FAVOURITE FEMALE ARTISTS (PART 1)

Today's post is Part 1 of my top [10] favourite female singers/artists. They are in no particular order, and I hope you enjoy reading!

Lana Del Rey 

Lana Del Rey became known in late 2011/early 2012. Some people dislike her, some love her, I personally am a very big fan of hers and I find her music very entertaining and soothing. Although some may see her voice as dull, the low tone of her voice contrasts beautifully with some of the more upbeat backing tracks, such as 'Diet Mountain Dew' which also includes an interesting mixture of higher pitched backing vocals. She extremely versatile in this sense, as she can also pull off a higher pitched voice which flows beautifully, sometimes hauntingly, in songs such as 'Yayo'. In my opinion, she is one of the best female solo artists around at the moment. Her album 'Born To Die' is one of my favourite albums, and in my opinion, is definitely worth the hype. I am still yet to buy her most recent version of 'Born to Die' (Paradise Edition) or listen to any new releases, but her song 'Young and Beautiful' for the wonderful Great Gatsby soundtrack mid last year is stunning.

Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor is one of this generation's best talents, in my opinion. Her voice is strong and pure, and is accurate for both happy and sad songs. She is not so popular that everyone is obsessed with her, but her songs are loved by many. There're  songs such as 'Eet' and 'Hero' which are incredibly moving, to songs such as 'Us' (featured on 500 Days of Summer) and 'The Calculation' which are bubbly and uplifting, showing her versatility. I admire how her songs tell stories, and are not the typical love ballads. She is not afraid to try something new, and her most recent album 'What We Saw From the  Cheap Seats' is, in my opinion, a masterpiece.

Ellie Goulding

After being a fan for years and seeing her live last Autumn, I adore Ellie Goulding. She has influences such as Bjork, and I have noticed very early on that her singing style is similar to Bjork's, as it is more like speaking than singing. Her first album 'Lights' is my favourite, as it was the first album I ever bought independently, and is definitely a fresh and original sound to the music scene. Her music and voice is not to everyone's taste, but I'd give her a chance if I were you, as she shouldn't be judged because of her music being in the charts. It seems that many of the more alternative music fans dismiss her because she is in the charts, not thinking about her actual talent, and the fact she may have better songs than 'Burn'. Her cover of 'Your Song' by Elton John is one of the songs that shows her pure talent, her sweet and high voice gave the song its own twist, without ruining it. She is a true talent, on the records and on stage. 

Grimes

Grimes (or, Claire Boucher) is a Canadian solo artist who works a lot with synth and has a very techno sound. I adore how fresh and unique her sound is and how she uses modern technology in her music, bringing a very new sound to the music scene. Her extremely high pitched voice contrasts very interestingly with the bass in her music. Although I love songs such as 'Genesis' and 'Oblivion' I admit it took me a while to get into her music properly, but as the album 'Visions' became more familiar to me, I enjoyed it more and I now listen to it a lot. It's definitely one of my favourite albums, I'm still yet to discover her earlier work, but I am a huge admirer of hers and I suggest you give her a listen!

Sky Ferreira 

Sky Ferreira is one of my favourite singers, and people in general. Although she is young and quite petite, her voice is incredibly rich and strong, and I love how she can literally go from one genre to a completely different one, (such as 'Sad Dream' and '108') and her voice still has the rich, soothing tone. Her songs stay with you and are definitely catchy, but rarely annoying, and I would recommend her music to anyone looking for something new. Her music is very refreshing and comforting, and I listen to her very often. Her debut album 'Night Time, My Time' has recently been released in the UK and includes the hits 'I Blame Myself' and 'You're Not the One'.

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. I will be doing a part 2 for next week's post, so stay tuned for that!

- Rhianwen