Rosa

I had never spent time developing the skill of writing songs. I just didn't know where to start. After forcing myself to sit with my guitar and a keyboard as a guide, somehow I was able to finish this song in one sitting in a strange burst of inspiration that evolved as the process happened. I can provide the lyrics if anyone needs or it's not clear enough. I recorded the guitar tracks separately from the vocals. Please let me know if it's dragging/keeps interest and how the arrangement and phrasing sounds in general.
https://app.box.com/s/wa3y2ko2t12r1o45nancvht8bvao89yq
Second Mix: https://app.box.com/s/fugwx3wytme34ft03na23b85msmacs01

MDEW, I remember I once said this is one of Bee Gees' songs I can sing. But that was before I really tried.  Good Job!!!  

I was listening now to the "Oh Darling" vocals version of Paul McCartney you linked, and I thought "Hey Paul McCartney sounds like KillerKu a bit".  

That whistle at the end is impressive, Javastorm. Well, your whole rendition of the song! Singing Mariah Carey...wow.  
You've worked this song really thoroughly and it shows in the result. Bravo! 

For a few months now I've been trying to get accustomed to vocalizing and controlling pitch in whistle register, and at this point I can say, although the amount of time I can access it in a day seems limited, it's requiring less mental effort and becoming more intuitive to use this part of my voice. Using it in songs is another story, but for the songs I've worked on with them included, the whistle sections are among the first things I record since I find towards the end of a session it becomes impossible to utilize. By working with these songs with whistle phrases it's a way of challenging myself stamina-wise and forces me to try to recognize when to rest. The goal ultimately is to be able to have the freedom to use it whenever though, I guess as it develops.
The whistle in this song is part of a longer phrase and towards the very end, contains a trill/run sort of ending and is part of a transition from chest to whistle on the same note two octaves apart which probably made it easier. Did all of the background vocals on this also. Any and all feedback welcome.
https://app.box.com/s/gyy466kqtc0g4gruinhex8k0favyih11

This is just a draft. It is late I am tired and it is what it is. I just wanted to give proof that I am working on something.
 Be kind give tips................ Thanks.
 

I like Jeremy's version cause it has just a hint of escalating intensity as the pitch ascends while being emotive and palatable  You've made progress, man.  It's not an not an ugly sound nor overly pretty either so it has some edge with a song that might sound a bit sappy.  
Me, I  wanted to do a spontaneous one take thing singing and playing guitar cause those are the skills I've been wanting to work on lately.   
https://app.box.com/s/n6u41ddi8na8ovbtwvq8lntst132kxz6
It was only afterward I realized I hadn't checked the mic sensitivity properly so I clipped in a few loud parts. Sad. But hopefully I learned my lesson. If you're determined to do one take, it's even more important to check mic levels.

Here's a song I've been working on in the studio. I really liking the way it"s turning out. I have to go back for an hour or two and fix a few things and make a few tweaks but its sounding pretty cool I think. The song took me about 15 minutes to write and it's turning out to be one of my favorites. I love how all the instruments are coming together.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0uKdHc6dVQQ

I know that song, Jeremy, and you sound great there!
And looks like you are the only one who knows how to sing some Bee Gees here.   

I tried multiple times for a cover and I was bad every cover haha... although I do have this one which is kinda alright but it's a pretty unknown tune: http://picosong.com/NAQD/  Kinda cheesy early 60s Bee Gees tune rather than the crazy disco stuff everyone knows.

I like the song! I'll be here for the voting.  

I accept your challenge!!!!! What are the rules? Is it backing track only, or acoustic, or maybe acapella? 

Who wants to challenge me to a friendly competition to see who can record a better version of Death of a Bachelor by Panic at the Disco!  This song has a killer chorus that is really fun to sing but easy to mess up so if anyones up to it this could be fun.  I'd also be happy to accept any challenges on members favorite songs!
 

@emme207 I've been listening to versions of "At Last". Beyoncé has one, Cristina Aguilera another. I can see that it is a very difficult song that you make look easy.  I am appreciating more and more the style in which you sing it. It's lighter and sweeter. Different! 
Do you know Sarah Vaughan? You might like her songs.
 

This could become a thing. Onto the review.
I can start with some of what interests me about it. I like the rough, harsh quality of the vocal, it has a defiantly independent quality to it and for me that quality sits very well with the subject matter. Everyone has flaws, rough qualities, or harsh qualities, and often times we are rejected for those reasons. Perfection is easier to love. Most people aren't rejected because they are too perfected. 
However, while I think that quality is important, I do think the backing track has this polished quality that is a bit at odds with it so it creates a bit of dissonance. I think keeping some of the tonal roughness, while ironing out a bit of the pitch and timing might mesh better. Maybe even a slightly more polished production on the vocal with a bit more reverb and perhaps delay. In my head I hear a middle ground, a slightly rougher, dirtier (imperfect) backing track, and a slightly more polished (still imperfect) voice might find a middle ground where the two could meet and agree on the expression.
That said, I can feel the heartfelt qualities in the performance and there are times when it works completely for me musically, but other times feels a bit in congruent. If you keep training you'll likely get the expression congruent cause I can already hear it in there, it's just not quiet held together all the time for me yet.

I liked this. I hadn't gotten to hear your voice much yet. It's a great timbre, good song, and good rendition.
The only thing, and I'm not sure if it's production, but I'd have preferred just a bit more dynamics. Like a bit more contrast between say a wispier timbre and a full throated bass/baritone thing.
It might depend on how far away you are from the mic. It's just preference, but when I hear Cash, he has a relatively limited pitch range, but the volumes are quite varied per pitch, so there's kind of a rhythmic syncopation to the volumes. I think it helps a lot on songs with limited pitch range. Close micing can help bring out those differences.
 

This is a good direction. I can give you a few different ideas for compression. Something I like to do is use a lighter compression (lower ratio, maybe 2/1) with a slower attack time as a primary compressor. The reason why the attack time is slow is so consonants don't get eaten and some dynamic range is preserved.
Then I will set a second compressor at a higher volume more serving as a milder 'limiter.' This will have a faster attack time to catch huge spikes in the really loud parts. I've found when using a single compressor it will often 'squash' the dynamic range and/or have a tendency to eat consonants.
Some producers ride volume for every word, but I like to keep the original 'vocal dynamics' intact for the most part.  
The other thing you might benefit from is a richer reverb. It still sounds pretty dry. And possibly some kind of double tracking. Delay can work in a pinch. What you'd do is have one main track of vocals without delay, and have one track of vocals with delay but quietly playing (imperceptible to most people) and panned.
Microphones are generally mono recording devices. Imagine if you are in the same room with someone, you'll hear the voice in both ears from a different wavelength, different angles, and there will be lots of reverberation/reflection throughout the room. When the voice goes straight into the mic, it's like if it were possible to have both of your ears right at someone's mouth. A lot of the production tricks are to simulate those other qualities where each ear would be hearing a different reflection pattern than a single mono mouth in each ear.
In particular softer/headier voices generally use more production to give them a bit more 'space.' It's been done for a very long time. I listen to a lot of Thom Yorke, and if I had a raw vocal of his it would sound tiny. But even his smallest voices can sound 'wide and encompassing' due to techniques like that.
For the technique thing, keep singing. You've made huge progress since arriving here. It will keep happening.

I'm a huge fan of human timing, human pitching, and vocal originality. I dislike arbitrary rules taking precedents over human expression. That said, Smells like Teen Spirit is a bit over the top for me. I think locking into the rhythm and pitch a bit closer would connect with me more personally. However, I hear a kernel of an identity in there that is distinct and could be polished.
Sweet Child O Mine is closer. I think the yodeling is a great vocal quality for you to develop. The pitch is much better, but the phrasing is consistently rushed. Think of rhythm as a give or take. It helps if you rush to lag a bit later. I think of it kind of like borrowing time.
I have to say I'm very excited to see where you go. I already know these are more stylistic than technical hurdles. You're fearless and willing to try radically different forms of expression in order to find yourself and you emote very clearly in music. Like rhythm, style is often a question of how far away you can get from convention without alienating.
Singing for me in itself can be very bland and vanilla. Voice goes to note on rhythm. Woo. But you've got the spark and the passion for something more. The searching and yearning so that really excites me.

I really, really liked At Last. It sounded gleeful, eager, anticipating, earnest and yearning. The Coldplay song was pretty good, but your voice sounds a bit bigger than that song to me and fits more in a jazzier place to my ears. I've said before a big Sinatra fan, and a big Beatles fan, but Frank often sounded a bit 'confined' when covering Beatles songs. . 
I admire your desire to have a unique vocal style. I'm exactly the same way and the singers that engage me most have strong identity and unique characteristics. I've had a preference for strong character singers over vanilla traditional singing from a very early age. But none of them rolled out of bed at 3 years old into these characters, it is developed over a life time. 
I do have a question though, what kind of microphone are you using and what sort of recording setup are you using? There is a mid range boost that sounds a bit karaoke to me. Your diction is not particularly pronounced but certain compressors can eat consonants  and certain mics can lack articulation. I'd suggest a condenser mic of some kind for recording. A lot of singers I like have mushy diction (Thom Yorke, Joe Strummer). It can be a stylistic choice, but getting any technological barriers out of the way could help you hear best what you sound like when developing your style. You're more than good enough at singing at this point to justify getting an accurate representation of what you sound like. It's not just for our ears, but for yours.

emme207, I am going to explain what I meant before because I think you didn't understand what I mean: if you change famous songs very much, some people won't like it at all and can even perceive it as off pitch. Some others will see it as personal style and like it. This same thing can happen with the jury of the Voice and you'll have to analyze the risks carefully and make sure it is not perceived as off-pitch by people.
Having a personal style is a great aim to have. It must be easier to achieve with your own songs than with others' though. It still can be done with famous songs, but working them very carefully. 

That way of thinking is correct, and the right one to propel you to improve, but trust your pitch, I say! I am not your family and truly like you. 
You can experiment and see if your family and friends also like some difference in style...because what they like is that you sing VERY WELL.  

She didn't sound off pitch to me in the other songs either...  emme207, there's an important lesson to learn in all this since you want to go to the Voice or similar: many people (singers included) are going to see you as off-pitch if you make the song too much yours, so there is a risk in it. Making it yours is something to strive for in my opinion, and I liked that about your style very much, but we can see the risks.
I've truly seen you as a fantastic singer all along, but I am afraid I don't have the tools to help you more. That's something Robert can do. So take the criticism as a possibility for improvement.
Prepare something for the Challenges! I believe you still can sing something much much more difficult, something everybody can understand it is very difficult, like Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston...some great song.

Rosa, thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind words! I also believe you are spot-on correct in what you said about how this is a lesson to learn. I think what I am realizing is that the highly trained, professional ear will notice all the flaws (which is expected, since they are of course experts) and the average person tends to not pick up on these things as much and kinda just appreciates the raw talent and not all the technical things in a performance. The feedback I have gotten from other people, friends, etc. who are not professionals tends to be extremely positive and they all swear up and down I could go on The Voice with a lot of success. My boyfriend (obviously biased of course :P) fell in love with my voice long before we were dating. I keep telling these various people that I need improvement and further training for sure before anything like The Voice happens, but they all think I could do it now. Haha. Now, I am not at all naive and I plan to train a lot more before that happens because personally I know I need work because I've done research and I realize I don't sound professional. I just say all this to demonstrate that your point, and that I think you are dead right.

So with all that said, I'm definitely going to start going for a more professional route but still keep my unique style and tone, because that's what my family, friends, and the average untrained ear seem to love about my voice. I just need to polish it up and work on technicalities with the right tools and professional teacher.

Now I am confused. Are you sure you are the same singer as the rock thread? Because in these, the pitch and timing was great. Granted, like MDEW, I would have like more clear articulation on the Cold Play song. But you did Etta James right with your voice and your style.
So, I don't get it. Was the other thread to throw us off so that you can show that you actually have some chops? It would not be the first time. A "sleeper" like the 68' Mustang I used to have. It had body panels replaced by my step-grandfather who did not do a good job with his home-grown paint job. But the 289 small block and Holley 2 barrel would punch and run like a scalded ape. I smoked a BMW and a Cutlass 442 with that. In fact, the only person who beat me was a college mate and she had a '69 Mustang El Grande with a 302 Cobrajet. But I digress..
Also, I think this style of torchy ballads works for you, especially with your penchant for creaks and glottal stops that are so popular in pop music today.