[zeinharis]

1. Simone Simones
2. Floor Jansen
3. Tarja
4. Sharon Den Adel

 

[Mython]

I first heard of Celia Cruz on the soundtrack for the film 'Lantana':
 

 
 

---

 
Also see:
 
Concha Buika
Mariza
Ana Moura
Cristina Branco
 

---

 

[snowshoe]

Living female vocalists: I can't get enough of Erykah Badu. She sings to every musical pleasure spot in my body. I'm also quite fond of Beth Gibbons of Portishead. Adele is a fantastic singer. The most unusual female vocalist I've heard in awhile is Josephine Foster. Finally, this one is an acquired taste, Valerie June. Some might find her voice a bit twangy (especially if you've only heard low quality copies of her music), I find it powerful.
 
Dead: Nina Simone. I honestly can't think of a better singer. Billie Holiday is close to her equal though.

 

[Br777]

Julianna Barwick
 
a.k.a. the one woman choir
 
I thought i would repost her, even though she was posted in ought-12.
She just came out with a new album "NEPENTHE", and she was just on KEPX  - a nice christmas present for me!!
 
 
 
    

 

[basilabbott]

Imogen Heap is absolutely one of my FAVORITES of all time.  i just love her almost androgynous voice... so soothing.

 

[Fuzziekiwi]

  Imogen Heap is absolutely one of my FAVORITES of all time.  i just love her almost androgynous voice... so soothing.

Totally agree. I was unsure whether it was a boy or a girl at first lol. 

 

[Croftengea]

Holly Kirby. Sorry if someone finds this too pop
 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

 

[L0SLobos]

Hyolyn from Sistar

 

[Oregonian]

Just discovered this artist recently............

 

[kkl10]

Amália Rodrigues

 
 
Billie Holiday
 
 
 
Vashti Bunyan

 
 
Maria Callas
 
 
 
Carmen Linares
 
 
 
Bjork
 
 
 
Bilinda Butcher

 

[illyria]

Hmm, just stumbled upon SEE on Soundcloud and YouTube.  
 

 
 
It has been a while since I have found a newer musician (She only has four songs on YouTube and a two or three more on Soundcloud) and really look forward to seeing what they do in the future.
 
I don't know, just something about the feeling of her voice.
 
E - 
Link to her soundcloud is anyone cares: https://soundcloud.com/eyespysee

 

[TJ Elite]

I've decided to propose a little challenge to those frequenting this thread. I've yet to ever discover an artist I liked through this thread or others like it and simply am not that into singers to be willing to spend hours and hours digging through this thread. A few years ago I did buy a couple albums by Hayley Westenra and Eva Cassidy based on the recommendation in this thread but I can't say I've had any desire to listen to them after I'd heard them a couple of times. Turns out I was actually already familiar with Hayley Westenra through Mike Oldfield's Music of the Spheres album, I simply hadn't paid attention to her name assuming her to be just another no-name session singer. Westenra I cannot fault her for her voice, but Cassidy isn't really someone who I'd want to listen to just for her voice, and very few singers I even do. Musically both of their output leaves me indifferent. Cassidy's Live at Blues Alley has its moments, but despite not being the biggest fan of vocal jazz, I know more than enough vocal jazz records I'd rather listen to if I wanted to hear some vocal jazz and I've yet to develop a genuine appetite for the blues so those songs don't particularly tickle my fancy either.

 

So my challenge is for someone to suggest me an artist that I will genuinely like (and haven't heard before of course). If you manage to do this you have earned a tip of the hat from me. If no one succeeds I don't really lose anything, so this will be a fun experiment either way. To give you some aids, here are some singers I've mentioned earlier in this thread:

 

Ane Brun

Björk

Dusty Springfield

Ella Fitzgerald

Imogen Heap

Tori Amos

Wata (from Boris)

Youn Sun Nah

 

I'm sure there are countless others I could name, but I think those should be enough to guide you in the right direction. Ask for more if you find it necessary. To give you a couple more hints in case you can't gather it from those names, I appreciate singers who have a recognizable voice with character. Nothing turns me off more than a singer whose voice you can't tell apart from a girl you met on the street. I desire people who can express genuine emotion in their singing. Again there is hardly any bigger turn off than listening to a singer who sounds like they were brought into the studio, given the lyrics in front of them and told the sing what was on the paper. Even if they did it technically perfectly, they wouldn't earn a single word of praise from me. In fact I don't care in the slightest about singing "technically correctly". What I want to hear are people with flawed voices, people who have character and things they want to express. Women with "big pipes" don't impress me, nor does that style of singing.

 

Feel free to post either YouTube videos or name albums that can be found on Spotify. No artists who have never released a single record please. Also, since I forgot to mention it earlier, I care little about lyrics and the language doesn't matter in the slightest. Nonverbal singing and songs not in English might actually be preferable in all honesty, but don't make that a big factor when choosing recommendations. Musical style doesn't matter as long as it's good music with real artistic value, be it classical, pop, trance, or black metal.

 

Further questions regarding my preferences are welcome. Hopefully I don't prove a too tough nut to crack.

 

[Mython]

 

I've decided to propose a little challenge to those frequenting this thread. I've yet to ever discover an artist I liked through this thread or others like it and simply am not that into singers to be willing to spend hours and hours digging through this thread.

 

So my challenge is for someone to suggest me an artist that I will genuinely like (and haven't heard before of course). If you manage to do this you have earned a tip of the hat from me. If no one succeeds I don't really lose anything, so this will be a fun experiment either way.

 
 
So, you're not willing to dig through this thread, but you want someone else to work out who you might like?
 
Thanks for the challenge, but I think I'll pass.

 

[TJ Elite]

  So, you're not willing to dig through this thread, but you want someone else to work out who you might like?
 
Thanks for the challenge, but I think I'll pass.

I've taken a look at this thread since its inception from time to time, never finding anything but disappointments so far. I you fault me for not trying, do you seriously expect me to go through every single thing posted in this thread just to see if there's anything here for me to discover. I would expect there to be just by the law of large numbers, but having no assurances the payout would be worth my time investment I simply don't want to waste my time on a wild goose chase when I know so many more reliable ways to discover new music. Out of curiosity I would like to see if this thread with its collective knowledge can produce one name for me. If your most unwelcoming response is any indication of what to expect from this thread, the answer might be no. But I still have hope, and like I said I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Happy New Year's Eve everybody.

 

[Mython]

It's not that I'm unwelcoming, it's just that when you turn up and tell everyone you 'are not willing', why do you expect others to be willing on your behalf? It's rather rude...
 
Don't worry, I'm not having a go at you, I'm just explaining my response.
 
 
 
Others take the time to peruse the thread.
 
 
Still, just looking through your list of singers, they seem quite different from each other, so it's difficult to suggest someone consistent with them.
 
 
I could suggest Madeleine Peyroux in regard to Ella Fitzgerald, but it's not easy to find a close match to Ella, and I suspect you're already aware of Madeleine:
 

 
and perhaps Stacey Kent: