a male for vocals on most songs (3 The Project Hate MCMXCIX...if thats right, and Lacuna Coil). A very small percentage basically. I especially don't like alternative/heavy metal female vocalists, aside from the woman from Arch Enemy.

So yeah, what do people think about female vocalists?

[K]

Love them. Sugarcoma got me into music, and although I don't really follow them any more, that influence is still there.

[tristy]

...They're just like male vocalists in my opinion?

Arch Enemy, The Distillers, The Dresden Dolls, Frou Frou, The HorrorPops, Juliette & The Licks, Kittie, No Doubt, OTEP, Portishead, The Sneaker Pimps, The Soviettes, Tegan & Sara and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

I don't know why anyone would have a problem with lead singers being female, personally. They're just as capable as men.

[Liam]

Ermmm....because women sound different to men, perhaps? It's not about capability, it's about how they sound.

I don't have a problem with female vocalists, I just much prefer male for some reason.

Edited March 11, 2006 by HGwannabe

[therockbox]

Daphne and Celeste were awesome.

I don't really listen to bands with female singers, aside from The Fight. Still, doesn't really bother me.

[Darloboy]

The Distillers are the only female-fronted band that I listen to, because they're the only female-fronted band I've heard that I like.

[B-Rad]

I don't listen to AS many female rock singers, though there are a bunch that I really like. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Halfcocked, Kittie, Evanescence, The Distillers, Aimee Allen, Hole, Garbage, and Lacuna Coil.

I think it's really more about the music itself rather than the vocals, but that might be just me. But, no problem with female singers.

I think the reason maybe people say they don't really like/know a lot of female fronted bands is because they are kind of rare...

[Pesci]

The Eurthymics and Blondie fucking rock(ed).

[VerbalPuke]

It depends on the band and the music being played, but I appreciate female vocalists. Bands like the Alice Bag Band, X, Thee Headcoatees, Destroy All Monsters, and The Avengers were all brilliant, and all female fronted.

[Lowerdeck]

Out of the nearly 100 CDs I got, there's only one which is female fronted.

And I can't stand that garbage R&B shit all the hip-hop stations play. The guys R&B doesn't fare much better though either.

[Liam]

It depends on the band and the music being played, but I appreciate female vocalists. Bands like the Alice Bag Band, X, Thee Headcoatees, Destroy All Monsters, and The Avengers were all brilliant, and all female fronted.

Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate them when they are good, but there are no female bands I place anywhere near my favourite bands.

To be honest, maybe I'm weighting it a lot on the vocals when the band itself just don't perform for me....but I am a big vocals person, so I'm not sure.

I do have a lot of female fronted bands I don't mind, I just can't get that excited about any of them for whatever reason.

[Farmer Reil]

Lacuna Coil fucking suck, but that's not down to Cristina Scabbia's voice, per se, more to do with their style.

Nightwish and Within Temptation own ass, though, and even Evanescence aren't THAT bad (again, their suckiness is more to do with their style than their singer).

So yeah. I don't know what that means in the grand scheme of things, just my two cents ¬_¬. Obviously (with a few exceptions), their sound is going to be different than it would be if the same band were fronted by a male, but that's obvious.

It's hard to say something like "Nightwish would've been just as good if they'd had a male lead singer", because they would've sounded completely and utterly different. Sure, they'd still have been able to perform most of the same songs (although Beauty and the Best would've been a bit...homosexual), but it would have sounded different. Not necessarily worse (and I highly doubt it would sound better), but different.

Maybe most of the reason you don't like many female singers, is because not many females sing in bands/genres you're interested in?

[Guest muddatrucker]

Women also make shit comedians.

[DFF]

Lacuna Coil fucking suck, but that's not down to Cristina Scabbia's voice, per se, more to do with their style.

Nightwish and Within Temptation own ass, though, and even Evanescence aren't THAT bad (again, their suckiness is more to do with their style than their singer).

I like all four of those bands. Nightwish are head and shoulders above the rest, though. Pity they sacked Tarja recently...

Evanescence are your best bet for a mainstream sound (on a side note, they fecking shit hot live).

Lacuna Coil are better for a kind of metally, goth-tinged sound that muhc less mainstream.

Within Temptation.. I'll have to comment on them after re-listening to the album I've got. Almost totally forgot what they sound like. (Although, if I remember rightly, it's lighter, folkish-tinged rock/metal).

Edited March 12, 2006 by Kid Britain

[TOG]

In my mind, it's no different than when a male tries to sing to a piano. Female vocalists in rock bands have to try harder to make a great song, but on the other hand, when they do succeed I find the songs more extraordinary than a man could possibly have performed them.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Bjork

Blondie

Eurythmics

Yeah Yeah Yeahs

No Doubt

Polysics (some songs are male led, some female)

Garbage

Cranberries

Goldfrapp

Ladytron

Stereo Total

Tatu (highly underrated!)

Benjamin Gate

All enjoy excellent female vocals.

Womens' voices can do stuff mens' can't and their music tends to really stand out when they do that rather than just trying to sing like men.

[apsham]

I can only think of one band at the moment that I like, that has a female vocalist and that would be Paramore, and she's a fifteen year old by the name of Hayley Williams. If anyone wants to check them out, they're on Fueled By Ramen and around the same type of music as The Academy Is... and Anberlin.

But that isn't to say that I don't like female vocalists, I'm just talking about purely bands here though because there's a number of female soloists that I love, specifically Tracy Chapman and others with a few songs here and there.

[YI]

Women also make shit comedians.

[Katsuya]

Bjork, Annie Lennox, Debbie Harry and Amy Lee (to mention just four) disagree with you. Big time.

[Liam]

Bjork, Annie Lennox, Debbie Harry and Amy Lee (to mention just four) disagree with you. Big time.

Disagree with what? That I don't tend to like female vocalists?

At no point have I called thier ability into question.