Vocalists whose voices remind you of Hayley's?

[petertong]

Hi Folks,

I've hardly run across anyone with a voice like Hayley's but so far the closest for me is Sharon den Adel. She really has just a beautiful voice!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhzJO34SCoc&NR=1

Am I hearing things? Anyone else have a voice that reminds you of Hayleys?

[Joe]

Hi Peter,

Sharon does have a lovely voice...the video is remarkable!

Thanks for sharing,
Joe

[Cherany]

She doesn't really remind me of Hayley, but a lovely voice, indeed! I will check out the CD.

[postscript]

Hi Peter T.

It is always good to listen to others to ensure one is being objective when one discusses Hayley, so thanks for bringing Sharon to notice. Joe is clearly in agreement with you but I regret I am not which brings us to the question of subjectiveness in our respective hearing. To me Sharon indeed has a listenable voice but in comparing her with Hayley I detect a hard edge to Sharon's voice which is most definitely missing in Hayley's. Sharon lacks the mellifluousness of Hayley's voice.

I don't have a sample reference to hand to which I can direct people but the girl I have my eye on for future development as she matures is Faryl Smith. She has a similar bell-like gold quality to Hayley. I have used in a previous post the clarinet/oboe description of voices. Where I have placed both Hayley and Dame Malvina as clarinets and Kiri as oboe voices, I would put Sharon at that half-way point where, if you had no direct knowledge you would be uncertain as to whether it was a clarinet or an oboe. There is a range of notes where these two instruments sound very similar. I would place Sharon at that point where she has that subtle hardness that turn clarinet sound into an oboe instrument.

Fiona Wight on the other hand does not have that hardness but also lacks the roundness and depth of colour that Hayley has. If I were to continue my instrument analogy I would not place her in either category. That is not to dismiss her but to say she is a competent singer but just that, another girl who can sing very well but lacking the uniqueness that makes Hayley stand out.
Peter S.

[pjrcorreia]

I agree that Sharon has a lovely voice, and curiously Within Temptation have a cover of a Kate Bush song too (Running Up That Hill), but to me IMHO there isn't anything like Hayley's voice, not even closest!

Paulo Correia

[petertong]

Hi Peter,

I've definitely not run across anyone with a voice that sounds as good to my ears as Hayley... but sometimes I'll come across people that come close in certain ranges only. To me Sharon sounds similar at the start of the video... but once she goes higher it certainly seems more hard edged and forced than Hayley like you mentioned (who seems effortless and whose voice has a softer quality up there)... I'm not as good as using words as you so I'm not sure if I'm describing it correctly.

I've heard a few clips of Faryl but she didn't have the wow effect on my ears (first encountered when listening to Hayley) even though she sounded great and seems like a very nice person to boot.

I'll have to check out Fiona Wight.

best regards, Peter T

PS: Sharon like Hayley also does great live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVRo75byM5M

Jan 5, 2009 10:12:03 GMT postscript said:

Hi Peter T.

It is always good to listen to others to ensure one is being objective when one discusses Hayley, so thanks for bringing Sharon to notice. Joe is clearly in agreement with you but I regret I am not which brings us to the question of subjectiveness in our respective hearing. To me Sharon indeed has a listenable voice but in comparing her with Hayley I detect a hard edge to Sharon's voice which is most definitely missing in Hayley's. Sharon lacks the mellifluousness of Hayley's voice.

I don't have a sample reference to hand to which I can direct people but the girl I have my eye on for future development as she matures is Faryl Smith. She has a similar bell-like gold quality to Hayley. I have used in a previous post the clarinet/oboe description of voices. Where I have placed both Hayley and Dame Malvina as clarinets and Kiri as oboe voices, I would put Sharon at that half-way point where, if you had no direct knowledge you would be uncertain as to whether it was a clarinet or an oboe. There is a range of notes where these two instruments sound very similar. I would place Sharon at that point where she has that subtle hardness that turn clarinet sound into an oboe instrument.

Fiona Wight on the other hand does not have that hardness but also lacks the roundness and depth of colour that Hayley has. If I were to continue my instrument analogy I would not place her in either category. That is not to dismiss her but to say she is a competent singer but just that, another girl who can sing very well but lacking the uniqueness that makes Hayley stand out.
Peter S.

[ironman]

Hayley is top dog, nobody can compare, everyone can quit trying to sing, you'll never be better.

I hate classical music but I cant help but listen to Hayley so she must have the best voice to make me want to listen to that style of music.

[petertong]

Maybe Hayley should try singing a symphonic rock song like Sharon

Jan 6, 2009 4:42:04 GMT ironman said:

Hayley is top dog, nobody can compare, everyone can quit trying to sing, you'll never be better.

I hate classical music but I cant help but listen to Hayley so she must have the best voice to make me want to listen to that style of music.

[postscript]

Hi Peter.

Sharon is certainly an attractive young woman and has good poise, in those aspects I think she has a lot to offer and raises once more this preconception that Hayley needs to change her image. While Sharon exhibited less mastery of herself while waiting her cue on the long lead in to the example you quoted she has the 'Hayley style' of composure but had that been Hayley there would not have been the fiddling uncertainty of what pose to strike while waiting her cue. Hayley's movement, IF she made any would have flowed with greater certainty. I liked the 'old-style' momentary positioning of her hands behind her back. If Hayley had done that those hands would have stayed there and while she may well have jigged her feet in accompaniment to the tune she would have remained in that pose until she started to sing.

Peter S.

[Tin]

Ah, I remember this video; I was shown this by another Hayley fan who happened to like bands like Within Temptation. Honestly I don't think anyone's voice reminds me of Hayley's. At most I can only say little Connie Talbot reminds of me of Hayley back to the My Gift to You era, but not now.

Tin

[stevemacdonald]

Interesting topic, but I think it almost belongs in the "Other Music" section.

But anyway -- the only voice that truly reminds me of Hayley's doesn't actually sound that much like Hayley, but has a similar uniqueness, if that makes any sense. It belongs to Finland's Saara Aalto.

[timj]

Sissel, like an more mature Hayley........TimJ

[postscript]

Jan 6, 2009 19:18:03 GMT timj said:

Sissel, like an more mature Hayley........TimJ

You prompted me to look her up and interestingly I found this in her bio:

Later in 2002, they went on to record 'Ave Maria' from Intermezzo by Mascagni. A year later she recorded another Ave Maria, this time by Schubert, with Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and a third Ave Maria, solo, for a Japanese car commercial!

While familiar with the intermezzo I have never heard it in the context of an Ave Maria.

Does that mean (cross-threading with my reference in the RoD thread) there are four possible Ave Marias were Hayley to do a combined set as a possible Christmas special?

May I suggest anyone wishing to comment further on this aspect do so under the RoD thread, where I'll copy this in another form?

In the mean time I have not had time to follow through Sissel, I need to close for the evening, although I am previously aware of her and will further follow up your suggestion, Tim.

Peter S.

[Dave]

Tim and Peter,

Yes indeed and that's part of the reason why we allowed a Sissel board

hwi.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=sissel

That is a perfect description Tim, I have always seen Sissel as "a more mature Hayley" (though I knew of Sissel first!) and I suspect that Hayley will be around in the music business for a very long time, too.

Cheers, Dave

[petertong]

Thats the strange thing with this subjective hearing business...

I love Sissel, but her voice doesn't remind me of Hayleys at all...

I've only heard a few clips of Saara Aalto... they were very nice - doesn't remind me of Hayley.

I absolute love listening to Connie Talbot lol... but her voice is definitely not like Hayleys....

I guess I think I'll bang my head against a wall before starting a thread like this again folks