Karaoke Forums

Walking out of a show once in Las Vegas, I thought of this one guy that I had just heard, and I swear he was a dead on clone voice of Elvis. And I wondered to myself, about the concept of being able to do a dead ringer of some famous singer. I can't do anyone dead on. I could do a passable Lennon and a few others over the years, but I wonder about the difference between someone who can mimic someone incredibly and someone else who has their own complete style and voice.

I guess in the Karaoke world, we can go over the edge and be like "Karoake Superstars" and it's kind of like going to an Elvis convention. No, doubt there is talent there. In fact, I have mentioned male singers in here, who are dead on with certain singers. With the right look they could have stepped into the scene (many years ago) and who know, been a star.

Comedians, some of the best, can become pretty famous doing whatever politician or famous person impersonation.

I am still new to the world of Karaoke. It takes me back to times when we were a top 40 band, playing high schools and sat there for hours trying to sound "just like the record."

So, in the world of Kara, well we will head on down to the club in a few days and do open mike night, which a little different, and we can go our own stuff and play our own instruments.

It dazzles me the number of ultra talented country singers on this scene, even though country is not my genre. It think if we could time warp a couple of these women back to the early sixties, they could have been country stars. Maybe they were.

So, yea I can appreciate the "just like" voices. They are cool. But it is kind of interesting to hear someone with a really unique voice make a song his or her own, and still do it well.

jvj

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There are no accidents in a perfect world   - Blondie

the world of "Kara" means "Empty"

There are a few words that begin with this Japanese word. Personally, I embody and use a few of the other words too in my every day life. But since this is a karaoke site, I'm ASSUMING you mean that connoctation.

I personally hate the "imitators", but you have to understand that when you sing a given song, you're going to immediately be judged against the original.

One of my personal favorite songs to sing is The Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter", but I don't sing it like them. I don't even sing it like Queensryche did (with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart backing them up)... I've truly made this song "my version"...

some like it, some don't.

But it's my favorite song to sing, because I worked at it to MAKE it mine. Now, I also sing some other stuff, but I do try to pay as much homage to the original artists as much as I can... but I still allow for a creaping in of my own style!

I rarely like "cover" songs on the radio, but there are some chosen few that immediately get my attention as terrific redos, even better than the originals.

"You Keep Me Hanging on" sang by Kim Wilde (redoing The Supremes)
"Funkytown" - Pseudo Echo - and I've heard others that were good too.
"Mony Mony" - Billy Idol - to me, MUCH better than the Tommy James version.
"Shameless" - Garth Brooks is a totally different version than Billy Joel's homage to the blues... I like both versions, but silently admit that Garth's is much better.

Sometimes the cover version makes you like the original THAT much more! ! I remember growing uo in the seventies and eighties, when I heard "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" by Hall & Oates, I thought it was terrific. But when I heard a back to back playing by Casey Kasim on American Top 40, I was shocked at how much of the original was "lost", and I immediately dedicated myself to wanting to find out if songs were originals or not.

Same thing with the "Gimme Shelter" song I heard Queensryche do in concert. I thought it was excellent... but it made me want to hear the Stones' version that much more.

Anyway, it's a person's own independant decision to either do a song totally like the original, or to sublely make it their own.

Gotta admit, a lot of us music addicts, sit up late at night talking about who does what well. I have heard some outrageous redos of classic hard edge rock stuff as well as the sound track on Lost Boys (some of the groups doing old Door stuff) and alt and industrial takes of hard edge 80
tunes.

Personally, I think it is mainline, to have a group or someone in their teens take something from the past, and bring it up to the 21st century.
Not really anxious to see major rap versions of Simon and Garfunkle, but
let us not forget Rapture by Blondie. Did anyone have a total clue what this girl wearing a burlap sack and singing Atomic World unleased.

I want to do some pure energy - blast Alt, and post up some for subs, as soon as I clear the animals and small children out and find a place to scream sing 'cos you can't get that rasp without diggin' deep.

Haven't seen a lot of Julie Andrews "Chim Chimminy Cheroo" posts lately or such. Do plan to post Loving you has made me bananas, soon as I can rip the voice off and I wanna be Cowboy (Pet Shop boys style) I CANNOT even find the Karaoke tracks for those.

You like gotta catch that movie with the Night of a thousand Stevies. It is most excellent. Maybe a couple cartons of camels and stept throat and I can do Queen.

jvj

jvj

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There are no accidents in a perfect world   - Blondie

Personally, I never figured out how to sing a song with a unique style, so that's why I try imitate the original singer. It seems to work for me. I am pretty good at imitating. But I could never do like a live impressions show, like Legends in Vegas, because there isn't anyone I particularly look like. Maybe if I lose a few pounds, the right wig and outfit could transform me, who knows....anyway, I learned to sing from choir and from voice lessons (doing classical music) and they never teach you that pop stuff so I never learned it. I think in karaoke they expect you to sing like the original. Some of the best compliments I've ever had were "Wow, you sound just like her!".

Suzanne Lanoue

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~Suzanne Lanoue~

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[font=andalus]We Are the Music Makers, and We are the Dreamers of Dreams...
We are the Movers and Shakers of the World Forever it Seems...[/font]

True... but, skylah drives me nuts, when she walks around imitating me...
"Mommy, today, I AM MOMMY... now, GO to your room!"

I rarely try to imitate singers, and when I do, it is for fun, and rarely submit it... BUT it kind of hurts, when i am SOO not trying to, and people constantly compare me to other singers... and THEN request a million songs by that singer, and expect me to attempt to sing it EXACTLY like them. I want to sound like me.... besides,, i have the kind of voice that rarely lends itself to copying the average female singer, like.. i can't do a britney impression, or a kelly clarkson, etc... although, I often get compared to.. the "odd" voices.. like, natalie merchant, alanis, jewel, etc... even though, obviously, i don't sound anything like them.

Ok, I am done rambling....

And jazzy, I agree with you. Actually, my FAVORITE times to record, is when I don't know the song, and i listen to it once, get the backing, and then immediately record it. Instead of "practicing" to the original, trying to get it down EXACTLY like that singer....

Ok, now i am REALLY done babbling.

I know what you mean Gilly, and that can be very frustrating. The problem is, that people don't distinguish between your voice being suited for a particular STYLE that another artist does and singing LIKE that artist. With your voice, you are extremely well suited to sing the songs of those people you mentioned that everyone asks you to sing... Your voice has a similar style to those people BUT it does not sound particularly like any of them. So people hear that you have that KIND of a voice and just say.. oooh you sound just LIKE jewel, alanis, or whomever.. when that is not the truth at all. And yes, it is very enangering when they get dissapointed that you don't sound exactly like that person once they hear you sing the song.

People need to learn the difference between someone having a similar style and a voice suited to sing the works of a particular artist or artists, and telling someone that they sound "just like" soneone else.

And just because your voice may lend itself to a particular genre very well, does not mean that you should only sing those songs.. Gilly, i've heard you sing some songs that I may not have considered to be your particular style, but you sounded darn good on them just because you ARE a wonderful singer and you can translate your abilities into different genres.

I hate when people pigeonhole you as a particular type of singer (like just a classical singer, musical singer, or power singer) and they only ask you to ever do those kinds of songs. If you only EVER sing one genre of song, than, YES, you more than likely won't be very versitaille and will have a hard time singing anything else.. BUT if you explore different genres and styles, you are more likely to be able to adapt yourself to any style.

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[font=andalus]We Are the Music Makers, and We are the Dreamers of Dreams...
We are the Movers and Shakers of the World Forever it Seems...[/font]

Yes... it is... sort of.. saddening, when (not so much now) I would post a song, that I had fun with.. and someone would say... "is not your style, you are much more suited to folk music", etc etc.

Like I always say.... songs are simply notes on a page, and as long as I can make my instrument HIT the darn notes, I will sing the darn song. It irritates the heck out of me, when, I do a song, and someone, acts surprised to see me doing it... when, really... do i REALLY stick to a particular genre? I think I have done some fairly different styles, and I am really not aware of being STUCK on a particular one.. so, it strikes me as odd, when someone says "not your style, but you did well", WELL THEN, WHAT IS MY STYLE?! Ok.... calm now:) Am i REALLY stuck singing a particular, way, in a particular style.. and I am simply unaware of it?! HAve I gone COMPLETELY nuts?! Who is to tell me, that my voice doesn't SUIT a song, simply because I don't sound like the original?! I am usually embarrased, or ashamed to SHOW you all the songs that YOU all may consider "not my style", when in fact, i actually sing that way, all the time, and simply don't post it....

(Jazzy, I was discussing this today with Justy, and actually used YOU as an example, of versitility, which is why I posted here, after seeing you comment. Sorry:)


Ok, back to the topic, sorry for going completely OFF topic:)

I CANNOT sing someone else's VOICE. I ALWAYS will sing a song in my OWN style, inflections, interpretations. And I try at every opportunity to find OBSCURE versions of songs that NOBODY does, much less has heard before....so they come off as "original" when new people come to sing at the show--or when I go singing at a different place. For instance on SGB disc #1 is a BEBOP version of SUMMERTIME. NOBODY ever sings it--but its a really cool tract. I get two reactions. Either they start tapping their feet to it or they are shocked and dismayed that anyone could do SUMMERTIME with a fast beat. But that's ok either way it means they were LISTENING! Theres also a version of PURPLE HAZE (I think on #56 or 57) thats a Buddy Miles version vice Jimmy Hendrix and its a FUNK beat almost with a hip-hop sound to it--a completely unexpected sound for the listeners! When I first heard it I thought like WOW! Same thing with blues songs--I'll find ones like MEET ME WITH YOUR BLACK DRAWERS ON that nobody else sings and do some improvisation on them
so they become something the listeners havent heard before. So in effect the song becomes MINE. A favorite is AMERISING "Walkin BLues" a jump blues/swing thing. On one of the bridges Ill insert some made up lyric lines. I often do that on outros or long intsrumental breaks--freestyle it a bit. So thats how I make a song "MINE". But I'm simply not able to reproduce someone else's voice or style. Can't do it.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I agree with you to a certain extent. I have sometimes sung a song after only hearing it a few times OR relied on my memory for a song I heard 20 years ago. But I find that if I find later that my version is very different from the original, I get annoyed and want to work sound more like the original. Just the way I am, I guess. Usually if I am setting out to learn a song, I try to listen to the original many times to make it sound like them. But I still end up putting my own spin on it, to a certain extent. We all do, I guess.

Suzanne Lanoue

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~Suzanne Lanoue~

im thinkin of how many times i get told i sound like dolly parton..i dont..sound anything..like dolly except when im talking...thats the southern accent in a higher pitched voice thang ..not my fault ...

i LOVE to sing songs i cant even find the originals for..and interpret them the way i think they should have been done arrogant thang aint i

i loveeeeeeeeeeee to sing male songs..especially the more i get to change up the lyrics..one day someone is gonna git me for that!

but really..if i ever sound like anyone else its purely coincedental..i personally think i have a very strange voice..when i hear it played back..took me a longggggg time to accept that people really enjoyed my singing..rather than were just being nice..now im old.. daggumit!


kass

I dunno if I try to SOUND like the original artist, but I do try to get the the melody as close as I can.... I just don't think I can "pull off" trying to change it... I start to stumble all through the song! ! *sigh*

speaking of comedians who imitate...... anyone hear of Andre Phillipe Ganon? MY GAWD! he's fricken awesome! and HILLARIOUS! He's a French Canadian who can sound like anyone from Bryan Adams to Barry White.... he can even sound EXACTLY like a saxaphone.... it's downright freakish!

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Yes! My gawd, that guy cracks me up. And, is DARN good:) My dad loves to watch him as well:) I forgot all about him, until I read that:)!

I think so... or maybe it's someone else who does a show in Vegas. Supposed to sound like all kinds of different people.

Well, maybe someday they'll put out a show in dvd and I can see em :p

When I first started, I really tried to imitate whoever I was singing. I think that's a great way to learn, I mean if you can imitate a really good singer, then you ARE a really good singer!

However, after running into several voices I simply cannot do, I've started learning (or trying to learn) to do the song 'my way'. I still generally try to sing the same melody and same inflections, but in my own voice, and that IS hard for me... because like many of you, I'm still in the process of 'discovering' my own voice and vocal style.

After I become really comfortable with a song, I start experimenting with it and trying to 'make it my own' but, at this point I'm not confident enough with any of the songs I do that on to record and post them.

I think most of us do learn to sing by mimicing, it's just a learning process. Then there are people like the guy on here who is a dead-ringer voice clone for David Bowie... but I get the feeling that IS his real voice so he's not exactly 'imitating', because when he sings other songs, it sounds like David Bowie singing them... it's freaky.

I wish I could do those vocal runs or trills, whatever you call them, like people like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. I have a high voice but those things are so hard to do, and probably I am too lazy to do them I would love to do more songs like Celine Dion. Hers are very high but if you sing them in head voice they would sound funny. I just can't belt that high like she does. Other than those artists, I can't think of anyone whose songs I can't sing. I have trouble with the Carpenters and Anne Murray on the other end, they are too low for me. I can sing fairly low, but it doesn't sound as good as the higher notes. I'm sure there are some other, more recent artists whose low notes I can't hit, but I don't know them I'm an old fogie, too.

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~Suzanne Lanoue~

I've learned that you can learn to do them by breaking them down and slowing them down, then practicing the notes slowly until you get them right. But like you said, sometimes that's more work than it's worth.



Sometimes I can nail those low notes, other times I can't. When I'm in top form, I've got at least 3 octaves (plus a few notes) to work with - I've measured it out on the keyboard - but I start losing control at the extreme ends of my range in either direction. I guess that just takes practice. Kind of makes me giggle about folks like that teacher guy we've been listening to and talking about recently on here though. He 'guarrantees' an full octave increase to your range!!! !!! right... so then I'll have a 4 octave range?? I SINCERELY doubt it. But, I would love to just gain full control of what I DO have.

I've never had 'official' voice lessons either, aside from working with my husband (and he's a pretty darn good teacher). I guess if we had more time I could work on my voice more and would improve a lot.

Yes, you're right, I am just too lazy to do that...I'd have to listen to it over and over and do what you said. It would be good for my voice, though, because your voice gets more flexible when you do those things. I've got some exercises for things like that but I never used them (again, too lazy!). I have some singing books from college, want me to scan some stuff in for you?

I would be suspicious of anyone who made a guarantee like that. It's true that with lessons anyone can expand thei range, but...and you are right, it does take practice.

I think I can get about 3 1/2 octaves but not all at the same time. Here's the weird thing, if I'm not warmed up, I can sing lower. If I warm up, some of those lower notes disappear. Like, right now, I just checked and I can get down to a C# (the one below middle C, if I can remember where that is). When I'm warmed up, I can only get down to about an F. But I would be hard pressed to hit the high C right now.

I thought about teaching voice at some point...again, too lazy I took a graduate vocal pedagogy class in college (I was briefly a grad student in music--Choir Conducting--long story) and we had to take on an undergrad student for a while. I also worked some with a good college friend before that. It was so much fun and I wish I had some students to teach, but I don't have any credentials or anything like that. Plus my piano playing really sucks...I would have to pay someone to accompany songs. But anyway, would be fun. Wish I lived near you, you could be my guinea pig, !

Maybe one day I will live in a bigger city and I can teach voice to karaoke singers...I would do it for free, or cheap.

Like I said, check at your local colleges, they often have cheap or even free voice lessons or classes. I was taking lessons for a while from this professor here and I had to practically beg him to let me pay him. He just enjoys teaching. Eventually he just didn't have time, too bad.

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~Suzanne Lanoue~

Crystal said...



Well if anybody has heard of our British Comedian Freddie Star
I think hes the only one I have ever heard who can truly step in the shoes of elvis,

Sure! That would be cool I'd love to have stuff like that 'on hand' to mess with when I had a chance.



I think that when you find a teacher like that, he's assuming folks know little or nothing about vocal training. Then he runs across people like you or myself, who have either stumbled into (me) or already learned how to expand their range... and there isn't much more expansion he can do. But learning to CONTROL the range is another matter entirely! I'm fairly certain, for example, that I could never expect to hit 4 octaves because that's right around the limit of human ability.



I've had that happen... I think it has to do with your vocal chords being more 'relaxed' (or at least it seems that mine are) *before* you warm up, thus the ability to hit lower notes. I've been learning to maintain the lower register and get more power out of those low notes, but it certainly takes practice. I have to make sure my shoulders and jaw are loose for example. I wish I knew (note-wise) what my range is, but I never made the effort to find out what notes I was singing on the keyboard, I just wasn't paying attention. I'll figure it out one of these days.

[quote=slanoue"]I thought about teaching voice at some point...again, too lazy I took a graduate vocal pedagogy class in college (I was briefly a grad student in music--Choir Conducting--long story) and we had to take on an undergrad student for a while. I also worked some with a good college friend before that. It was so much fun and I wish I had some students to teach, but I don't have any credentials or anything like that. Plus my piano playing really sucks...I would have to pay someone to accompany songs. But anyway, would be fun. Wish I lived near you, you could be my guinea pig, ![/quote]

heheh sounds like you should pursue your teaching inclinations! I'm sure you could find folks who would let you give them 'free' lessons with the understanding that you were learning, as long as you were careful not to teach them anything to hurt them.



We've thought about it. Just basic lessons for 'karaoke' singers. Including stuff like, adding reverb to your voice and finding the right key for you. You should go for it!! Wouldn't cost you anything. Put up some signs on billboards. Sounds like you would have a blast.



Too bad about the professor!! Yeah, I might do that at some point (although there really aren't any local colleges with much of an 'arts' program). For now though, hubby does work with me and I guess I'll stick to that. I'm also a big 'self learner', so I can be pretty independent.