Who is a great singer? Pavarotti, Susan Boyle, vintage Whitney Houston, and probably most of the students majoring in Commercial Voice at Belmont.
Who is a great lead singer? Beyonce, Mick Jagger, Chris Martin, Cheryl Crow, Bono, Steven Tyler, Paul McCartney, Freddie, Ben Folds, Haley Williams
Our mind fires up a different set of expectations for each one of these questions. When you think of singer, you think of notes, pitch, clarity, tone, vibrato. Those are all things that are worth taking time to become better at.
When you think of lead singer, the word “lead” really shapes who we put into that category.
Great lead singers…
miss more notes that singers, but they tell a better story.
have bad posture during lots of moments of the show, but their adrenaline makes up for it.
don’t always have a wide range of notes, like singers do, but working with what they have is endearing to the audience.
know how to keep the show going and get paid even when their voice is completely worn out.
speak to all of the senses.
can make the crowd react by merely raising an eye brow.
at the end of the day are more concerned with connection than perfection.
Great leadership while being a great singer.
That is the concept that makes us levitate, changes our hearts and our minds, makes people turn it up instead of off, makes money, makes a career, and makes people feel THAT feeling.
If you front a band (or are a solo artist), you’re going to have to grow both aspects if you really want to make a go of it.
And honestly, if you have to be 51% on one side and 49% on the other…
People are much more likely to follow a leader than a singer.
