re: Best Female Vocal Performances

Ché Aimee Dorval covers Mars Volta's The Widow.

LINK

If you have never heard Dolly Parton sing mule skinner blues, look it up and listen to the first 30 seconds.

You do realize that the Venus "live" performance there was lip-synched?

Let's take this thread to alien-tier level. Hope you have good headphones or audio setup.

Angelina Jordan Astar - "I'm A Fool To Want You"

LINK

Jazz vocal in the style of Billie Holliday, at the age of seven. This was one of her two auditions for the "Norway's Got Talent" television competition, which she won. The other was Holliday's "Gloomy Sunday".

Considering the difficulty of the song, in a minor key, this is alien-level perfect pitch and phrasing. Also, she sang this a cappella. That's right, she could not hear the music. It was added to the performance by a fan. Simply not possible for a human who didn't even have all her teeth yet.

On top of that, realize that English is her third or fourth language, as she is native of Norway (Norwegian), and mother is Iranian (Farsi), father is from Sweden (Swedish). She is also one-quarter Japanese and has performed in Tokyo singing in Japanese.

quote:

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a cappella

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version

Here are some of my favorites:

K.D. Lang - Hallelujah - Live in Australia - LINK

K.D. Lang - Constant Craving - LINK

Annie Lennox - Why - LINK

Melissa Etheridge - I'm the Only One - LINK

Melissa Etheridge - I Will Never Be the Same - LINK

Melissa Etheridge - Talking To My Angel - LINK

Hayley Westenra - Amazing Grace - LINK

Joan Baez - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - LINK

Bobby Gentry - Ode To Billie Joe - LINK

Christine McVie - Songbird - LINK

I have seen Angelina Jordan before, though I'd forgotten her name. She's beyond words. Here's another classic from a couple of years later - her "vocal toolbox" of techniques, shadings, etc is broader than many mature singers.

I Put a Spell On You

Edit: She was a finalist on the AGT Champions show last year at age 13, which is probably where most in the US discovered her.

Back to the first post - Floor guesting with Simone Simons & Epica, two stone cold queens of symphonic metal with a fantastic performance:

Sancta Terra with Floor & Simone

It can be quite entertaining to watch "reaction" videos of that B&W version. Some of the reactions are priceless ("Holy shite!" or "What the f*ck? She must be lip-synching."), and have hundreds of thousands of views themselves. For audio purposes I actually prefer one of her other versions of the song.


I discovered her about two years ago when I viewed a live concert vid by Alan Walker (who I had never heard of), "Sunday & Sing Me To Sleep". I listened along to the instrumental, as unaware as the audience was (Walker has had various women sing his songs in concert), then at the 2:25 mark spotlights came up on this little figure in a white hooded cloak who began to sing. Damn, who is this kid who thousands of people are singing along with? She was already such a professional performer.
Sunday & Sing Me To Sleep


And effortlessly crushing Whitney Houston at 13:
I Have Nothing

Susan Tedeschi(Tedeschi Trucks Band) - Angel From Montgomery (John Prine cover)