Debby Ryan' EP - One

Debby Ryan released her EP on 24 June and although it might be late, I would like to review her EP.

I really like her EP - her song is not like any other song you'd see in this industry. She focuses mainly on her lower register and ignores the belting department, while the song is accompanied by soothing guitars. Her F3s in this songs are well sung. Although she does not have a big range for a singer, her soft gentle voice, accompanied with an acoustic tune, and sleepy songs, has proven that Debby CAN sing.

An overall strong debut.

Lyrics: A
Vocals: B
Overall: A-

Lady Gaga vs Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga are both B-listers, their musical careers have never been better, and they both have an approximate three-octave range. They have caused quite a bit of stir with their impressive lower registers. But who comes up on top? Let us take a look:

Charts - Winner: Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is a long time favourite of many people. With her recent release of her album, Artpop with over 200000 copies, she triumphs Lana Del Rey with her album Born to Die whose album debuted with over 70000 copies. However, Lady Gaga slipped off the charts faster after over 20 weeks whereas Lana Del Rey's album has charted for over 120 weeks.

Next, I shall compare their vocals:

Lower register: Winner - Tie (Bb2-G3)
Both their lower registers are impressive, with Lady Gaga reaching an F#2, although this note is a vocal fry. Technically, both ladies' lowest note is Bb2. Lana Del Rey's lower register has a more smokey texture, and combined with her lyrical phrasing gives her an edge, but Lady Gaga has a more versatile voice at the lower register, thus evening out the competition/

Middle-register: Winner - Lady Gaga (B4-C#5)
Lana Del Rey hardly uses her chest voice in this register, and opts for head voice, whereas Lady Gaga belts full voice. Lady Gaga is much more able to hold a note in this register than Lana Del Rey can.

Upper register: Winner - Lady Gaga (Eb5-A5)
Lana Del Rey's vocals are the most hollow and icy at this register. While Lady Gaga's upper register isn't someting to show off, her falsettos are impressive and bright, and her head voice is airy, allowing her voice to transcend through multiple genres through this register.


Overall, I think Lady Gaga wins overall because she has better control in her voice than Lana Del Rey in terms of the mid-register and the upper-register.

View their vocal profiles before reaching a conclusion! Click on Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga before reaching a conclusion!

Vocal profile of Lily Allen

Lowest note: B2
Highest belt:  Eb5
Highest note: E5
Exclamation: A5
Vocal range: 2 octaves 3 notes
Vocal type: Mezzo-soprano
Vocal grade: B

Vocal positives:
Although she does note have a big range , she is a light-voiced vocalist who does not step outside her comfort zone in her high notes. Her low notes have improved significantly, allowing her to reach notes below F3. Her most comfortable belting range is from G#4-B4, which is where she shines the most.

Vocal negatives:
She does not have a big range and limited at the very least. Her voice overall is very weak, especially at the fifth octave. Her false accent is gimmicky and off-putting as well.

View her vocal range by clicking on this link (because I can't insert the video here, I have no idea why)

Top 3 best songs by Lady Gaga

 I have no idea why I am doing this, but I guess today I feel like compiling Lady Gaga's 3 best songs throughout her career(actually the 3 best songs all come from artpop) in honour of her work. And so here it goes.......

No. 03: Venus

Eerie beats, weird verses about how someone should take her to see some leader. This song is good, and even too strange for Lady Gaga such that it distracts people from the weak verses. I still think the song is good though, its unlike a lot of her previous works.

No. 02: Applause

I know you expected this to be at Number 1 because it IS her lead single after all, in Artpop. But no. I've decided to put this at no. 2 instead. Its not her best song in Artpop, but it is certainly one of her greatest songs throughout her career. Her verses are worded in such a way that the chorus gets stuck in your head although they are pretty weak. She surprisingly uses her head voice and falsetto notes a lot in this song, which I think is a welcome change. Well done, Lady Gaga.

No. 01: Do What U Want (ft R. Kelly)

I think this song, although not technically made into a single, should get an honourable mention. It is, to me, her BEST song throughout her entire singing career, trumping Born this Way. Lady Gaga mimicks Christina Aguilera is some growls and grunts as her vocals ascends up in the fifth octave while R.Kelly makes an effort to cut in at some parts of the song to make it a possibly most infectious track of the century! 

Vocal profile of Rihanna

Lowest note: Bb2(forced A2)
Highest belt:  F5
Highest note: C#6
Exclamation:  E6(Live)/G7(accidental)
Vocal type: Mezzo-soprano
Vocal range: 3 octaves 1 note 1 semitone
Vocal grade: B

Vocal positives:
She has a unique timbre that allows her to reach notes as low as B2 easily( See Te Amo). Her lower register is her strongest range( Bb2-G3), with her notes being dark, healthy, well-supported and smokey in texture. Her belting range has significantly improved over the years (C5-F5) - her belts are less shrill and her tendency to have hit and miss belts live have reduced as well.

Vocal negatives:
Although there has been a huge improvement in Rihanna's belting department, she still struggles with belts after C#5 and chooses to avoid high notes in live settings or bring them down an octave lower so she can sing them in her mid-register. Her live performances are still a hit or miss. She struggles to hold notes from D5 onwards for extensive periods of time.

Vocal range of Rihanna:

Vocal profile of Lana Del Ray

Lowest note: C3(forced B2)
Highest belt: E5
Highest note: C#6
Exclamation: Eb6
Vocal range: 3 octaves 1 semitone
Vocal type: Mezzo-sopranno
Vocal grade: B

Vocal positives:
Lana Del Ray has the ability to reach super-dense low notes like C3 with ease, giving them a dark and smokey touch to them. She uses head voice for her high notes, at around A4 onwards, going from a thick and dark timbre to a light and thin one.

Vocal negatives:
Her vocals have been panned for being too unpolished. Her high notes from C#5 onwards are extremely thin, with no power whatsoever in them. She also has a tendency to often go off-key in live performances.

View her range here:

Vocal profile of Sia Furler

Lowest note: A2
Highest belt:  F#5
Highest note: G5
Exclamation: B5
Vocal range: 2 octaves 6 notes
Vocal grade: A+

Vocal positives:
She has a nice smokey voice capable of a variety of musical styles. Her belting range(B4-F#5) is comfortable and easy to reach. Her low notes are well supported.

Vocal negatives:
The chest voice, when placed in the throat could cause problems for her when overused She does not use her head voice live despite being capable.

Song review: Pills and Potions by Nicki Minaj

Finally! Nicki Minaj dropped her single on May 21. Releasing 'Pills and Potions' as her lead single, Nicki Minaj looks like she's ready to crack into the Top 10 on the hot 100 again with her latest song.

I think that this is one of her best tracks, after releasing singles like 'Yass Bish' and 'Lookin ass Nigga' which failed to debut at the Hot 100 at all, this could be one of her most personal tracks yet!

I liked the way the title speaks for the song - it is not like a true rap song, but yet not a true pop song - its like a POTION.

One thing I liked about this single is that she tries to sing a little bit instead of purely just rapping - although it is highly autotuned, this track gives people chills because she sings sweetly with whispery vocals before she suddenly exclaims 'I Still Love...'

Although I am not clear of who she is referring to in this song, I can be certain of one thing - this is one of her most meaningful songs to date, and it could be one of her greatest hits because:

1. She has a huge fan base.
2. It incorporates her signature slow raps as well as diving into her pop roots.
3. Instead of pouring autotune all over her song, she tunes it down a bit by replacing her harsh raps/vocals with a more soothing and sweet one.
4. All this makes her singing more appealing and the rapping can actually be understood without one having to look up Metrolyrics for the lyrics.

Overall, it has been a great comeback for this rapper! I am loving the direction her album is taking, although I wish she could work on her singing voice in the fourth and fifth octave.

Lyrics:  A+
Vocals: A+
Overall: A+

View the audio here:

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Vocal profile of Nicki Minaj

Lowest note:C#3
Highest belt: Eb5
Highest note: F5(screamed F#5)
Exclamation: C#6
Vocal range: 2 octaves 2 notes
Vocal type: Mezzo-soprano
Vocal grade: C

Vocal positives:
Although classified as a rapper, she has the ability to belt notes in the fifth octave and carry a basic tune. Her low notes(C#3-E3) are well supported and somewhat smokey in texture. She also possesses the ability to change from a thick and heavy timbre to a light one. Her mid-range(A3-F#4) is solid and is her strongest range.

Vocal negatives:
Her belts gets thinner from C#5 onwards and are weak. She struggles at basic belts such as G#4 live, often depending on layered tracks when she does not rap.


View her vocal range here:

Song review: Call It Whatever by Bella Thorne

At long last! Bella Thorne, star of Shake It Up on Disney Channel has released her lead single 'Call It Whatever'. As expected, her song is filled with autotune albeit the catchy lyrics and groovy beats.

I am a little disappointed by the song though, because it seems like the song only interests children 13 years old and below, and even then, it does not seem like a hit to me - with weak lyrics and repetitive beats, it seems to be forgettable.

Nevertheless, I give some credit to the fact Bella Thorne's singing skills have improved vastly(she takes singing lessons now) and hopefully her full length album will be better than this song.

Vocals: B-
Lyrics: A-
Overall: B

View her music(audio) here:

Song review: Thirsty by Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey unveiled her track 'Thirsty' for her new album 'Me. I am Mariah'. And honestly, not loving it.

Mariah Carey has been known to be a 'Songbird Supreme', 'Queen of Melismas' and a master of whistle tones, but this track is so messy! It is definitely not her best song - it sounds kiddish, her vocal runs are messed up, and the last belt at the end was so high she probably could not sing that live.

I just lost some hope in her upcoming album. She made a wrong move by unveiling this track just before her album release.

Vocals: B+
Lyrics: C+
Overall: B-

View her song here:

Vocal profile of Mariah Carey

Lowest note: G2(forced Eb2)
Highest belt: A5(screamed Bb5 before)
Highest note: B7
Exclamation: C#8
Vocal range: 5 octaves 2 notes
Vocal type: Coloratura lyric Soprano
Vocal grade: A+

Vocal positives:
She has shown to be able to go from the fifth octave to an airy whisper within the space of one word. Being a soprano, she has an unusual ability to reach the second octave. Her low notes are dark and heavy with a somewhat smokey texture to them. Her belts (G4-A5) are where she shines. Her head voice and whistle register are easily accessible. She has shown a unique ability to mouth words in the sixth octave.

Vocal negatives:
As she has aged, she is seen having difficulty accessing notes in the sixth and seventh octave. She has been lowering her larynx for notes below B2 which is a technique that could damage her voice. Her belts are now a hit or miss live because of some unintentional voice cracks. Her belts are not as solid as before and her notes get thinner after E5(due to vocal nodules)

View Mariah's vocal range here:

Vocal profile of Lorde

Lowest note: Bb2(forced G#2)
Highest belt: Eb5
Highest note: E5
Exclamation: G#5
Vocal range: 2 octaves 3 notes
Vocal type: Contralto
Vocal grade: A+

Vocal positives:
Armed with a contralto vocal range, she has the ability to sing very dark and supported low notes healthily up til a Bb2 comfortably. Her low notes are basically her strongest part of her range, allowing her to convey her thoughts on today's society through them. Her notes at the fifth octave are generally okay, with her highest belt hit in her song Glory and Gore.

Vocal negatives:
Her notes above B4 are thin, and notes like E5 are a struggle for her. She lets her background singers do all the high notes most of the time, so the most notable high note she has ever done live would be Eb5 and E5.

View her vocal range here:

Top 5 worst songs as of 9 May

These 5 songs are by far the worst songs I've ever heard- the melody, the vocals have driven me crazy... Here are the songs:

Note: I am not spreading hate, I am just listing the songs that need A LOT of work, especially the songs that clinched the top 3 spots.

No 05. GUY by Lady Gaga

No. 04: Ghost by Ella Henderson

No 03: Hello Kitty by Avril Lavigne

No 02: Ain't It Fun by Paramore

No 01: Birthday by Katy Perry

Top 10 best songs up to 8 May

There have been some songs that I really liked and I have never posted on it before.  So, I was bored so I am listing the top 10 songs I have liked.

NOTE: The song does not have to be released in 2014. There will also be no writeup/reviews in the post.

No. 10: Empire by Shakira

No. 09: Drunk in Love by Beyonce

No. 08: I will Never Let you Down by Rita Ora

No 07. First Love by Jennifer  Lopez

No. 06: Team by Lorde

No 05: Sirens by Cher Lloyd

No. 04: Hideaway by Kiesza

No.  03: Fancy by Iggy Azalea

..
No. 02: West Coast by Lana Del Ray

No. 01: Problem By Ariana Grande

There you have it! I adored these songs, especially the Top 3 I listed. :)
I might create another list soon. I hope you enjoyed the songs as much as I did.

Vocal profile of Lady Gaga

Lowest note: Bb2
Highest belt: F#5
Highest note: Bb5(some may argue C6)
Exclamation: E7
Vocal range: 3 octaves
Vocal type: Mezzo-soprano
Vocal grade: B

Vocal positives:
Her voice is great with songs for contraltos. The low notes are very dark and full. Armed with good stamina, she is able to belt out notes as high as F5 comfortably while dancing. She has the ability to hold her pitch for extended periods of time. Her belts are where she shines, from A4 to F#5.

Vocal negatives:
Notes starting from Eb5 will sound like shouting if she does not mix them. Her voice loses its clarity from her C#5 belt onwards. She tends to go off-key singing notes at the fifth octave while dancing a vigorous routine, though this can be expected.

View her vocal range here:

Single Review: Iggy Azalea - Fancy (Explicit) ft. Charli XCX

This single, Fancy, by Iggy is her first song to chart on the Billboard 100, and thus making it her first song to chart in the Top 10 of Billboard 100(currently at number 7)  I cannot turn off this catchy song! She exudes confidence, style, charisma and arrogance in her music video. An overall unique song that no covers of this song can replace!

Her sass from the lines 'don't give a f**k', 'just the way you like it huh' gives me the shivers. I liked the lyrics most because they show the attitude she can have.

I'm neutral to Charli XCX's vocals though. This track can do without her. Nevertheless, I'm still sure Charlie XCX had a part to play as well in getting 'Fancy' to the top 10 in Billboard 100.

I am looking forward to her other albums in the future! You've done well Iggy!

Lyrics: A+
Vocals: A-

Overall: A+

View her music video here:

Live performance review: Ariana Grande's 'Problem' at Radio Music Disney Awards.

At long last! Ariana performed her highly anticipated single 'Problem for the first time at the RMDAs! I'm glad that she has chosen to improve her stagecraft and try to be a little bit more involved in the dancing.

Dressed very adorably yet sexily at the same time, Ariana wowed the audience by proving that she CAN dance and sing  at the same time, after critics have claimed her previous performances were boring because she was hardly moving.

What was missing, however, was the use of her whistles (possibly because she is battling bronchitis). Anyways, it was a really good live performance! With belts that stretched up to G#5, this single is surely to be a hit on the charts.

Although she sounds muffled in some parts of the song, it seems that Ariana does not seem to struggle with both singing and dancing at the same time. Good job Ariana!

Vocals: A+
Choreography: A-

Overall: A

Check out her awesome performance here:

Vocal profile of Ariana Grande

Lowest note: Eb3
Highest belt: B5
Highest note: E7
Exclamation: N/A
Vocal range: 4 octaves 1 semitone
Vocal type: Light-lyric soprano
Vocal rating: A+

Vocal positives:
Her low notes are smokey with the ability to scale down healthily to an Eb3. Her belts are often never shown to have exhibited any strain, and her belts at F#5 usually finds its most resonance and power. She has shown to be able to handle complex melismas. After the release of her debut album, she has proven herself to have the ability to reach whistle notes at D6, Eb6 and even F6/F#6 live.

Vocal negatives:
Her vocals have been panned for being too nasal at points. Because she sings through her nose, her diction has been slightly unpolished and her lyrics are incomprehensible at points. Her most comfortable low note is F#3 live and not the Eb3. Her chest notes lack in resonance as the rest of her belts shine in.


Vocal range of Ariana Grande: (Eb3 to E7)

Album review: Shakira

Finally, Shakira's new album has been released! Selling an impressive 84000 copies, this album now sits comfortably at Number 2 in the Billboard 200, losing out to 'Frozen Soundtrack'. Here is my review for her album:

Lyrics: A+
Her lead single 'Can't remember to forget you' may be a moderate success in the Hot 100, but I enjoyed it because of its lyrics - it brings the happy feel in most people. I also enjoyed her promotional single 'Empire'.

Shakira's lead single - Can't remember to forget you

Shakira's promotional single - Empire

Vocals: B
I expected more from Shakira's vocal abilities because she is an accomplished singer. Her voice did not sound liberal in her lead single and was doused with a lot of autotune. In her single Empire, her voice sounded too forced and robotic. Her voice gets more irritating in her lead single when she keeps singing 'Oh...'.

Music video production: A-
I LOVED the production of Empire. There was a creative idea involved in it and Shakira, being the runaway bride, went well with the theme. However, I am somewhat puzzled as to why Shakira and Rihanna would touch each other in 'Can't remember to Forget You'. I heard that she has a husband that does not allow her to film with males, so they got Rihanna.

Overall: A

Which album is better - Prism or Beyonce?

Both Beyonce and Katy dropped their albums(Prism and Beyonce) last year, in 2013, although not at the same time, both women had their albums debut at number 1 on the Billboard charts and both their albums currently sits within Top 20 positions. So let us see which albums are better!

Katy Perry outdid herself in terms of her vocal range this time, spanning from C#3 all the way to a C6 - almost 3 octaves! Her album also boasts great songs such as Unconditionally and Dark Horse. However, I did not like the fact that she put Roar as her lead single- although it was commercially successful, I felt that she could have done a lot better if she did not rip off the single from Sara Bareilles's song Brave.

Moving on to Beyonce! Beyonce's vocal range spanned from Bb2 to C6. Her album was pretty sexual though, with lots of sexual grunts that shows that her voice has fully matured. It boasts great songs like Partition and Drunk In Love. There's another single that she released called XO, which I did not enjoy because the song was very boring for me. Nevertheless, this was her most successful as well as my most favourite album out of all the 5 albums she has released.

So for the final verdict... The winner is................ Beyonce!
Katy Perry may have two singles that topped the chart and another single that peaked in the Top 20, Beyonce had better vocals than her. Lets face it... Katy Perry can't hit a D5 belt live! I went to listen to numerous performances of Katy singing her lead single Roar live, and my, was it horrible! She avoided the high notes(points the mic to the audience) and cracks at the low notes...

Although Beyonce did not have chart toppers from her album, her lead single was successful and peaked at number 2 in the charts, plus, I have to say Beyonce's songs are getting better and better! Let's hope the next album Katy releases would be better than this.

Which album is better? - Louder or Pure Heroine?

Lea Michele's album debuted at number 4 in the Billboard charts this week, while Lorde's debut album 'Pure Heroine' peaked at number 3, but has stayed in the Top 10 in the Billboard 200 for quite some time. So let's compare both the singers' debut albums!

Firstly, I never thought that Lea's low notes(around F3) would sound good. At all. But in this debut album, she has proved me wrong. Even though it disappointed me because in its lead single, Cannonball, it showed very little powerful belts, her highest belt being at B4 in the single. Nevertheless, I am going to give this album a generally favourable grade - around B-.

Alright, moving on to Lorde's debut album, Pure Heroine. And my, is it a dark themed song with really deep lyrics. It is like a literature text, honestly, you cannot really take it at face value. Most of her songs require further exploration to her background before coming out with a legit answer to the meaning behind those weird phrasing.

Her debut album has showcased a supposed 3 octave range. However, her notes at the second octave do not sound too believable for me. I believe that she can handle the notes from C#3 to F#5, but as for the rest of the notes listed in the video, she'd probably would have a hard time doing it live. Still, I like this album and some of the songs - Royals, Team, Tennis Court as well as Glory and Gore. Overall, her music is refreshing but I still have some reservations before considering her album to be excellent. I'd give this album a B+.

Overall, I think that the better album would be Pure Heroine - I mean its so good that it's almost scary. Her sound/music is refreshing, her music has rarely been explored and her voice would take her places. I'm not saying Lea Michele's album is not good, its just not better than Lorde's album.

Vocal profile of Katy Perry

Lowest note: C#3
Highest belt:  F5
Highest note: Eb6
Exclamation: C#7
Vocal range: 3 octaves 1 note
Vocal type:   Lyric Mezzo Soprano
Vocal rating: C

Vocal positives:
Her strongest range is from Bb3 to G5(her mid-range+belts), where they are fairly resonant and carries a slight rasp in it. There are powerful belts that stretch up to F5 to add emotion to it.

Vocal negatives:
She has a tendency to go off-key in live settings and become nasal and shrill at belts Eb5 and above. Her vocals are hollow and she finds difficulty in holding notes at C#5 when dancing and singing at the same time. Her notes are shaky in the fifth octave and her notes in the sixth octave sounds like off-key exclamation marks.

Vocal range of Katy Perry:

Katy Perry hitting C#3:

Recommended songs: Roar, Firework, Unconditionally

Reviewing single - Goodness Gracious by Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding(which I would do a vocal profile on later) released her single - Goodness Gracious on her vevo and I am here to evaluate it and give my honest opinion.

When I first looked at the music video, my first thought was: never watch this video at night in a dark room - it'd blind your eyes! The music video was a little too colourful for my liking(even though I adored the music video). When the music kicked in, I could hear Ellie's signature wispy vocals coupled with a few vocal runs like 'calling your name!'. I could instantly tell that this song doesn't showcase her range.

Overall, this song does okay to me as it is quite catchy, sprinkled with some autotune and this song is good enough(to me) to go!

Vocals: A+
Music Video: A+
Overall Grade: A+

Music video

Vocal profile of Demi Lovato

Lowest note: C#3
Highest belt:  F5
Highest note: E6
Exclamation: E7
Vocal range: 3 octaves 1 note 1 semitone
Vocal type: Soprano
Vocal rating: A+

Vocal positives:
Her strongest range is from G#3 to E5, where her most powerful belts are placed and are also the most resonant. Notes like F3 and below are well supported. Her emotions are conveyed well through her vocals as she is able to go gentle for one moment and in the next moment showcase her wild chest register.

Vocal negatives:
Notes below G3 sound nearly inaudible live and notes above E5 sounds like her screaming. Her pitch is either a hit or a miss live and singing an F#5 proves a little difficult for her to execute. Her voice sounds shrill and uncontrolled at notes above G5.

Vocal range:

Vocal profile of Selena Gomez

Lowest note: Bb2

Highest belt: D5

Highest note: G#5

Exclamation: B5

Vocal range: 2 octaves 6 notes(recent times)

Vocal type: Mezzo-soprano

Vocal rating: D

Vocal positives:

Her low notes below F3 are dark, low and healthy. There is a solid tone to her mid-range from B3 to about C#5. Her A3s are well sustained throughout most of her songs. Her strongest range is from G#3 to D5. 

Vocal negatives:

Struggles at basic belts like Bb4 when doing little body movement. Notes below G3 are often inaudible live and needed to be supported by backup singers. Her lack of vibrato and proper technique makes notes below E3 or above A5 sound harsh live. She becomes nasal at the notes at the fifth octave.

Recommended songs: Come and Get it, Love you Like a Love song 

Vocal range:

Vocal range on her new album(exclamation)