Male Sopranos on American Idol

[lbwdog]

Damn!! What up with that?
Seems like all but one of this season's guy contestants are true sopranos. They talk high as well as sing (squeal) high. It's about to drive me crazy.

Seriously, do you think it has something to do with evolution? Hormones? I've noticed in everyday life that younger males seem to have higher speaking voices than just a few decades ago.

Also, singing has gotten to be nothing but vocal acrobatics anymore.

Speaking of acrobatics, anybody notice how much better Martina Mcbride sang the National Anthem at Daytona than Christina A. did at the Super Bowl. No vocal histrionics, just straightforward and in tune (remembered the words too!)

[BlacksHole]

Of course there is the country singer who is a bass, which is rare for a finalist in Am. Idol. The heavyset kid who was only 15 may not have even had his voice change yet. I'd also say there was at least 2 baritones, a couple of 2nd tenors, definitely a few 1st tenors and probably a male alto or two. I think this is the strongest group of singers to make it to the TV rounds that I've seen and I particularly like the guy who plays the string bass while singing (and he surely isn't a male soprano).

[zachoff]

Originally Posted by THUNDERGODX

It's all a part of the Pussification of America.

I don't watch Idol, but I see this in my kids' sports, school, and clubs and I hate it. My daughter's volleyball team had 33 girls join and instead of doing 3 teams where one was good players, one was normal players, and one was bad players they lumped them all together. So now none of them will gain the confidence of a winner and they'll all learn what it's like to be losers. Awesome. Way to support the lowest common denominator. But isn't that American society in the "new millennium"? It's sad.

Oh yeah, and mods... Probably delete this off topic post as well.

[superfunk47]

Wow. That was quick. Not even five posts in, huh?

OP - I think you mean counter tenor (guys don't sing soprano).

Not that I watch Idol. Yech.

[BlacksHole]

In the dark ages when I was in school we used to have 3 basic classes for each subject. A fast/gifted class, a normal class, and a slow class. In this way the smart kids were not held up by those who did not get the particular subject and those who were struggling weren't faced with obstacles that they were not ready for yet. This resulted in a better education for everybody. Keep in mind, that being in a "slow" class did not necessarily mean that the student was stupid. People like Picasso would definitely have been in slow math classes and even Einstein would have been in some slow classes. We should not cater to the lowest common denominator nor shirk our responsibility to segregate people by needs and abilities.

However, this is definitely a sidetrack. The problem with the high squeaky male voices on Idol is representative of what seems to acceptable for rock and this could be exasperated by having Steve Tyler as a judge. I admit that I am getting tired of the super high male vocals in rock and because of this, I am enjoying Country music more than I used to as I prefer the vocal range but at times find the drawl too much.

[lbwdog]

Originally Posted by BlacksHole

Of course there is the country singer who is a bass, which is rare for a finalist in Am. Idol. The heavyset kid who was only 15 may not have even had his voice change yet. I'd also say there was at least 2 baritones, a couple of 2nd tenors, definitely a few 1st tenors and probably a male alto or two. I think this is the strongest group of singers to make it to the TV rounds that I've seen and I particularly like the guy who plays the string bass while singing (and he surely isn't a male soprano).

Right, I didn't say that all of them were "squealers", but it seems a huge majority are. And yeah, some haven't had their voice change yet. There are some excellent vocalists among them.
I liked that bass player too!

Originally Posted by THUNDERGODX

It's all a part of the Pussification of America. There seems to be a plot to put |= @*$ (*=g) and sissies in front of America's young people as much as possible and to glorify their condition while downing straights for their normalcy.
(etc.,etc.,etc.)

Wow!! No comment!

Originally Posted by superfunk47

OP - I think you mean counter tenor (guys don't sing soprano).

I know that! I was being facetious.....

Originally Posted by BlacksHole

The problem with the high squeaky male voices on Idol is representative of what seems to acceptable for rock and this could be exasperated by having Steve Tyler as a judge. I admit that I am getting tired of the super high male vocals in rock and because of this, I am enjoying Country music more than I used to as I prefer the vocal range but at times find the drawl too much.

Rock has had high singers for decades (Robert Plant, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, etc.), but today's crop sound like girls, whether they're sining or talking. I've noticed this in daily life as well. There just seems to be more high voiced males than in the past. That's why I mentioned evolution. Or maybe it's hormones in the food we consume.
"Oh baby I just don't know"