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Framing The Voice


Carl

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Had a talk yesterday with a woman who was a voice coach for Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton and Lana Del Rey.

You can make a pretty good case for the innate vocal talents of Avril and Vanessa (who indulged us by answering our question about her song in the movie White Chicks), but if you saw Lana Del Rey bomb on Saturday Night Live, you know that she is not a great natural singer.

Listen to her on the Gatsy song "Young And Beautiful" though, and she's perfect. Sure, an orchestral backing and an echo bath can make just about anyone sound heavenly, but she somehow sells this song, possibly because her thinish voice evokes a certain vulnerability.

When I asked vocal coach lady about this, she first explained that the big thing with Lana is stage fright. She's terrified of an audience, so Saturday Night Live is about the worst showcase for her. But why does her voice work in certain studio settings? Voice lady says Lana's real talent is talking. When she speaks, she's pleasing to the ear. The trick then, is to make her singing an extension of her speaking voice, which is why at her best she's low and growly.

It's also a product of the times: there's a market for low and growly at the moment. In the late '80s, there was a market for more of a harpy sound, and that was filled by the vocally dubious Paula Abdul. She got a record deal not because of her talents, but because people liked her and she was in Los Angeles, where she mingled with dealmakers. But while many thin-voiced scenesters had opportunities (even, with tragic results, Alyssa Milano), Paula made the most of hers, charting a staggering six #1 hits, including the ballad "Rush, Rush."

She succeeded because her producers found a way to make her voice palatable. Here's what Oliver Leiber, who guided her through her first album, told us:

she’s not the strongest vocalist, and everyone knew that. But when her voice is put in a certain setting, and when it’s layered, it smoothes out and it has a definite sound. A lot of people really love the way she sounds on these records. She’s not Chaka or Mariah or Christina, or any of those women who can blow, but she had a sound on those records that totally worked.

Success requires circumstance.

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