What do you think makes a good singer ?

[WildRosie]

I would say staying in tune without wobbling or wavering, keeping within your register (whatever that may be), clear enunciation and the ability to project your voice. If you like vocal gymnastics like falsetto and vibrato, having the confidence to use them appropriately.

I'd forgotten about breath control. Running out of puff before you've finished the note isn't on. If you listen to 'Top Of The World' by The Carpenters, you'll clearly hear Karen Carpenter take a deep breath before each verse! I'm sure it was enough to keep her going but it's a shame it couldn't have been erased from the recording!

I can't understand much of what Sia is singing.

She sounds like she has cotton wool stuffed in her cheeks. Amy Winehouse is another that you can't always tell what she is saying.

Anyway, I don't go for singers who have a great range, or are pitch perfect, like Mariah Carey or Freddy Mercury - I like ones that speak to me emotionally, so I'd rather have Joe Strummer, or Jonathan Richman (who I'd say can't sing ), or James Walsh of Starsailor. So it depends what you mean by "good" - technically good, or ones that you connect to.

I've just been listening to Say Hello, Wave Goodbye by Soft Cell. Marc Almond certainly delivers an impassioned and quite powerful vocal, yet he is slightly out of tune in places. It didn't harm the record's success overall.