If Aretha is # 1, when it's over is Mary a close second ???

In terms of marketability, selling records, she may rank in the top ten with the likes of Whitney, and Mariah. In terms of vocal ability, she's may not be in the top twenty. There are several singers who have/had far better vocal abilities that did not receive the marketing support Mary got. Phyllis Hyman, Chaka Khan, Gladys KNight, Whitney Houston, Rachelle Farrell etc all have better voices than Mary and could blow her off any stage. Mary has been fortunate to have had people like Diddy who have provided her not only with great music but great public relations and marketing.
 
Mary is not even in the top 50, what does money has to do with talent. I'm so sick and tired of the same old shit who made the most money. In ARETHA days they sold music on their talent. If you look at thing today, some dumb as song Stankey Legs is selllng, gimmick acts. I just wish for one time when someone ask these question that these Special OLYMPICS kids stop bringing up the how much money someome made. Shit Larry Hughes got paid pore then Lebron James 2 season ago, but what did Larry do for the team. Kevin Garnett, Paul PIERCE and Ray Allen is all making around 20 mil this year and guest what so is MARBURY and he comes off the BENCH....
 
Mary has gotten better, and she works hard in her performances, but she still has pitch problems and does half assed adlibs like most of the performers nowadays. The great singers are always on pitch, and can adlib on pretty much any song you give em.
 
The singer with the least vocal improvement in her career has to be Janet.

Sounds the same as her first album.:smh:

Sounds like she never went to a coach in her life.


Shit man. If she looks like THAT, she ain't got to anyway. Even though she comes from a musical family never considered her to be a singer in the first place. Always looked at her as an actress
 
If we're talking singing MJB doesn't make top 30. Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Anita Baker, Adele.....there are sooooo many better singers out there.
 
If we're talking singing MJB doesn't make top 30. Gladys Knight, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Anita Baker, Adele.....there are sooooo many better singers out there.

Adele ain't in this grouping at all. Jennifer Hudson or Jill Scott could take her out.
 
One-hit wonder Teena Marie??? :rolleyes:

I would rather listen to Teena Marie than Mary J any day..
This is music to me... I dont hear anything like this from Mary J
To me Tina is a better live singer and performer than Mary... any day of the week. I have not yet seen a live performance from Mary that has impressed me.
 
I knew as soon as the Queen passed...this subject would again come up...… like I said in the condolence thread.....there will be only one queen.....and there's not even a need to talk about princesses or comparing her ...…. to the queen …..:hmm:


.
 
It s interesting that there has been only one Queen of Soul. No other female singer has ever come close to getting anywhere near that crown.
Aretha was it and she will not be replaced for a long time..... she has effortlessly done other genres of music as well.
 
You East coast dudes are funny. Mary admitted on Dave Letterman she misses notes and shit.

How about you post one song that just shows she can sing. Shows either range control or tonality.

She's just a half note away from rapping to music.
 
The torch has been passed to Beyonce rather y'all want to admit it or not and she's only getting better as she ages. She's in a league of her own and there's really no one close to her. Like her Coachella performance was legendary
 
The torch has been passed to Beyonce rather y'all want to admit it or not and she's only getting better as she ages. She's in a league of her own and there's really no one close to her. Like her Coachella performance was legendary

Beyonce is considered a great PROFORMER.....which is very different from greatest singer. Also as a performer I would say Beyonce still isn't better than Janet Jackson at the top of her career.
 
You East coast dudes are funny. Mary admitted on Dave Letterman she misses notes and shit.

How about you post one song that just shows she can sing. Shows either range control or tonality.

She's just a half note away from rapping to music.

Mary holds her own with real singers and she never lip syncs live.

Damn y’all are making her out to be Paula Abdul and shit.......lol.

 
Beyonce is considered a great PROFORMER.....which is very different from greatest singer. Also as a performer I would say Beyonce still isn't better than Janet Jackson at the top of her career.
The thread is about moving audiences and Nobody Does it Better Than Beyonce and it's been that way for the past 2 decades. And stop hating on Beyonce's vocal abilities she can blow. She's Arethas's replacement and you're just going to have to accept it bro LOL
 
NO!!

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Just skipped over LaBelle, lol. Mary is cool, but she's not in that tier.

IMO, those classic vocalists sing like it's second nature. Their performances make it legendary. And that's what separates them.

So, good luck finding that. If you wanted to do a generational curve, I guess you could go with a Mary J. But she also sang for chicken wraps.:dunno:
 
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Mary? Mary couldn't carry Aretha's charts.

For the last time, the top 4 are Aretha, Gladys, Patti and Stephanie. There are no better R&B female voices. They are transcendent.

Whitney and her cousin Dionne are pop, Minnie doesn't really have a big enough catalog, though they are excellent voices. Fantasia, while very good isn't excellent. She may get there but she's gotta do some work and not just rely on runs and changes. Chaka Khan? Puh-leez. She was good to very good in the 70s and a little of the 80s but her voice was never going to be excellent. Anita Baker? Ha. Ever listen to JUST the vocal track of her songs? She screeches like a cat. Barely a good voice. What she does have is a phenomenal ear. Her attack, phrasing and quotes are terrific. Beyonce will never be more than a good voice. But she is a great performer.
 
The thread is about moving audiences and Nobody Does it Better Than Beyonce and it's been that way for the past 2 decades. And stop hating on Beyonce's vocal abilities she can blow. She's Arethas's replacement and you're just going to have to accept it bro LOL
Diana did that before her without all the dancers.
 
I personally can't think of any 2nd's as of yet but I do know that Mary isn't in that discussion and neither is Beyonce ;Selling records and being promoted 24hr a day does not make you #1 or #2.Mary can carry a few notes but she's no vocalist,Beyonce is what some black's deem pretty and she has decent vocals but she lacks depth,character and just everyday shit most look over.

Roberta Flack to me is the all around package,she writes,she sings,she plays and her life is like a movie.....I'm sure there are other's ,I'm sure there are but I'm not placing a crown on someone because you hear em on the radio which is paid programming to make you like whatever it is their selling.
 
They are in different categories Aretha's voice carries her just over Gladys, Whitney, Roberta Flack, Patte LaBelle and Chaka Kahn. Mary doesn't have the voice to hang with those ladies. As far as music that has impacted the community, Mary is right up there with those and is probably higher than Chaka, and Roberta.

agreed..brah
 
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