Who do you feel falls under this? Someone who you think is a great singer, either in terms of power or their ability to convey emotion through their voice, but didn't write/release songs that showcased them to the best of their material.

I think this thread would be best suited for the Music Lounge.

 

I'll have a think about some examples for this though...

Just from Reality TV winners I’m thinking HearSay, One True Voice, Matt Cardle and Joe McElderry. Even for Alexandra and Leona you feel like they could have been much bolder with the musical direction.

 

I guess with non pop artists the question isn’t so relevant as the artist basically is their material.

Faye Tozer from Steps, maybe Heidi Range too.

Perrie Edwards

As much as I loved her debut single, Zoe Birkett could have debuted with something that showed off her voice more

Diana Vickers?

Can think of loads. MNEK, Ella Eyre, Zak Abel, Laura Welsh, Elley Duhé, Will Heard.

Yeah Ella Eyre comes up first after this question. She does some solid bops but realistically it's not *quite* the material to get her bigger and her last 6 or 7 years haven't done much for me which is a shame as she has a fantastic voice.

Literally almost all vocalists who had at least one dance hit.

 

Jon Bellion, Iselin Solheim, Noonie Bao, Sandro Cavazza, Madison Beer, Julia Michaels, Sigrid, Matthew Koma, etc.

Celeste - she’s got a brilliant voice, but her music is so dull!

James Morrison is one that came to mind.

 

As for Diana Vickers, her initial success fizzled out. Maybe her singing style lost its novelty or something.

Just from Reality TV winners I’m thinking HearSay, One True Voice, Matt Cardle and Joe McElderry. Even for Alexandra and Leona you feel like they could have been much bolder with the musical direction.

 

I guess with non pop artists the question isn’t so relevant as the artist basically is their material.

Matt Cardle feels like a wasted opportunity. Given how much popularity he endured on X Factor, with the right kind of track he could have really made an impact.

 

At least with Joe McElderry they rectified things somewhat with his second album, playing to his strengths a lot more.

 

One True Voice are an interesting one. Boybands were very much in at that time and the UK didn't really have a band like them.

Matt Cardle feels like a wasted opportunity. Given how much popularity he endured on X Factor, with the right kind of track he could have really made an impact.

 

At least with Joe McElderry they rectified things somewhat with his second album, playing to his strengths a lot more.

 

One True Voice are an interesting one. Boybands were very much in at that time and the UK didn't really have a band like them.

 

Joe McElderry changed labels between album 1 and 2, maybe that’s why?

 

All XF acts to be honest - Leona, Alexandra, Rebecca F, Amelia Lily…

Joe McElderry changed labels between album 1 and 2, maybe that’s why?

 

All XF acts to be honest - Leona, Alexandra, Rebecca F, Amelia Lily…

Yeah, I felt with his first album they were going for something that was a mix of MIKA and Scissor Sisters, and it was completely unsuitable.

 

I know X Factor had the conveyor belt thing going on which wasn't helpful for the acts, although quite a few acts were able to sustain a career so it's doable.

As for Diana Vickers, her initial success fizzled out. Maybe her singing style lost its novelty or something.

 

I think it's more than that. They piled a ton of hype into the first single and the album (as evidenced by the fact they both dropped down the chart like they had bricks tied to them), but obviously couldn't sustain that.

 

Her material was absolutely brilliant and she really deserved more, so I refute her name being suggested.

Matt Cardle/Rebecca Ferguson are interesting ones for me.

 

There is a reason they beat One Direction in the public voting. They were much better live and their vocals sounded like a recording waiting to happen.

 

I do think part of the issue beyond the show was marketing (how do you market Matt Cardle?!) and also the songs they were given. One Direction was a machine and therefore they had the popularity/endurance.

 

A similar thing happened to Kevin Simm - a great vocalist with less marketability/no team behind to make him a success (at least he landed on his feet with Wet Wet Wet)

Going for some of our Eurovision artists - Jade Ewen, Lucie Jones and Surie.

 

All absolutely top drawer vocalists with songs beneath their talent. Jade knocked hers out of the park and 5th was great but imagine if she'd gone to Eurovision with a more modern ballad like Bleeding Love and not the very dated number she had.

 

Storm is crap but Surie is awesome, a very Annie Lennox tone to her vocal and a charismatic performer.

 

And Lucie is great and a good fit for the West End where she's ended up. But again, I've never heard a 10/10 song by her.

Matt Cardle/Rebecca Ferguson are interesting ones for me.

 

There is a reason they beat One Direction in the public voting. They were much better live and their vocals sounded like a recording waiting to happen.

 

I do think part of the issue beyond the show was marketing (how do you market Matt Cardle?!) and also the songs they were given. One Direction was a machine and therefore they had the popularity/endurance.

 

A similar thing happened to Kevin Simm - a great vocalist with less marketability/no team behind to make him a success (at least he landed on his feet with Wet Wet Wet)

I think they definitely could have found a lane for Matt. They found one for James Arthur who also had the "made the song your own" thing going on with him on X Factor, and that "coolness" about him.

 

You've got people like James Blunt and James Morrison who are probably not a million miles away from Matt (at least in terms of genre). They've got some of that rock thing going on.

 

Rebecca did have some initial success, but I do wonder if they could have done more.

 

Kevin Simm is a trickier one, because I couldn't think of someone to compare him with.

Edited July 8, 20241 yr by Hassaan

Another Eurovision artist I would have loved to see a longer enduring career for was Javine, whose success ended following 2005.

 

I wanted this to be bigger and of course it was omitted from Now 61 at the time too. :(

 

 

And also one other British name I personally liked at the time too;