You can't have the good without also having the bad, after all. A look at various riffs and runs sung by some pop singers.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Riffs, runs, melisma... a double edged-sword
1:41 Beyonce
2:22 Fifth Harmony
3:37 Camila Cabello
3:44 Shawn Mendes
3:54 Tori Kelly
4:24 Justin Bieber
4:52 Ariana Grande
5:15 Demi Lovato
5:47 Wendy (Red Velvet)
5:58 Christina Aguilera
6:31 Halle Bailey
6:39 Keke Wyatt
6:52 Mariah Carey
7:19 Jessie J
7:55 Madison Beer
8:23 JoJo
8:52 Brandy
9:01 Morissette Amon
9:15 Steve Mackey, Avery Wilson
9:36 Little Mix
10:00 Outro
Part 2! kzhead.info/sun/qt1xf7amqGtjl5s/bejne.html Part 3! kzhead.info/sun/gpSretxrrZ18Zq8/bejne.html
I like John Lennon’s vocal. And also Ian Brown, Damon Albarn, Liam Gallagher, Bobby Gillespie, Paul Weller.....
Every one of these singing performers have vocal coaches. Even Celine Dion and Arianna Grande.
?
How about Noel Gallagher?
I was confused on how you were rating precision? What is precision in music? Is it how a performer starts their run or is it something else? Thank you for this video and I hope you write back.
I love Celine's face when she messes up that run at the beginning. She's like dang that was bad and laughed at her own self 🤣
She's too cute
But that doesn't feel very bad. It just felt it was simpler
Lmfao that’s me when my voice cracks I have to stop singing because I be help but crack up
Ikr she really does have a great personality
Omg she was so cute when she did that hahaha
What I call bad musicality is a singer interrupting their own song. That's how it feels. It's like they're saying "Hold on a min for me to do these unnecessary notes real quick". If you're doing it right it doesn't feel that way. It'll compliment the song instead of interrupt it
Bad musicality leads to oversinging.Because you are improvising at the wrong timing.Its the reason why mariah sounds pleasant because she has musiciality and knows where to improvise and not go out of pitch
👏👏
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 YES, that's such a great way to put it!! I hate to see my favorites in concert, anticipating them playing a specific song...only for them to RUIN it with unnecessary ad libs.😩😮💨😒
Yep. Vocal runs usually suck. Especially during the National Anthem
That is the core of every Christina Aguilera performance lol. Even as a child, I felt for such a big voice, her runs were surprisingly unlistenable
As a harmonizer, camila's runs and riffs were always annoying af. She's been adding them EVERYWHERE, to EVERY song, EVERY performance always. And they are annoying just to listen. But Dinah is just WOW.
AGREED! I always felt like I was the only one who felt this way
finally. someone who thinks the same. she's so extra. it's annoying every song she sings even if shes the original artist
What was that sound she did?
Honestly don’t agree at all. Camila always brought something cool to
@@jordanhaller8973 it's your opinion and it's totally fine. I personally don't agree but you obviously can have different thinking about the situation
Mariah Carey is simultaneously one of the best things and one of the worst things to ever happen to pop music. The problem is, she was SO good that everybody else started trying to sing like her. And they can't. She's a one-in-a-billion talent.
Could not have put it better myself. She set the bar waaayyy too high. If this were a video game, all her skills and stats would be through the roof that you'd think she was a hacker. Everyone tries to emulate, but none can duplicate.
@@pumkinseed5172 good analogy - Mariah is the final boss.
@@andrewmark2783 was***
@@michaeladams6962 it doesn't matter. But no one can get close to her worst. She remains the lagend! Long live Mariah! ❤
@@michaeladams6962 why *was?
putting tori after fifth harmony was such a breath of fresh air 😭🙏
It's your praying hands for me😭😂
@@onyinyeo.4728 gotta thank god for tori kelly 😭
How can I master the art of shading.
5h has decent runs the vid chose pretty bad examples
lolll
Mariah’s runs are so beautifully connected to the music and suits her voice
This kzhead.info/sun/qtibk8WPpauYras/bejne.html
brandy's really incredible, she manages to be so inventive and take real risks with her runs but she always manages to resolve her notes so swiftly.
Should really have had more of her. She is the VOCAL BIBLE!
@@shanelaure6774 what song was that?
She definitely took risks even to the point of running. over someone literally.
Yes, I love Brandy! Very smart vocalist! Beautiful voice!
@@riverx6802 she never ran anyone over, maybe you should google the actual facts.
I like Mariah Carey"s runs and riffs. They make me feel comfortable
they flow out of her mouth like a river or something sooo beautifully
Same. I sometimes prefer runs thats extreme like JJ, CA. Etc
@@MineCraft-nz9pg What are JJ and CA?
@@angel127_ They are fit the song melody and she has more than one hundred runs and riffs I think, each song has different runs
Mariah Carey is the queen.
Mariah has the most fluid riffs and runs and most of the time, it's so subtle and she doesn't show it off.
And when she shows up no one realizes bc of how well her runs fit into her songs
@@fabiansw9331 exactly. If you listen to a song like "Heartbreaker", baby girl is really ad libing from start to finish. She's literally singing non-stop from start to finish. You have the lead vocal, her veering off the lead vocals to do riffs and runs AND the accompanying adlibs & backing vocals in the background....... yet it doesn't feel like it's too much. That's because, unlike most singers, Mariah really strives to be one with the music. She never wants to sound as if she's in competition with the body of music she's singing. She truly gets into a song and makes it so that each note sounds as if it's meant to be there. That is truly what sets her apart from the vast majority of other singers. In my personal opinion the only others who stand with her as being Supreme vocalist who understand how to truly sing a song would be Whitney Houston and Aretha Franklin. Aretha, Mariah and Whitney have a level of musicality that I have never heard from another singer, regardless of how talented those other singers may be. They usually lack musicality and that is what sets Mariah-no-middle-name-Carey apart from everyone else in this video.
She can go so fast sometimes that you have to rewind to sound everything out and pick out the details
@@13579hee OMG YES!!! The whole Butterfly album... the ad-libs in Breakdown, Babydoll, The Roof were RIDICULOUS ...they had melodies of its own but they always stayed connected & never strayed far off from the actual lead chorus' tunes. Ive found Brandy to be pretty good too... always found her pleasant to listen to.
And she could do all those in her entire 5 octave vocal range without drop in quality of the tone.
wow, did not expect to see Wendy here :o guess it means that run at the end of RBB really is one of the more complex runs, she did so good. thanks for including her!!
OMGGG YASSS queen wendy
I really didn't expected RV here i was like what he added the Queens here and Wendy is one of my favourite singers i was so happy
im so proud of her. coming on top and as good as western artists. wendy we love you /srs
Especially considering she was dancing
Other K-pop groups may not have something to analyze. Unfortunately some people don't like RV since most of their songs are difficult to sing.
Mariah has perfect pitch and perfect pitch memory, saw a bunch of live acapella mini vids during the pandemic, she sounds EXACTLY the same as the record... Perfect tempo, pitch, everything! It's insane to witness! You could play the record along the acapella performance and she doesn't miss a beat!
I love how this shows how much Beyoncé's musicality has improved over the years 😁
Ikr
I've always said this! After dream girls, her voice came through along with her musicality.
@@hunterchampion5433 yes. She makes way better choices.
She still kind of reverts to some old tropes when she sings live but she’s gotten much better
@@Gsibingo like what
I'm so glad you added "musicality" to this. There are so many people who are great singers but they have no musicality. This is truly what sets Mariah apart from the vast majority of the singers in the world. The thing that made Mariah, Whitney and Aretha the greatest singers of all time and their musicality. It was simply unmatched. They knew how to compliment a song.
True. They would throw in runs only when it fit. Never just to show off.
@@erintoney7137 simply put, they knew how many sachets of sugar are exactly needed for their tea/coffee
Mariah and Aretha are/were definitely the best at the that!
Truth
What the hell is musicality?
love that wendy had improved by the second clip. it's definitely a difficult run and i love how she tries her best every time. she's a great singer but it just shows there's ALWAYS room for improvement. stan red velvet
Why would she add it in the song if it's hard for her tho ? Like...what's the point?
@@ungegreier1802 she didn't make the song lol, whoever wrote/composed it did
she had a nice vocal run (I think, idk), in singing the intro of "All I Want for Christmas is You"
@@user-nm9yj8rg7x omg ikr, that video is literally legendary 😫✨
She’s only going to get better the more she sings! The vocal chords is a muscle! She’s going sound amazing.
4:31 his reaction to Justin's riff kills me lmao
Toris voice is just perfection She’s literally like an angel vocally
Omg I agree…. Just perfection.
and soulful might i add, which helps alot for when she is singing ballads. gotta have that soul
Celine's face is me if I could actually sing and messed up a run
7:07 i love the transition between her singing voice and speaking (laughing) voice. She has such a range
I love that this shows how even great singers have improved over the years.
I think the longer a run is, the harder it is to maintain the musical structure of the song and make it sound in place, but the ones who do it well sound like... beyond amazing.
Tori Kelly I know that’s right
mimi:)
Normani's vocal agility has such potential. Dinah and Tori's agility though. Oh my goodness 😍
IkR i was just saying this i can’t waittt to hear vocals from this debut album !
dinah's ok but tori is just too much for me and i like it lmao😅
Demi and Xtina may not have the best control on their voices, but their vocals are far from being bad. their style is so unique and powerful.
I know you do primarily pop music but I’d love to see you explore some gospel/RnB specifically for runs because that’s where the money is at. A lot of pop singers are inspired by RnB singers for their musicality (like Tori and Ari) and I’m interested to see how you’d analyze more ppl like brandy and Keke wyatt who made an appearance in this video.
Tori is not really a pop singer to begin with. She’s more soul/RnB/gospel and has always credited gospel singers in teaching her how to sing as a child, which is why she sings the way she does-very soulful and gospel-esque even before she dropped the gospel album.
Tori Kelly is a gospel singer, boo. She has been since like 2017.
Why did I burst out laughing when I saw Demi had negative everything for the “Get Back” run 😭😭
me too, demi needs to slow down ☠️
Same gurl💀
I swear saw you Inna comment section on instagram
@@SibuSibiya me?
@@alphonsine276 yes you,you was commenting on popfications post on lisa new song right?
Mariah, Jessie J, Tori & Beyonce are top tier.
Brandy, Jojo and Avery are so good too
@@joshuarodriguez9477 absolutely!
Céline is also great, whether it's belting, head-voice or normal chest voice her runs and riffs are always very sleek, and she can do them live even at 50 years old.
@@icydelight3693 cool
@@icydelight3693 agree
Singing Mariah’s song especially her older songs, through them, I’ve taught myself how to do riffs and runs. I’m pretty good at them now :)
I will never get tired of Mariah's runs and riffs
*Bad riffs & Runs:* Hey 👋 *Mariah Carey:* I DON'T KNOW HER 💅
Demi: hey bestie ❤
The shade💅
@@adenosinetriphosphate6167 Mariah: I don't know her either
Mariah has a lot of bad riffs, there's a lot of vids here on KZhead and it's normal.
@@factpreacher5691 Kindly provide links of "lots of bad riffs"...
6:52 I think that run deserves (+++) across the board! It's up there among some of Mariah's smoothest & most precise runs.
She intentionally did it to make it jazzy and it was so so good. Best artist!
Yes! It was so bluesy and jazzy! Perfectly put in place with the strings and the piano! She's THE Mariah Carey after all ♥️♥️♥️
Exactly! Perfect pitch, precision and musicality. After seeing anything else than tree +++, I began to question his judgement for the entire video.
That was undeniably just WOW
it literally sounds like water omfg
Mariah Carey and Torry Kelly got me always,when it riff and run.they are both angelic😲🌹✨
It's Jessie J for me! ❤️ She sounds very raw and authentic. I love that about her vocal prowess.
Mariah, Jojo and Tori’s runs are so fast and crisp they sound autotuned, their musicality always make their runs sound like a must-do in their songs, not like an oversing
True tho
I'm sorry but neither JoJo nor Tori Kelly have the musicality of a Mariah Carey. They literally do too many runs and and they often dont compliment the song. There's a reason she doesn't sing like them. She knows that it's too much and will overshadow the body of Music. Mariah never wants to sound like she's competing against the music nor does she want to sound as if the music is simply ornamental in the background or something overpowering her..... she strives to be one with the body of music and you can tell.
@@13579hee I’m not saying their musicality is equal to each other, I’m saying their musicality share a common ground where it never cause them to oversing, at least in my taste, of course Mariah would eclipse them both, they both struggled with her songs
@@13579hee Mariahs light tone helps her a lot. Having a heavier voice makes runs more obvious.
@@13579hee nobody even said that?
Am I the only one that feels embarrassed whenever they miss a note, or go flat at the end? I can't even being to imagine what it must feel like doing it yourself in front of hundreds and thousands of people. I would vanish into a cloud of shame.
You're not the only one. 🤣🤣
Same
You are not the only one 😭😂
Fifth harmony was kind of painful except Dinah
when camila left, they suddenly became 50x better jshsjjsjs
@@hihiwitchi I agree, Camila's voice doesn't suit in the group. It's not that its overpowering the other girls but she just doesn't blend with them. I dont know if she don't want to blend or she just simply isn't made to be in the group. She is better as a solo artist.
😭
@@pandaexpresstae1147 good for her then
and lauren before weed
This is ONE EPIC video! Thank you Also, so happy to see JoJo in this!!
i like how you were extremely fair and showed multiple clips and runs! sometimes, the artists are just having a bad performance (and sometimes it just wasnt very good at all but thats an argument for another day)
5:34 the end of this run is so laughable. They're just moving their tongue around to make different sounds 😭😭😭
Fortunately they improved, because that was horrible lol
Well, yeah...😅
I can’t stop replaying XDDDD
Text literally how Demi chooses to sing. It SO bad
Demi really thought she was doing something 🤣
I’ve said this numerous times but what separates Mariah from Beyoncé is that while they are both riffing every other word, Mariah managed to do it subtly and when it’s more showy, there’s something creative like the use of non-western scales or chromaticism
A joke tbh
@@molokwuchinonso9249 it’s a fact
Lol Beyonce has way more creative and complex riffs, Mariah riffs the same pop riffs
@@factpreacher5691 please..
@@heartbreakermix he’s not lying. Beyoncé uses more scales than any mainstream pop singer
06:59 C'mon... This deserved MORE than the perfect score. It's incredible : inhumanly fast, perfect pitch and precise af. It's so incredible that sounds autotuned
Absolutely. Still can’t believe it. Like objectively that is the most perfect run to ever exist. No denying that
Mariah is the queen. She is out of this world
Mariah has so much musicality
She is Music incarnated.
Honesly we needed FAOUZIA here. The masterpiece of the riffs
That was great! 😁👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 Thank you for creating this!!
beyonce and Mariah are just top tier
Mariah is too tier
Jessie j's vocal is far good than beyonce. It's just Beyonce is a multi role model singer
@@harisonchan3601 no
@@harisonchan3601 no
Hahahahah ok I respect ur opinion.. But i work in the music industry for almost 11 years since i was 17 years old as a sound engineer.
Mariah’s agility and musicality is unmatched
Madison has sloppy runs but I'm surprised at the power her voice has. She has potential she just needs to train her breathing and pitch. It's refreshing to see her not have tons of reverb and autotune in her live performances.
You got a good ear! Learning quite a bit from this. A lot of runs are deceivingly good
This was fun. Avery Tori and Mariah really impressed me in this video. I loved the Naruto music at the end
Let's be honest though. Mariah and Tori always impress us.
I started singing along to blue bird
I wish Avery would stop over singing. It’s the only thing holding him back. His agility is literally perfect 😩
Mariah's riffs and runs are music itself.
I love how you make a point to include little mix whenever you make videos based vocal ability!! Atleast someone can recognize the talent they have ❤
absolutely did not expect wendy to be here, thank you so much for including her !
I love how Dinah came in and saved 5H with her perfect agility on all I want for Christmas is you lol also “demi won’t get that much hate” yikes cus I feel like they were done dirty lol I did not think their get back run was bad honestly? That’s how it sounds in studio lol I love who you choose for the clips tho. Another great video!
"That's how it sounds in studio" 💀
@@GarageStudio7 “mama that girl was singing off key on the record”
@@Cameron-rt4tb 🤣🤣🤣😅 That's the legendary shade that came to mind 🤣😅😆 #TheVoice #PaulaAbdul
@@Cameron-rt4tb i wanna be salty but the reference has me dead 😂
@@thatkidjerm agreed! And love that you’re a Yeri Stan 😭
i mean, for demi, they definitely have some messy runs, but i think based on what ive seen from them post 2020, theyve seemed to have improved a good amount
They improved a lot in the past few years and we can totally hear them evolution in that last album.
Demi definitely improved agility even before their overdose. It's just they had rest now so we can hear it much better now
Am I missing something, why do you all call her they?
@@jy3754 Cause those are the pronouns that they (demi) go by
@@jy3754 a few months ago, demi lovato came out as nonbinary, which is why demi is reffered to by "they" hope that clears things up
Thank you for your work 😍👏 That's inspiring!
Its the first video of your channel I watched and I’m obsessed and I love that you show many examples of the same singers to show that it’s a practice and process and progress :)
Really enjoy this video! Question tho: Do you know of Jasmine Sullivan? She’s the textbook definition of flawless agility. Definitely on Tori and JoJo’s level
Kept thinking of Jaz as I watched this too
Yeah I've seen her on the agility and runs with other celebrtites on youtube videos I'm not a big fan but she's good I especilly love her low notes
💯
mariah’s the queen … As always
Whitney casually outsinging: LOL jk no hate to Mariah 😭
@@Cryabtit_ Whitney’s runs are not that unique though
@@JO-tw5yd I think In her later years from like the mid 90s to late 2000s her runs were a lot better and more agile but sadly they always get overlooked by the over rated performances
@@Cryabtit_ agree her runs sounded great
@@Cryabtit_ both r good
I'm sorry but the cutoff at 3:36 is sending me!
it's so refreshing to see demi's improvement and same with ari. proud of them gyals
Jessie J is just AMAZING 🤩
She’s so underrated
I love Halle Bailey tone so much
I love that you included some bad and some good clips from each singer rather than a bad one for this singer and a good for that one. It really shows their improvement and that even when they mess up, it doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of producing good sound.
Tori Kelly’s runs are IMPECCABLE! ❤️ I’d love to see your reaction to Yebba as well. Her runs are also masterfully done and soulful.
I think a great male singer that has runs almost as same level as Tori Kelly is Scott Hoying from Pentatonix. He should really have been included but overwise great video 🥰
For me it’s AVERY WILSON ☺️
Yes Scott underratted!
Scott is definetly a good male vocalist but personally its tori all the way for me as a female and in general😊
Avery all the way. Very few people can come close to it
Every member of Pentatonix is incredible.
YES you put Keke Wyatt, Steve Mackey and Avery Wilson in this video! Keke is a beast. Love Avery. He reminds me of the gospel singer Micah Stampley.
Loved this video! Please do more videos😀
2:45 This guy's having the time of his life
Xtina's runs are my favorite! I really like the way she performs songs and her changes in the melodies.
Sameeee
Demi still has a bit of issues with their jaw movements, but those have improved because they've begun to mix, which lightens their tone. And singers with light voices naturally possess a lot of vocal agility. Demi is improving! (their riffs and runs in Dancing with the Devil, the song, are the hardest they’ve ever done in their career, after You Don’t Do It For Me Anymore, and they literally nail the runs live (so far, they haven’t made any major mistakes live this year concerning agility)
She's definitely improving!
@@aintnootherfan Hi! I'm so sorry, I realised I made the same mistake when I just reread my comment... please do use they/them for Demi cuz they identify as non-binary.
@@aintnootherfan i know you just commented to try to be sneaky about misgendering demi🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♂️🏃♀️you are not subtle
@@13gudadod I thought I was the only one that noticed that
@@13gudadod you're right, he did this before. He does not like demi at all
I really love that you're giving good OK and some not so great examples from the same artists So many videos come across as just blind hate when they just pick and choose the best and worst performances from these people
I did enjoy this thanks
Beyoncé, Tori, Leigh, Mariah, Brandy and Jessie J 😍
tori & jessie❤😍😍 espescially brandy I'm not a huge fan of her but wow she's just too good😍
How did Brandy aka vocalbible just get a glimpse second! At least more! Her runs/riffs are unmatched!
Because this video was made to highlight white/pop artist. Beyonce was only added to say that wasn't the case, and she's the it black girl. Throw the whole video and commentator in the trash
6:32 literally the voice of a princess
I feel like so much of this is the right song for that singer. Loved the variety in artists (yay men!) and the positive/negative examples. This really helped me understand vocal skills better!
Demi’s runs always start out 🔥 and then they crash and 🔥 💀
Her runs have always been sloppy and in the wrong moments
@@libertass Actually I give her props for ambition, the runs she attempts are Whitney/Celine style runs that incorporates multiple high chested belts above E5. It sounds like Demi focuses too much on high notes and not quality runs. Celine, Whitney and Kelly Clarkson are the only mainstream artists I’ve heard able to sustain rapid chesty belts that high.
@@Sloppyjoey1 I used to love demi (my taste in music has now changed) and I've always thought she is a strong belter but a very weak riffer. I understand she is inspired by many of her icons that are great riffers (eg Xtina) but she has to understand she is not there and she doesn't have to be. Especially that "ain't no other man" intro-style run she does every time SO unsuccessfully. She destroys the performances with such runs. Not everyone can pull out anything and one must know their limits.
@@libertass Lol😆🤣🤦🏽
I like the new grading system. It's easy to pay attention to both:)
HELP OMG IM SO GLAD YOU BRANG RV INTO THISSS
Riffs are vocal embellishments that communicate emotions from the singer to the hearers. So it should be used just at the right time. Thanks for this.
Mariah with her daughters Ari, Tori and Jojo 💕
Celine Dion's run of "helppppp" could murder careers Bey,Tori and jessie are hands down the queen of runs Idc if Demi's runs sound bad to some because I think they are quite amazing
Yes! Add more Brandy clips! Her musicality and runs are second to no one ❤
watching this out of curiousity and Wendy from red velvet appearing in this is kinda shocked me. lmaooo thank you for including her in this, i dont know why i am thanking but atleast i saw her on some random videos.
You should make this a series. I'd love to see more tori kelly and Beyoncé runs
That Céline's run in Because You Loved Me performance wasn't that bad. I think it just lacked precision.
It was one of her downgrade moment
@@badbada3003 not at all
Seeing red velvet here made me so happy. I rlly hope Wendy improves on her vocal skills and techniques so she can become an even better vocalist
That was enjoyable to watch !
2:39 My reaction was literally this emoji 😳 I'm sorry camila
Dinah saved the day though, but 2:49 is hilarious to me as well, I was like why did you feel the need to add that FLAT run there
I love the fact that you used Natalie Weiss for both bad and good run at the beginning. No wonder I see arguements for her being the best vocalist out there ❤️❤️
Thank you for including our diva Wendy here.💙
What would I do without this channel? ♡
I gotta say, when you talk about runs, you can’t go wrong with Mariah, Brandy, or Keke Wyatt
I'd add Jasmine Sullivan to that list as well
@@LVLiiv I totally agree with this
I'll add Beyoncé to the list
Great video! Tori, Keke, Jessie, Mariah, Jojo and Brandy's runs are insane! Also thank you so much for watching my video and using some newer clips for Jessie J :)
THANK YOUUUUUU. These are the top riff runners.🤌🏾✨ NOOOOOO body else.
I was not expect Red Velvet here. Love the video by the way
Man! Nice vid LOL I feel bad for the "bad" ones
Tori’s gospel-esque runs though 😩 Got me doing stank faces all the time
TBH, even if she didn't get a perfect rating, the run I was most excited to hear here was Perrie's. She's never been much of a riffer, so seeing her go all for it was absolutely awesome!
i was kind of surprised when I saw red velvet lmao. but I love that u included them. i also know that in kpop they don’t rly do much runs. or at least I haven’t seen anyone who does it well
Love thisss