Guys educate us..in this forum I hear you guts say so and so is not a good singer so and so uses his voice well or is calm.what do you consider a good singer..give examples..

to me, especially where congolese music is concerned, there is a difference between being a good singer and having a great voice. some artists have both some artists have one over the other.

example since i brought her up in that other thread just now.
cindy le cour in my opinion has a nice voice but she's not that good of a singer
to me a good singer brings an emotion and passion to the song they are singing that makes you feel what is being sung.

a further example, franco did not have a great voice at all but he knew how to convey emotion on the songs he sang. he has given some classic vocal performances despite his less than stellar vocals.

when you have both great voice and great singing ability it is undeniable. many congolese artists to have come and gone over the years are great singers. it seems to be something very innate in the culture.

Mwana Nsalu has explained well and in addition to what she's said, a good singer is one who can get the right notes of a song without going off key and can easily interpret other singers songs with perfection in their own way.

My defintion of a good singer

- Must be consistent
- Can be flexible
- Be confident
- Sound in tune
- Be able to flow well in general

That is my definition.

Ok now we have what we wanted, a definition of what a good singer is, thanks to mwana nsalu and to some extent, DJ Sly.

I just want to put another dimension, rythm vs voice two attributes that make music. For example, those who are singers, good ones, are koffi, JB, ferre gola, malage deluge ndo, serge mabiala, Atshuda Ngenge, joskey kiambukuta, madilu etc. Papa wemba is not an excellent singer according to me, but he certainly knows how to blend voice with others and in the background, good rythm. JB mpiana may not sing over a good rythm, sometimes, but he has that voice and sings communally. Ferre gola has a sweet voice but does not interact with others on songs most often. Fally is the opposite. Werrason, is average but he sings with several artists on a song and knows how to record good music that sounds crystal clear. At the end of the day, they all don't have everything and that's why some of us get frustrated about some of them.

...Mopao breaks it down here...

Papa wemba is not an excellent singer according to me, but he certainly knows how to blend voice with others and in the background, good rythm..

You must be joking right, looking at today,we still a few weeks from april fools day so you've joked at the wrong time!!!!

papa wemba to me is an excellent singer. the thing with his voice is that he is what is known in his village (and perhaps beyond those borders) as a funeral singer. from what i read he takes after his mother who was also a funeral singer. why that is important to know it explains his choice of notes and the tone to his voice. i forget the technical terms but he sings in notes that denote melancholy. but yes i would definitely disagree with anyone who says he's not a great singer.

what i would say is a lot of the harmonizing on early viva la musica songs was non-existant. it was more of just a chorus of voices singing many times rather than harmonizing like zaiko langa langa once did.

i remember once on the previous forum someone saying that mpongo love can not sing and that mbilia bel sings better. i think it is important to note that the person who said this was not of congolese origin. when you have certain expectations of what singing should sound like what is considered 'great singing' in congolese music may not strike you as such if you're listening for that specific sound.

dindo yogo is a perfect example of a great singer but particularly within the context of congolese music.
if you had dindo yogo sing a song by michael jackson for example most would probably say he can't sing but within the context of congolese music his greatness can not (at least in my opinion) be denied.

Mwana Nsalu, I think I am one of those who agreed that Mpongo Love wasn't an excellent singer and I stick by my opinion, I have listened to many songs by her and there is nothing moving aboiut her singing, I find her singing to be similar to Cindy Le Coeur.
I think her vocal control wasn't really good, Cindy even sings better than this


A good singer is a good singer it doesn't matter the genre of music they are singing , it's how one plays with the tone and notes that we tell someone is a good singer even in a one minute audition.

I whole heartedly disagree.

I whole heartedly disagree.

I know, I remember we differed last time on the old forum, it was a heated debate so I close my case!!!!

No, Comment On This.

I whole heartedly disagree.

I know, I remember we differed last time on the old forum, it was a heated debate so I close my case!!!!

  lolol

...Mopao breaks it down here...

Voila,this is a clear example of the variations.
Lola really nailed it!!

lol geco bouro and bebe kéro