Which performers can really, really sing with no amplification, autotune, editing, etc.?

IMO, Elton John. He can really play a piano and entertain. Of couse that was in his younger days. I’m not sure he can still carry it out.

Die Ärzte.

Die Ärzte.

I am confused by this

I bet Ella Fitzgerald would have excelled at that.

@Adagio Ah, and for some reason, that took my mind immediately to Nina Simone.

@jaytkay Are you only asking about living artists?

Probably the best off-mic performer I’ve seen is Rufus Wainwright. There have been others, but most of them gave at least some of the credit to venues with incredible acoustics.

@dappled_leaves Nina Simone, yes I’m sure you’re right.

@jaytkay Why does this confuse you?

Are you only asking about living artists?

Yes, I should have been specific. I’m curious about current performers who don’t need a studio to make an impact.

@dappled_leaves Nina Simone makes me cry. I linked to that SAME VIDEO a few days ago in another forum. My comment was that today an artist is “important” because they sell a fragrance or shoes, whereas Nina Simone was singing to get people into schools and the voting booth.

@ragingloli 1) I don’t know German and 2) that was an electric band wearing silly costumes

They are so great.

I saw Melissa Ethridge in a crappy dive bar before she hit it big, and she literally did not need a PA – she belted out her songs with passion and power.

@chyna, Elton can and does perform well. I’ve seen him twice, I think the last time was 2011. What was interesting was at the concert in Brisbane, he got up and went off stage and then came back and said he still gets stage fright and he’d left to be sick and then came back and performed brilliantly. He did use a mic, so he wasn’t working without amplification.

Carol King and James Taylor were brilliant. As was Billy Joel. I’ve seen some rock bands recently that were fabulous, but the noise of the band, masks the limitations of the lead singer.

Of the artists I’ve seen live, Bonnie Raitt, Prince, and Donna Summer were amazing and the best of the bunch. They were certainly amplified though. No effects I could tell. All very good.

I did hear Elton John sing and play piano unamplified once though. I designed the stage set for a private concert he was playing and he just strolled onstage to warm up while we were setting up. He even asked me if it was okay if he play a bit. Mind blown.

^So jealous.

@chyna: It was very surreal. I practically ran off the stage I was so freaked out.

Bruce Springsteen
Janis ian

Almost any artist who came around before the technology.

@Earthbound_Misfit I’m with you on Jackson Browne. Seeing him live was one of my favourite shows.

I know both Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus can sing amazingly well. And I don’t even like Miley Cyrus, but I saw a clip of her on Saturday Night Live and she was great. And I’ve heard Lady Gaga play acoustic on the Howard Stern Show and it was beautiful.

Christina Aguilera can belt it out.

Barbra Streisand.

Adele

Rihanna

Karen Carpenter

Amy Winehouse

Shakira

Patty LaBelle

Sarah McLauchlin

Seal

Josh Grobin

Andre Bocelli!

I think Lady Gaga is great.

I agree, Christina Aguilera is a pure artist. There is probably a lot more, but I know she is definitely one of them.

Richie Havens

Springsteen

The guys who sing lead at the Metropolitan opera.

…no amplification, autotune, editing, etc….

Maybe I’m showing my age, but there was a time not long ago when a good singer could was expected to fill an auditorium with the voice, to hit all notes precisely and accurately, and to do so when accompanied by full orchestra.

I am not opposed to amplification, especially in the pop genres where the instruments and music are supposed to be loud. As a vocalist and music educator, I feel that part of any vocal lessons or coaching today must include microphone technique. I’ve seen many students who want to sing, and the first thing they do is grab the mic and put it up to their lips. One think that kind of irks me in musicals is when an actor/actress is required to break character to grab a mic for a solo. IMHO that reflects a combination of poor vocal coaching on the part of the music director, as well as poor technical direction. Microphones can be strategically placed in or around the stage to capture any well-projected voice.

As far as Auto-Tune, I can appreciate its use as an artistic effect, as Cher used it as early as 1998 in Believe, comparable to distortion or flanging effects on a guitar. However, again IMHO, any artist who is considered to be a vocalist should be presenting their true voice with their own intonation, and have enough confidence in their own vocal skills to be able to perform without such a “safety net”. You might as well lip-sync a recorded concert, ala _Milli Vanilli Milli Vanilli.

Now editing is a technology that is as old as magnetic tape. It used to be that recordings were edited by actually cutting and splicing the audio tape. Reportedly, during the recording and production of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody tapes were so edited and overdubbed that some of the audiotapes were actually worn to transparency.

end of rant!

A few pop musicans I didn’t see mentioned come to mind.

Sia

Sara Bareilles
Ellie Goulding
Lykke Li