JUSTICE FOR LIAM - Tumblr Posts

Liam Payne - the most underrated vocalist of our generation

I've seen a few posts circulating around in regards to Liam's vocal ability, and I thought I would use this excuse to, as an incredibly massive fan of Liam's voice, use this as opportunity to boast about it because it is fucking amazing, and you'll have a really hard time telling me other wise.

(going under the cut because this is Liam we are talking about, and I have a very hard time not making incredibly longs posts about this man, especially if we're talking about his voice)

Vocal Range

There's a photo that went around a little while ago demonstrating the boys' vocal ranges and Liam's extended both lower and higher than any of the other 1D boys (including Zayn's) as shown in this diagram:

Critics also think incredibly highly of Liam's voice (as they should). There's a website where they look at popular singers and rate them according to different factors, and they also rate Liam higher than any of the other boys, including Zayn:

(Harry is a C and the other two boys aren't listed, in case anyone was wondering)

They talk particularly fond of what they refer to as his "mix" voice (which, from my extremely limited and probably wrong understanding is the mix of both his head and chest voice):

Versatility

Now, what isn't considered by this site, that I think is what makes Liam's voice so unique and beautiful is the fact that he can flawlessly change it to suit any genre.

This is Liam singing so amazingly (at the young age of 16!) a beautiful rendition of Cry Me a River that was the reason why I fell in love with his voice in the first place (I am a sucker for jazz, particularly Liam's singing jazz because his tone is absolutely amazing and is it too much to ask for him to continue doing it? Am I rambling? I should stop rambling):

But it's not just jazz and Pop that his voice adapts to incredibly well. I've always seen 1D's Midnight Memories as more of the classic rock genre:

The amount of control he had with his voice, at such a young age is absolutely amazing. And don't get me started on just how amazingly suited his voice is for Jazz. ugh.

You can hear where he changes his voice to suit the more classic rock texture necessary for that genre.

Vocal Improvisation

And it's not just his versatility or range that make him an amazing singer. The fact that he can so readily improvise notes on stage. This process is known as what is called "ad libbing". It's not an easy process, and takes a lot of practice to perfect it. But Liam sees to do it effortlessly, time and time again:

Even with parts that weren't initially his, which demonstrates just how musically advanced he truly is.

I would also like to add in this performance:

Harmonies

(Skip to 2:38)

I know he's not technically singing, but it does show off his understanding of music, especially timing, which isn't easy for a lot of people and yet he does it so easily. Plus, it's just really fucking cool.

Because Liam vocal range is so incredibly vast, he was able to be the backbone of pretty much all of the harmonies when in the band, and he knows when it's appropriate for him to either keep his voice at a lower register, or raise it above everyone else's to make an incredibly beautiful harmony:

Also:

I add in this video not only because it definitely shows off Liam's harmonising ability, but also because Liam's and Zayn's voices were literally made for each other, and the way they flow together so effortlessly and beautifully has me considering the fact that God might actually be real, and I will use any excuse to listen to the two of them sing together. (They need to seriously hurry up and release their collab album already, it's been way too long).

Conclusion

I think this particular performance encompasses everything I have been trying to put across in regards to Liam's absolutely amazing vocal ability. The range, the versatility, the improvisation and the harmony, all within a small time frame (that and I literally melt every time I hear it):

(I am Zayn at the end of Liam's performance)

I will never understand why he is so incredibly underrated, but then I see the incredibly mediocre (if that) pop singers that plague our music industry today and come to the realisation that people seemed to have stopped caring about actually vocally talented musicians, and prefer the overly produced and heavily autotuned songs we are left with today. But even if that is the case, I'm just happy I have the ability to appreciate this man's voice.