She does a great job analyzing what he’s doing to be able to phrase her words similarly and riff like he does. “She really picks Ne-Yo apart, listening to how he phrases everything and asking how he says certain words. “Check out the video of Ne-Yo working with Celine Dione on the song he wrote called ‘Incredible,’” says Fields. Hear Fields’ advice in action with his R&B cover of the Barbara Streisand Broadway classic, “People.” It also has to be a song that really inspires you.”
“It has to have some places where you can implement blues riffs and phrasing that gives it an R&B flavor.
The lesson? “Pick any tune that can cross the line and work well in an R&B context,” says Fields. In 1994, All-4-One had a hit on the R&B charts and John Montgomery had a hit on the country charts, both with versions of the song ‘I Swear.’ The fine line has been broken.” These days, Fields continues, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, and Adele are all considered R&B artists - even though such singers delve heavily into pop and electronica. Those are Motown hits, and as a group, that’s all they liked. The Beatles’ early recordings were all Smokey Robinson, Little Richard – ‘Twist and Shout,’ for example. “R&B has always included different things. “It can help to look outside what you might normally think of as standard R&B songs,” Fields continues. A lot of it has to do with the material they’re choosing to perform.Ĭhoosing the right tunes doesn’t mean just grabbing the most recent Billboard hit and covering it. “You see plenty of singers like Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake recording hits and getting nominated for R&B Grammy Awards,” says Fields. While R&B may be a traditionally black genre, Fields says, artists of all backgrounds have been successful at making the style their own.
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As a singer, songwriter, and producer, Fields has credits with artists like Kanye West, Drake, Dionne Warwick, Rihanna, Whitney Houston, John Legend, Alicia Keys, and many more – he’s a great place to begin if you want to learn how to sing R&B. While an amazing R&B singer’s delivery may seem to come straight from the soul, there are numerous musical and stylistic elements that go into creating that warm, edgy, sexy, or uplifting magic. Every classic R&B vocalist has his or her unique style, and the true standouts display how powerful and majestic great R&B vocals can be, both in the studio and on stage. When you study how to sing R&B, start by listening to great singers like Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Usher, Ne-Yo, Yolanda Adams, and Mary J. Want to learn how to sing R&B and deliver great vocals? Singer and producer Alvin Fields gives advice on choosing material, delivering vibrato, and owning your riffs.