General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: RIP Whitney, RIP the "Oversinging" trend? [View all]unblock
(56,187 posts)by "oversinging", i take the o.p. as referring to the overabundance of singers who are overly eager to show of their technique, and in the process demonstrate their lack of understanding of how to properly marry a technique to a musical moment.
different instrumentation, techniques, or vocal qualities convey certain emotional or story-telling qualities. randomly bandying about the techniques in complete disregard for the music or the lyrics demonstrates musical ignorance and can be very annoying for the audience.
good for showing off technical capabilities, but not good for listening.
in the sense it's not terrible in the early rounds of american idol, but by the later rounds they should show the ability to put it together properly.
note also that what many claim to be vibrato (fluctuating pitch) is actually tremolo (fluctuating volume). the singers you mentioned were not only skilled at actual vibrato, but they knew when to use it and when to not. not so with today's "oversingers".