Terminology for American Idol contestant voice quality

[juliansader]

Hi everyone,

One of this year's American Idol contestants, Didi Benami, regularly shifted her voice between a soft, breathy timbre (presumably a variant of 'soft-closure neutral', in CVI terminology) and a much edgier, sharp timbre. I am curious to know what the terminology for this sharp timbre is, according to CVI, Estill or any other system...

Even though the volume doesn't change much when she shifts between the two timbres, the difference is timbre is much greater than in other examples of 'twang' or 'metal' that I have heard, so I am not sure what to call it.

I have uploaded an excerpt from her performance of 'Terrified' that demonstrates the sharp timbre on the words "Through the lonely" and the last part of the word "side". ("Lonely" also has a rather nasal quality.)

http://www.speedyshare.com/files/23070478/Didi_Benami_Terrified_Excerpt.mp3

Thanks!

[Snax]

I'd just like to point out that unless you are listening to a singer with absolutely no compression it is very hard to tell the actual volume level differences when they change modes etc. The vocal compression effect used on pretty much every singer we hear acts to even out the volume levels.

[Jens]

Well actualy there's not that much of a shift in my ears, shes adding abit of hold and some small ammount of twang. CVT would probably describe it as a shift from neutral to curbing.

[Mr Bounce]

I'd just like to point out that unless you are listening to a singer with absolutely no compression it is very hard to tell the actual volume level differences when they change modes etc. The vocal compression effect used on pretty much every singer we hear acts to even out the volume levels.

This is a good point. You can can easily hear the reverb/delay effects used on American Idol singers. Is there also compression? EQ? Hell, pitch correction (autotune) can be done live, so it's interesting to think about how "live" the performances are when you're at a show or even trawling Youtube for great vocalists!

EDIT: As for Didi's vocals, I am far from an expert, but in SS terms, she sings mostly in the "mix," or a musical theater buff might say in the "mask." Neutral larynx, adequate airflow, not too much overall constriction, and plenty of that pharyngeal resonance to make the voice ring like a bell.

Actually I really admired the quality of her mix during the season. She was pitchy but had a fantastic clarity to her tone when she got it right.