to think Ronan Keating can’t sing? Which other famous singers can’t sing?

[BlackBucketOfCheese]

When I was a teenager I thought Ronan Keating had a great voice (despite not being my type of music) but I think I probably just fancied him. I’ve just heard one of his songs from around 1999 pop up on a Spotify playlist and he sounds like a goat yelping into a Pringles can.

I know lots of pop stars can’t sing for shite but in my head I had him in a bracket of people who can sing nicely - despite probably not having listened to his music for 20+ years.

Can RK sing?

Which other pop stars who people think are decent singers actually turn out to sound like a farm yard animal with trapped wind.

I know this is personal taste because what I find bad, others will find good and vice versa.
However my choices would be :

Jarvis Cocker
Damon Albarn
All of Blue except Lee
Mark Owen
The guy from Human League
I love Michael Jackson's music but I never thought he had a good voice, it was better when he was a child IMO
Cyndi Lauper
J Lo
Mick Jagger
Rod Stewart
Aston from JLS

Stormzy when he raps, otherwise his voice us ok.

@lollipoprainbow

heather small ! Hate her voice

Oh god yes. I'm sure that technically she's very good... but that noise! Three aspirin headache. Somebody on the good singers thread said Axl Rose...I think he sounds like a strangled weasel.

@AlecTrevelyan006

the weird thing about McCartney at the Olympics is that he was miming anyway (as did all the artists)

Mike Oldfield was absolutely live. His last ever live performance...sob. At least I was in the stadium even if I couldn't actually see him (we were right over his head). His re- working of Tubular Bells was lovely.

I’m a singing teacher/ vocal coach, and some of these suggestions have made me chuckle!
I agree 100% with the people who said Madonna...shocking live.

Mel C. She seems a lovely person but that voice...

I used to love Elton John, clearly he can sing, as in can hold and deliver a good tune, I don’t always like conventionally ‘good’ singers, so it’s not always about technical ability, it’s tone, style, personality and charisma, delivery, etc, some people can obviously sing technically better than others, or have a beautiful natural voice but how much you like any singer or how ‘good’ you personally think they are is subjective isn’t it? e.g., in my opinion Kylie, dreadful but Bowie, maybe not the most beautiful voice either in many people’s opinion, I think amazing. Robert Plant the same.

I think Madonna was (is) a very average, even weak singer (as is Kylie) but her success came more from her image and whether you like her or not a star quality (and absolute determination to be famous).

On Elton again, I’m not fond of the affected American style drawl of his pronunciation...I don’t like it when any British singer overdoes this but with him it’s got really exaggerated as he’s aged and he’s got so shouty I can’t listen to him now, I play his old recordings though.

It’s funny as I was listening to my 80’s playlist (I’m 51) with Dd3 (14) yesterday and we were listening to Soft Cell, Say Hello Wave Goodbye and she commented on how rare it was to hear singing in a clear British (English) voice, she really liked Marc Almond’s voice. I find Tom Chaplin from Keane the same. I just prefer a more ‘natural’ unaffected style whatever the nationality.

Bob Dylan
James Blunt
Damien Rice

Still like all of them for their song writing ability and listen regularly, but they’re not conventionally good singers!

@DestinyIsAll

I used to love Elton John, clearly he can sing, as in can hold and deliver a good tune, I don’t always like conventionally ‘good’ singers, so it’s not always about technical ability, it’s tone, style, personality and charisma, delivery, etc, some people can obviously sing technically better than others, or have a beautiful natural voice but how much you like any singer or how ‘good’ you personally think they are is subjective isn’t it? e.g., in my opinion Kylie, dreadful but Bowie, maybe not the most beautiful voice either in many people’s opinion, I think amazing. Robert Plant the same.

I think Madonna was (is) a very average, even weak singer (as is Kylie) but her success came more from her image and whether you like her or not a star quality (and absolute determination to be famous).

On Elton again, I’m not fond of the affected American style drawl of his pronunciation...I don’t like it when any British singer overdoes this but with him it’s got really exaggerated as he’s aged and he’s got so shouty I can’t listen to him now, I play his old recordings though.

It’s funny as I was listening to my 80’s playlist (I’m 51) with Dd3 (14) yesterday and we were listening to Soft Cell, Say Hello Wave Goodbye and she commented on how rare it was to hear singing in a clear British (English) voice, she really liked Marc Almond’s voice. I find Tom Chaplin from Keane the same. I just prefer a more ‘natural’ unaffected style whatever the nationality.

One of the reasons I love Elbow is that Guy Garvey sings in his Bury accent. The American accent thing is so common. Robbie Williams is very bad and Elton too... although I love him. It was particularly noticeable when he sang Bohemian Rhapsody at the FM tribute because of the contrast with Freddie.

@EuphieKat

Out of interest, what do you think of Adele?

Who, in today’s pop world, do you think can sing?

@beguilingeyes

Say hello, wave goodbye🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Wow, that’s an oldie!

@EuphieKat
Seriously Madonna can sing,shes just not a belter.But her concerts are amazing.She really puts a lot in to it.

[quote LadyfromtheBelleEpoque]@EuphieKat

Out of interest, what do you think of Adele?

Who, in today’s pop world, do you think can sing?[/quote]
Adele is (IMO) the most vastly overrated singer of the 21st century. She is average at best. Very limited range, and 85% of her music is depressing dreary songs. Ditto Ed Sheeran. Hugely overrated. Just above average singer and just above average songs, but he filled a gap in the market for a cute, shy, dorky, young male singer with a guitar.

@BorderlineHappy

Madonna is not a great singer, and she has admitted that herself, but she is decent. I have seen her live several times, and she puts on a brilliant show. Like Rihanna, Kylie Minogue, and Lady Gaga, she has improved over time.

Gaga was just above average some 10 years ago, and she is now very good. Rihanna is not as good as Gaga but she is much better than she was 15 years ago when she first started out. Kylie is much better too, although she sounds nasally when she sings live... The worst singer I have ever heard live is Katy Perry. She is AWFUL live. Off key 70-80% of the time. I like her songs and she sounds OK on pre-recorded stuff, but she is shit live.

I agree with the OP though, that the majority of pop singers can't sing that well. Yet many of them are very successful. There is more to being a pop star than just having a great voice. Eg, Michele McManus who won pop idol back in 2003 had a good strong voice, but that's all she had. She was dull and boring and had no stage presence. Consequently, her career failed before it began.

I agree with pp, that Heather Small has the ugliest, most horrible voice. And the singer in the Lighthouse Family, who sang Ocean Drive has a HORRIBLE dull dreary voice.

Agree about Mel C too. Oddly the strongest voice in the Spice Girls, but her singing voice is very grating.

And Cheryl 'whatever-her-name-is-this-year,' is dreadful live. And not that good recorded. 100% only picked for Girls Aloud because she is very pretty.

I always thought Heather Small sounded like she was singing with a mouth full of Instant Whip.

@notacooldad

Bob Dylan. OK not a pop star but an absolute legend. His song writing is awesome but he is definitely better leaving it other people to sing his songs!

Absolutely agree. Can't bear him

@beguilingeyes

Paul McCartney wrote Eleanor Rigby when he was 24. Including the genius line 'wearing a face that she keeps in a jar by the door' which is so good it stops me in my tracks...and people judge him on one song from a TV broadcast of a concert they weren't at when he's in his 70s. Go listen to Golden Slumbers and tell me he can't sing.

He could sing.

They need to learn when to stop. My all-time musical hero is Paul Simon. I cannot bear to hear him sing now. James Taylor is starting to go the same way. Vocal chords do not work the same as you age.

Britney, never got the fascination with her. That bloody dance monkey song, I don't know who sings it. My dog barks in disgust if that's on. We have a video of her trying to sing, sounds like she's whaling 'corona I love you'

@Hugexfilesfan

Britney, never got the fascination with her. That bloody dance monkey song, I don't know who sings it. My dog barks in disgust if that's on. We have a video of her trying to sing, sounds like she's whaling 'corona I love you'

I bloody LOVE the song 'Dance Monkey,' but I have to agree, Tones-and-I's voice is terrible. Really screechy. I reckon she is going to be a one hit wonder, because I can't imagine a SOUL, wanting to buy an album full of her voice! She wrote the song though, and it was HUGE all over the world, so I would imagine that she is made for life on that one song.

I LOVE Britney though. Love most of her songs, and think she's fab!

Although, I can see why some may not like her, as she has a 'marmite' voice... and occasionally says a few things a bit oddly... ' I'm so fed up with people telling me to be someone else but MAAAAAAAAAAY' and oh 'baybeh baybeh!'

Still love her though.

@Nomorepies

Sorry I cannot go along with PP saying Whitney, Mariah, Christina are bad singers- just no! Perhaps not your type but they are technically excellent. Mariah Carey has an 8 octave range!! That is skills!

Ronan on the other hand. Yeah no.

Mariah Carey has a 5 octave range, not 8.

Rob Halford had ac6 octave range in his heyday, a singer much more to my taste.

@BlackBucketOfCheese OP I've been laughing since yesterday at Ronan Keating sounding like a goat yelping into a pringles tube. (I used to really like him when I was a kid ) can you tell me which of the songs in particular you can really get a good grasp of the yelping goat sound on?

Bananarama

Ariana Grande, I can't actually make out most of the words she's 'singing' and I don't think she's got a good voice at all.

@VelveteenChair

Bananarama

Oh yes. Awful.

And little or no harmonising. Just singing together in weedy voices. That's why I always preferred boy bands. Girls were just dirgy

We saw Ed Sheehan supported by One Republic...honestly, I would’ve been happy to listen to One Republic all night, Ryan Tedder has an amazing voice.

Can I add Stevie Wonder. Odd phrasing, random shouty bits and out of tune.