A couple of days ago, I heard Jay-Z's new song "Run This Town" (feat. Rihanna and Kanye West.) Listen to it here. As soon as it started, I picked out Rihanna's voice. It's unmistakable and unique.
What I really mean is that her voice unmistakably nasal and uniquely horrible.
The point of this entry is not to bash Rihanna, if that's what you Rihanna fans are thinking right now. Rihanna's has had a great amount of success with her music. It's upbeat, different, catchy, and perfect for the radio. It's marketable. But can she really sing? If you were to go to one of her live concerts, how would her voice sound? Would it sound like the recorded single?
I don't think so.
Modern technology has allowed many individuals to become extremely successful in the music industry. I understand that this technology makes the construction of songs easier, as well as more interesting if special effects or sounds are added. In my opinion, using technology for that reason is fine. The problem starts when this technology is used to fix a voice.
Let's say that a music artist didn't have an outstanding voice. It wasn't strong, and most importantly...it was "pitchy." The notes were off; the pitch was never right on. What could they do about that? A private voice coach might do the trick, but until their voice improved all that would be needed is a flip of a switch - certain technology and tools would easily perfect their voice digitally. That's what many R&B/pop artists are doing today. The worst part? Their music really sells.
To get a break from all of this, I'll tune into the adult R&B stations to listen to a mix of "old school and new school." It's like a breath of fresh air for me. These stations play songs from artists that have true talent. Artists that have true voices. Artists that sound the same live as they do on their recorded single.
Really, it's almost as if you don't need to have any real talent anymore to make it big in the music industry. Everything just revolves around selling the album and making money, regardless if the musician has true talent or not. This really does frustrate me, but it doesn't seem as though it will change anytime soon.
Until it does (if it ever will), you'll find me tuning into those adult R&B stations for a taste of true talent, good music, and unmistakable, unique voices.
To clarify, what I mean is unmistakably authentic and uniquely incredible.
Let me know what you think. Feel free to leave those comments!
