Grande voice of her own
MUSIC: Hers may be strongest in pop
Perhaps you aren’t one of the nearly 33 million viewers of the official video for the new Disney live-action film Beauty and the Beast.
Ariana Grande and John Legend are now filling the theme song vocal duet roles that Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson handled in the 1991 animated hit. It’s a seamless transition as both singers are near carbon copies of the latter. It’s not an impression, however. Grande fans are well aware of her knack for nailing contemporaries’ vocal styles, making the video clips Internet sensations. And of all her spot-on impressions, none are as good as her take on Dion.
Years spent in Broadway musicals, hit Nickelodeon shows (Victorious, Sam & Cat) and animation voiceover work from Family Guy to Underdogs certainly supplied the artist with the training and skills to mimic and mime. But does this platinum-selling singer have her own thing?
Absolutely and many critics have suggested hers may be the strongest voice in contemporary pop music.
Grande began positioning herself as a singer over being an actor in the now familiar career-building formula of songs on hit TV show soundtracks, then into solo recording as the whole tweenie pop thing petered out.
She passed into pop stardom flawlessly with the debut Yours Truly and its powerhouse leadoff single The Way. What made the track with rapper Mac Miller stand out and debut at No. 1 was the combination of his jester-like flow contrasted with Grande’s light lyric-soprano with a range of four octaves.
While this sort of range is not uncommon in today’s market with its preference for belters, what was instantly notable about Grande’s approach was her restraint and singing to the song rather than using it for displays of vocal gymnastics. Even her whistle register — the highest register of the human voice — was tastefully applied. Early on, she gleaned that her voice opposite a guest MC’s rap was a hit-making template and so has remained a feature of every album since.
Credit Grande’s musical theatre background for giving her an understanding of nuance over showing off. It separated her from most of her power-piped contemporaries and took subsequent albums like My Everything into mega sales.
Of course, some critics complained that her music had now officially grown up and ceased to be kid friendly. Tracks such as Problem, which again features a rapper (sort of ) in the form of Aussie Iggy Azalea, and the fantastic video for Break Free with German EDM producer Zedd, can hardly be considered risque. Timing-wise, Grande hit it just right as those who had adored her as Cat Valentine in Victorious and Cat & Sam were now old enough to be craving something beyond bubble gum hits.
Nothing proved this more than the spectacular smash Bang Bang with Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Grande laying down a totally slamming uptempo R&B that did for all three singers’ careers what Lady Marmalade did for Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya and Lil’ Kim.
Embracing EDM, R&B, funk and tried-and-true power ballads, Grande has managed to hit the Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 with every album, including 2016’s Dangerous Woman. That is the album she is touring in support of when she comes to Vancouver this weekend and the title track is being heralded as one of the show’s highlights.
If her last tour through town is any indication, expect a tight, flashy arena show with the biggest star of the night being Grande’s voice. She didn’t shy away from all the usual dance-o-matic routines, but balanced them well with simple moments of just her voice, spare instrumentation and ballads.
A hit a cappella video for Dangerous Woman shows how she can take even her upbeat material and make it all about her instrument.
Many in the music media have speculated that it is this clearly massive talent that has enabled Grande to avoid catching the same kind of flack for her flesh-baring clothing preference and often suggestive videos. I would suggest that these are all part of the Grande package and have a great deal to do with her exceptional success on social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter.
But that double-edged sword recently cut the other way when Grande got into it with a fan and found herself embroiled in a feud with a number of followers after saying she was the hardest working 23-year-old human being on Earth. Naturally, it all came to nothing. And there was that whole Lindsay Lohan comment about Grande wearing “too much makeup” in an Instagram photo.
Ultimately, Grande just sings — and rolls along — right through the noise.