Hottest m/f voice in music?

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Anyone got any strong feelings or contenders on this one? Any new names eclipsing older ones on their list?

For female voice I'd still say MTB but it'd be both fascinating and a great music find to be proven wrong.

Who is MTB?

Beth Gibbons from Portishead, no doubt in my mind. Her voice is absolutely hypnotizing, powerful!...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhO2QuhBHvs[/youtube]

Fiona Apple and Zooey Deschanel are the only voice I respond to.

Does "hottest" mean contemporary?

Personally, I've always found Annie Haslam from the British progressive rock band Renaissance to be one the best female vocalists of all time.

Not necessarily, more specifically your favorite vocalist or alternately who sort of delivers consciousness in a manner of speaking that you find either really crisp, erotic, or both.

But yeah, if this was a strictly "Who do think the best top 40 singer is?" this would be a rather depressing thread and little if anything all that interesting would rise to the surface.


Martina Topley-Bird. She used to do vocals with Tricky, went solo, recently did some work with Massive Attack on Heligoland and even prior to that had a few cameos in some Gorillaz tunes. Something about her conceptual delivery, projection, inward orientation to the content she's probing lyrically is IMHO really slick. If you're looking for a quickly accessible example of what I'm saying look up Babel by Massive Attack or hear her hooks on Christiansands.

It'd be impossible for me to pick just a few artists overall, so I'll name a few vocalists I've been listening to recently. For female vocals I've been very impressed by Jessie Ware, and by the fantastic harmonies of sibling duo First Aid Kit, comprised of Johanna and Klara Soderberg. For male vocals my pick would be Michael Kiwanuka, The National's Matt Berninger and Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes.

I also approve of Beth Gibbons in this thread. She's an incredibly intense performer live, and to date has been one of the best live acts I've seen.

Jessie Ware - Night Light
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyY5upiRO8Q[/youtube]

First Aid Kit - Wolf
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czj7SyPNRto&feature=relmfu[/youtube]

Michael Kiwanuka - I'll Get Along
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEA5lCcga-s[/youtube]

The National - Rylan
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf02SGcMPvo[/youtube]

Fleet Foxes - The Shrine/An Argument
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaTwiBh-V9E[/youtube]

I'd have to say Nadia Ali for female voice, as was brought up in another thread.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfhseEHxY1I[/youtube]

For male voice, hmm...
This is gonna show obviously my own personal bias, but Giancarlo Pasquini, aka Dave Rodgers, the italodisco and eurobeat singer. I like powerful voices like that. Plus the Italian accent going on is cool. That and he's very versatile with his voice, able to do many types of music.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzIVs6xlHCw[/youtube]

I'd kill for this mans voice, Even if I had to sacrifice my accent and take up smoking. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhu_89hDy58&feature=related[/youtube]

As for the Women, No contest this woman(Mary Elizibeth Mcglenn) along with Akira Yamoka are what make Silent hill so hauntingly beautiful.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMvOkUMPZ0g[/youtube]

For male voice I would have to go with Luc Arbogast OR Howlin Wolf
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m8dhtHSXKU&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBLzTD2wTzg[/youtube]

Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMdBs7uTLHw[/youtube]

And my girl Chanté when it comes to female voices. Here she is covering the classic Deniece Williams song Free:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJWrUNOc3eg[/youtube]

Male: Pat Monahan of Train and Adam Levine of Maroon 5

Female: Adele, Katy Perry, and Carly Rae Jepsen

Chad Grey (Mudvayne/Hellyeah) and Chris Volz (solo project/Flaw/Five Bolt Main)