"quivering vibrato, curlicued melisma, notes held past the vanishing point: the favourite technical tricks of idol contestants are often like screams divorced from the pain or ecstasy that inspired them' ... this separation of 'authentic' emotion from its performed facsimile links these two ubiquitous phenomena in contemporary singing - the breathy child and the gymnastic vocaliser ... ben brantley argued that the influence of american idol had infiltrated musical theatre voice production, provoking a fascinating debate about singing styles and the ways that they've changed.

he suggests a way forward: 'we must cherish such performers. good, well-trained voices that can carry a tune and turn up the volume come cheap. what does not is the voice that identifies a character as specifically and individually as handwriting.'"
-why are pop singers so samey and sexless?-