Javastorm

I've been thinking since we are kind of a male dominated forum something typically known to be sung by a female would be a good twist, but at the same time participation is important.
For gospel, the most familiar song to me is definitely Amazing Grace. I'm agnostic, and that song can really move me. If I were to delve into soul songs that cover gospel topics I could list a lot, but since we went soul last month with Al Green. Soul is in some ways a secularized gospel with a lot of influence coming that direction.   
For pop, I've been more than a bit stumped. I have some good ideas, but a lot are very soul influenced pop. Trying to think of something that isn't Britney and very unappealing to my ears, and also isn't soul. I'd definitely sing this one:

Was going to do the DLG version, but then I thought this song sounds better in the original Italian it was written. Spent a few hours just trying to EQ this hideous backing track so that it could be passable, couldn't find anything better for the remade version of this song. The song itself has a lot of dynamic shifts, unique phrasing, and navigation through the passaggio so it was fun to tackle. Any and all feedback welcome.
https://app.box.com/s/x6kdhnq608v0f5gkvphh9ygtpr4b9cif
Edit: updated the original file

Man, yo've progressed a lot   I like how you sang this song. Also, I agree with Robert on the vowels  
EDIT: Sorry for the shortness, hahah, I don't have much time now, I will give you more insight when I can :3 

There is a dissonance that sounds kind of arty to me in the vocals. It isn't just on the section you mentioned, but earlier on where there is a double vocal they  kind of sit together tensely, but almost consistently so. I wasn't sure if it was intentional. I've heard some artists go for a bit more aggression, darkness, and despair by having vocals more tensely pitched, and it works to my ears, but without the lyrics or intent of the song it's difficult for me to get my ear around it for sure.
If you were to do what Rob said and grab a keyboard and stay on every note, it would resolve the tension and have more of a mainstream sound. It's too tense for radio, but in the right circumstances I can identity with it cause for me a lot of times that's just how life feels as a human being trying to fit into a structured or even mechanically tuned environment. 
Aside from that your voice sounds placed well, has a good timbre, and sounds pretty much in control and in command. I think you fit well into this band and are a good fit for the band's prog style.  You didn't want compositional impressions, but I did think the composition had quite a bit of energy.
As radio music, it's not designed to give listeners enough 'release.' But as a young band making art music. I think it is cool. Sometimes I wish a track like yours would be released on the radio. To challenge listeners and have the ability to reach alienated ears, but it's not to be, and certainly not right now where everything is pitch corrected all the time so a fair portion of tension that used to exist just doesn't exist in music and it's all release, sugary and so forth and fails to express a fair portion of the human experience which isn't all roses and sometimes has conflict.

Prog? Did someone say Prog?!  Me likey... me here!
 
"X"
Great job just getting a band together and writing original songs.. that is an achievement as you know in itself... it is already impressive before the first note plays.  
What language is this? It will shed some insights on the vowels, etc...  
The configuration of your voice; compression, agility, color, etc.. seems good to me. However...  
.... "X", this is pitchy... May I suggest that you stand next to a keyboard for several hours and literally "TOUCH" the notes and see the intervals in your mind... and reinforce these notes... particularly on the verses at first.  And ESPECIALLY FOR POLY-RHYTHMIC STUFF LIKE THIS, YOU ARE SWING OUT THERE PRETTY NAKED TRYING to find melody with this accompaniment, I know it is hard, but all the more reason to stick like glue to a keyboard in the beginning to make sure the notes are right.  
2:52... I like this part... it seems to release the tension that was being built on the versus and it opens up... it "soars" and the melody is simpler and is not pitchy... I recognize that is kind of the idea you were going with, but just reinforcing that it sounded nice... you might want to think about turning up your vocals on this part, it was a bit quiet. A very cool song that could be even more cool IF... the verses at the beginning were tuned a bit better.
I hope this helps bro... Nice work with a  VERY difficult task...

As far as the singing goes, it worked for me for the first minute and a half. After that it sounded like the vocal line was...competing with the rest of the sound rather than carrying it? If that makes sense. The melody felt kind of disjointed in parts, although I don't know if you're going for a melodic sound or an aggressive, dissonant sound. The quality of the vocals seemed good throughout, but I agree about the high melody at 1:48- it didn't sit right with me either. From 3:13ish to the end, it sounded like that section needed a little more closure to really add punch to the sound. The phrasing was good I think, but the melody line could use some work in places to become stronger, depending on what you want. Thanks for sharing! If you can pull this off it will be great.

This is just well done. It's very expressive, even in a foreign language I can hear it sounds authentic and heart felt.
I don't really have any technical advice. There is a slight looseness in a few sections (not pitchiness, just a little free sliding) which I personally like as it gave more humanity to the performance. I think even if your goal was like robotic perfection, your voice sounds already placed well, you're expressive, and it's more what you want to do with your voice.
I think you should just keep doing what you're doing. It's working.

Good stuff! The music sounds better and I did hear some tweaks in the vocals as well. I really enjoy your vocal styling on this song.

Thanks for listening! I listened back to both parts, the climax and the very end with the run, and I realized I was approaching each of them differently - you are right. The climax area was giving me the most problems since I have was having a hard time getting the vowel modification right on the top note in "amore". I think if I thin it out like I did at the end it would work better instead of full forcing the note. I agree it's great to challenge yourself and try to do different things with your voice in different situations, it makes you more of a versatile singer. That's kind of funny about the Don Henley song since it's almost like you have to size your voice down a few notches and relax, haha. Good luck! You have a great belting voice. Thanks again for the response.

Ah, another good Italiano singer... Canto is in the blood in Italy, I know first hand from my clients and teachers in that country...
- I am not familiar with this song, but that is not so important... just saying... 
- A beautiful voice for sure... especially the emotional vibe. You express well.
- I like the windy vocal effect, sounds nice,... good balance.
- Did you do the harmonies on this with multi-tracking, if you did... nice job.
- I like the urgency toward the end.
- There are some notes that could be tuned a bit better, but I'm kind of splitting hairs here... you seem to compensate for that with your passion and interpretation, almost... frequency / pitch is the "constant", it has to be spot on, but you can soften the blow with the fireworks of your passion I suppose.
- On the high "Amore!"... try narrowing the embouchure and "narrowing" the acoustic mass... or lower the energy that you are putting into it... let it amplify, not get louder... don't shout it, amplify it... this is generally how you sing narrowed vowels on high notes. Go to the topic titled "What the hell is a SNILE" that I posted a while back and try singing "Amore" through a SNILE, it helps. Imagine "Amore" as something that is smaller, but amplified like a laser, not shouted like a loud shot gun.
- Love the soulful melisma riff at the end... 
Here is another production tip...
Go out to www.waves.com and purchase the plugin called "Vitamin",... it is affordable and its great for doing a quick , basic mastering of bed tracks to make them sound better and pop a bit.

Thanks for listening! I listened back to both parts, the climax and the very end with the run, and I realized I was approaching each of them differently - you are right. The climax area was giving me the most problems since I have was having a hard time getting the vowel modification right on the top note in "amore". I think if I thin it out like I did at the end it would work better instead of full forcing the note. I agree it's great to challenge yourself and try to do different things with your voice in different situations, it makes you more of a versatile singer. That's kind of funny about the Don Henley song since it's almost like you have to size your voice down a few notches and relax, haha. Good luck! You have a great belting voice. Thanks again for the response.

Was going to do the DLG version, but then I thought this song sounds better in the original Italian it was written. Spent a few hours just trying to EQ this hideous backing track so that it could be passable, couldn't find anything better for the remade version of this song. The song itself has a lot of dynamic shifts, unique phrasing, and navigation through the passaggio so it was fun to tackle. Any and all feedback welcome.
https://app.box.com/s/x6kdhnq608v0f5gkvphh9ygtpr4b9cif
Edit: updated the original file

Very nice job. I wasn't familiar with this song and in spite of my Grandmother actually being from Italy I do not speak 1 word of Italian lol. The vocals were really great overall here. Like I said I don't speak Italian but I could truly hear the emotion in your voice which is a fantastic skill to acquire as a singer  I have one observation, around the 2:40 mark of the song you kind of climax at the bridge and it seems as if you are carrying a bit too much vocal weight into that part of your range and you sound to be straining just a little bit, although it sounds pretty damn good even with that being said. The observation I have ties into at the very end around 4:00 mark you sing a beautifully executed run and you have your voice thinner but full sounding and I really loved that sound in your voice and wonder if you have tried that approach to the bridge before. I say this because you did such a smooth run from a higher part of your range down low with a really great connected sound and the transition between your higher and lower voice was seemless. I appreciate you saying that this song was fun to tackle. I always try to find new songs to work on and challenge myself to figure out where my voice is at and what it does best etc. At the same time trying to learn how to use it better in unfamiliar situations etc. I have been working on Don Henley"s New York Minute recently and it is a hard song for me because he is almost Talk/singing most of the verses etc and not really singing in a way that I am used to singing as I usually sing more Power type singers and even though his voice is quite high like a Whiskey Tenor lol it has character and emotion even with out holding long sustained tones etc. and I am trying to develop the more conversational qualities of my voice, so far I am not doing very well haha.

Great job Ellise! I get more nervous singing in front of family and friends than I do to a room full of strangers haha, you got courage and a fantastic voice. I am sure your family is very proud of your singing.

https://app.box.com/s/97emef1o9vjbw9yl7hz9d8xs27ubnshv
Been going through a lot of 90's singers respective discographies, found the French version of this song and then the Spanish version which was recorded later on in the 2000's. [There's also an Italian version sung by a male Italian singer apparently?] Sang it a fifth below the original Spanish version linked below. Not all of the lyrics in the video are correct, I think but it's right for the most part. Found that it was easier to lighten the top notes of the last few choruses instead of bringing all the weight up. Any and all feedback welcome.
 

Sounds good to me as well, and I agree with ronws about the pitchiness at times and possibly overthinking the words. Keep singing!

Thanks, Musikman!  
Indeed those notes are generally my lowest, it's hard to sing there. I recorded the song because that morning I woke up and felt so low and relaxed that I thought it would be fun to give it a try. hahah . In fact, although I made a few mistakes while recording, I had to live with them, because if I did too many takes, my voice would have warmed up and lost that lowest note, lol

I'm really glad you liked it, it's a tough song and a very dear one to me.
I hope you like the Helloween cover!  I don't have neither all the chest yet to sing it like Andi Deris, and I don't know how to use distorsion for now... but I did my best with my current tools  

Xamedhi, I listened to both tracks and I really enjoyed the Kamelot. This is one of my favorite tracks from them and you do a nice version. I can tell a couple of the low notes in the verses are prob just a bit low for you (as they would be for me as well) try to make sure you keep the overall tone of the notes and support of those notes consistent which I know is hard on lower notes. I will listen to the Helloween and get back on here later with more analysis. Very nice voice, and I really enjoyed your vibrato on the Kamelot song.

Musicals could be fun.
 
"In short, there's simply not
A more congenial spot
For happily everafter'ing
Than here in Camelot."
 

Good job Javastorm!! I made one this morning I thought was decent but  I might do it again soon. I added some reverb but other then that its not messed with. http://vocaroo.com/i/s0o2oSRc97yn

Thanks ron!

Alright, here it is. I'm not the best at recording/mixing guitar given no actual legit setup, but I tried. I recorded the guitar tracks and the vocals separately.
Attempt number 1 - https://app.box.com/s/m1ncquzb6rs5aakyphpc3jl7sgrx0oa2
Edit: Lowered the vocal levels a bit

Awesome, Java. I really liked that.
 

Alright, here it is. I'm not the best at recording/mixing guitar given no actual legit setup, but I tried. I recorded the guitar tracks and the vocals separately.
Attempt number 1 - https://app.box.com/s/m1ncquzb6rs5aakyphpc3jl7sgrx0oa2
Edit: Lowered the vocal levels a bit

Well, what you want to do is to keep your speaking voice active WHILE using this voice. Call it falsetto or headvoice, or M2.  

What I did to find my mix ( a commonly used term for what you want to achieve ) was exercises like "buh, buh, buh" or "muh, muh, muh" on an octave, trying to keep a Patrick Star kind of voice. Or doing those scales feeling like you want to hold smoke in your lungs, or like you're stoned.  This will naturally keep your larynx down

The other is the extreme, is a whiny voice, like "nya, nya, nya" or "nye" ( with an EH, sound not an EE ).. this is the opposite, and will keep your larynx up, but will encourage the activation of your "chest" muscles.  
You can also try to mess around with your tongue out and your mouth open as wide as you can, downwards, not horizontally. 

This mix, will be always easier and safer to achieve if you keep your diaphragm low, feeling like you are still inhaling while making a sound, and try not to expel more air than you need.

I'm not an expert in singing, at all... but these are the things that have helped me. I hope it helps you, mate.