History VocalEvolution / Music

* Elvira T's singing technique has greatly improved over the years. While she has always had a beautiful and distinctive voice, she initially did not have as much strength in her technique, and had some trouble holding her notes in live concerts. By 2016, her technique had become more refined and her ability to hold her notes improved significantly.

* Jim Bellmore of Music/DaYoopers got considerably more aged. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNAbgnUuvpY "We're Still Rockin'"]] (1995) and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBw5_AQcR6w "Coffee wit da Boys"]] (2018).
* Music/RayStevens originally sang in a high, goofy, somewhat nasal voice in the 1960s. By the 1970s, he still used the nasal voice on novelty songs and used a more traditional delivery on ballads that still came across as rather strident. Come the early 1980s, he dropped all affectation and just sang in a smoother baritone.

* Music/MartinaMcBride started out with an above-average soprano, only belting when the song called for it (most notably on "Independence Day"). Starting with "A Broken Wing", her sound became increasingly pop-oriented, and she began relying more and more on bellowing out melismatic {{Incredibly Long Note}}s that showed off her upper range ''á la'' Music/CelineDion. While she's since reined in the belting a little bit, she did another very odd switch in mid-2011 with a chirpy, thin, almost Music/TaylorSwift-esque delivery on "Teenage Daughters" (her first release for Universal Republic after 19 years at RCA) even though the rest of the corresponding album (''Eleven'') has her singing in her usual style.

** Former bassist and occasional lead singer John Rich started out with a high, somewhat twangy voice, as heard on "Heartbroke Every Day" (the only single on which he sang lead). After he was fired from the band in 1998, he became much more breathy and less twangy on the solo album ''Underneath the Same Moon'', which he cut in 1999 but did not release until 2006. After he and Big Kenny formed Music/BigAndRich in 2003, he kept the breathy tone for ballads, but his voice on up-tempos is still noticeably lower and less twangy than it was in Lonestar. It's likely that he changed his voice somewhat to make it more harmonious with the deeper, more forceful delivery of Big & Rich bandmate Big Kenny.

* Music/RonnieMilsap's voice aged considerably on his 2019 album ''Duets'', where his renditions of his previous hits show a considerable age-induced weakness compared to his trademark delivery back in TheEighties. What makes this all the more surprising is that even in the early 21st century, as late as 2013's "Summer Number Seventeen", his voice was not radically different than in the '80s.

* Craig Morgan has gotten increasingly loud over time, starting with "Little Bit of Life". This song also started his bad habit of exaggerating his twang ("A little bit of me and '''''yeeoooooouuuu''''' doin' all right"). "Love Remembers" has a nearly operatic IncrediblyLongNote at the end, and nearly all of "International Harvester" and "Bonfire" are shouted instead of sung. He can still rein in the histrionics, as some tracks on ''This Ole Boy'' (2012) proved, but he got all belt-y again on "Wake Up Lovin' You" in 2014.

* A somewhat unfortunate example came with Marty Roe, lead singer of the CountryMusic band Music/DiamondRio. Starting in the early 2000s, the other band members began noticing that Roe had a terrible time staying on-pitch, and often gave a dreadful performance that frustrated the band, their fans, and promoters alike. They tried several means of covering it up, including lowering the key on some songs, lowering Roe's mic volume, employing a VocalTagTeam, consulting vocal coaches, and even using AutoTune, but nothing seemed to help. Finally, another vocal coach convinced Roe that he had a small degree of hearing loss (not unusual for a musician who has spent a long time in live settings), and that he was straining so hard to compensate for it that he was only making his problems worse. This vocal coach was ultimately successful in getting Roe's voice more-or-less back to where it was in TheNineties.

* When she first started doing covers on YouTube in her early teens, Lera Yaskevich's voice was much higher and more nasally, and her singing technique was still rather unrefined. By the time she hit her mid teens, her voice deepened due to the natural aging process, and both her range and singing technique greatly improved. Most notably, this is when her signature vibrato truly started to shine through.

** ''The Slim Shady LP'' debuts an iconic new voice for Slim - an [[NerdyNasalness exaggeratedly nasal]] voice with a cartoony high pitch and an [[SlasherSmile audible grin]]. Due to the [[EstablishingCharacterMoment massive popularity]] of "My Name Is", on which he uses this voice, this has become the voice fans most associate with Slim Shady. Slim also changes to speaking in a more general Midwest accent. The ''LP'' also contains some remixed ''EP'' songs using the original Slim voice tone - it can be quite jarring to go from the squeaky sociopathy of "Guilty Conscience" to the poetic gangster of "If I Had..." Eminem also used this voice for other collaborations around the same time, such as his feature for Music/MissyElliott on "Busa Rhyme" and for Music/DrDre on "Forgot About Dre". In his book ''The Way I Am'', Eminem admits he has no idea where the voice he was using for Slim came from and regrets using it because it sounds stupid.

** ''The Slim Shady LP'' debuts an iconic new voice for Slim - an [[NerdyNasalness exaggeratedly nasal]] voice with a cartoony high pitch and an [[SlasherSmile audible grin]]. Due to the [[EstablishingCharacterMoment massive popularity]] of "My Name Is", on which he uses this voice, this has become the voice fans most associate with Slim Shady. Slim also changes to speaking in a more general Midwest accent. The ''LP'' also contains some remixed ''EP'' songs using the original Slim voice tone - it can be quite jarring to go from the squeaky sociopathy of "Guilty Conscience" to the poetic gangster of "If I Had..." Eminem also used this voice for other collaborations around the same time, such as his feature for Music/MissyElliott on "Busa Rhyme" and for Music/DrDre on "Forgot About Dre".

* Music/DanielJohnston's voice became rather hoarse by the late 90s, due to him being a chain smoker.

* Music/ChrisCornell of Music/{{Soundgarden}} and Music/{{Audioslave}} boasted a four octave range at his peak during the early '90s and could regularly belt out very high notes like they were nothing. After Soundgarden disbanded for the first time, Cornell underwent a dark period involving heavy substance abuse that most certainly affected his voice and made him decide to sing in a generally lower, more soulful manner, a style he kept using for the rest of his life. By the time Soundgarden reunited, years of singing, aging, and drug addiction reduced his effective vocal range. While he was still able to hit high notes, he wasn't able to so with the control he had in his prime.

* Similarly, Music/RebaMcEntire became increasingly melismatic and theatrical throughout the late 80s-early 90s, developing a very twangy, vowel-bending style. Around 1996, she began singing in a softer, more straightforward voice and almost never stretches out single words into twenty-some syllables. This was likely a deliberate choice to reduce vocal strain.

** On ''The Marshall Mathers LP'', Eminem blends the two voice tones he was using together, creating a new voice that is shared by Slim, Eminem and Marshall. In "Stan", Stan is voiced with a higher-pitched voice that is intended to be reminiscent of Slim; Marshall's reply at the end is in a deeper voice closer to Eminem's own natural voice pitch and accent. The voices he uses on this album remain pretty much his voice palette for ''The Eminem Show'', by which time Slim is so integrated with the other personas that he isn't making appearances as a specific character separate from the real Marshall any more.

* Chuck Billy of Music/{{Testament}}, his voice in the 80's and early 90's extremely high but in mid-90's Billy's voice are more deeper and GutturalGrowler.

* British singer Tony Mills of TNT and Shy fame has a voice that evolved from extremely high in the 1980s to a Music/{{Queensryche}}-like lower tenor in the 90s and 2000s.

* [[Music/TheWho Roger Daltrey!]] There's a huge difference between his voice on ''Music/{{Tommy}}'' and ''Music/WhosNext''. While hinting at this in earlier songs like "My Generation," his tenor became richer and more powerful in the 1970s and beyond.

* Music/NeilYoung started as a quite conventional 60s folk singer but after a series of small, subtle changes, he had found his own [[PerishingAltRockVoice distinctive]] high tenor voice on 1969's ''Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere''. Averted since then, his voice famously ''hasn't changed'' at all.

** [[Music/CannibalCorpse Chris]] [[Music/SixFeetUnder Barnes]]' guttural vocals gradually became more decipherable and a little more throaty starting with ''The Bleeding'', since his extensive marijuana usage combined with age made him lose a lot of his range over time, while his screams have become ''much'' higher pitched with time, eventually evolving into a banshee-like shriek. His voice changes are especially obvious live when he performs old songs, as his vocal cords have been so affected that he has to change some sections since he can't hit some of the notes anymore.

* Chuck Billy of Music/{{Testament}}, his voice in the 80's and early 90's extremely high but in mid-90's Billy's voice are more deeper and GutturalGrowler.

** ''The Slim Shady LP'' debuts an iconic new voice for Slim - an [[NerdyNasalness exaggeratedly nasal]] voice with a cartoony high pitch and an [[SlasherSmile audible grin]]. Due to the massive popularity of "My Name Is", on which he uses this voice, this has become the voice fans most associate with Slim Shady. Slim also changes to speaking in a more general Midwest accent. The ''LP'' also contains some remixed ''EP'' songs using the original Slim voice tone - it can be quite jarring to go from the squeaky sociopathy of "Guilty Conscience" to the poetic gangster of "If I Had..." Eminem also used this voice for other collaborations around the same time, such as his feature for Music/MissyElliott on "Busa Rhyme" and for Music/DrDre on "Forgot About Dre".

** ''The Slim Shady LP'' debuts an iconic new voice for Slim - an [[NerdyNasalness exaggeratedly nasal]] voice with a cartoony high pitch and an [[SlasherSmile audible grin]]. Due to the massive popularity of "My Name Is", on which he uses this voice, this has become the voice fans most associate with Slim Shady. Slim also changes to speaking in a more general Midwest accent. The ''LP'' also contains some remixed ''EP'' songs using the original Slim voice tone - it can be quite jarring to go from the squeaky sociopathy of "Guilty Conscience" to the poetic gangster of "If I Had..." Eminem also used this voice for other collaborations around the same time, such as his feature for Music/MissyElliot on "Busa Rhyme" and for Music/DrDre on "Forgot About Dre".

* Music/MichaelJackson. Though fans are quick (read: immediate) to hand-wave the change as proof of an impostor, the truth is that his voice became noticeably weak and strained in the near-decade between ''Music/{{Invincible}}'' and his inevitable death as drugs took an increasing toll on his health, paired with known respiratory and dental issues that caused him to pronounce words oddly - most evident on both the oft-debated "Breaking News": 'Reportersh shtalking the movesh of Michael Jackshon.' and on the live recordings from ''Michael Jackson's This Is It'', particularly "Smooth Criminal". The noticeable change in his voice is often pinned on the use of a vocal impersonator named Jason Malachi, whose voice is similar (but not exact) to the voice heard on Michael's later recordings; the biggest difference being a nasal quality, almost an exaggerated whine, that Michael never had. Later on in his life, particularly on "2000 Watts", "Hollywood Tonight" and "Breaking News," Michael began singing in a much lower register than usual - said by some to be indicative of his actual, private speaking voice.

* Music/PearlJam's Eddie Vedder was the TropeCodifier for {{Yarling}} in the 90s and also used to sing in a scratchy way similar to Music/KurtCobain during that decade. Beginning in the mid-late 2000s, he no longer yarls like he used to in favor of mostly singing with his natural baritone voice, which became slightly hoarse due to years of smoking, and he can no longer hit very high notes without audibly straining himself.

* Scott Stapp of Music/{{Creed}} was infamous for his nonstop yarling during the band's heyday. After the band's second's breakup, he toned down the yarling and started to use other expressive ways of singing.

* Music/PearlJam's Eddie Vedder was the TropeCodifier for {{Yarling}} in the 90s and also sang in a scratchy way similar to Music/KurtCobain during that decade. Beginning in the mid-late 2000s, he no longer yarls like he used to in favor of mostly singing with his natural baritone voice, doesn't sing scratchy to prevent his voice from being more raspy, and can no longer hit very high notes without audibly straining himself.

* {{Christian|Rock}} PostGrunge band Kutless's lead vocalist Jon Micah Sumrall had a much scratchier, lower voice, and sounded a lot like Scott Stapp from Music/{{Creed}} on the band's debut album. He sounded like Scott to a point where if you were half-asleep, you'd mistake the two (the chorus for 'Tonight' is a good example). On the second album and beyond, his voice was higher and much smoother, probably because he wanted the Creed comparisons to stop.

* Music/PearlJam's Eddie Vedder was the TropeCodifier for {{Yarling}} in the 90s and even sang in a scratchy way similar to Music/KurtCobain during that decade. Beginning in the mid-late 2000s, he no longer yarls like he used to in favor of mostly singing with his natural baritone voice, doesn't sing scratchy to prevent his voice from being more hoarse, and can no longer hit very high notes without audibly straining himself.

* Music/GreenDay's Billie Joe Armstrong started out with a heady and slightly strained voice in the late '80s throughout the '90s. From ''Music/AmericanIdiot'' onwards, his voice gradually deepened and mellowed out. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh9BnIUcScA these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt8D75KAHsY two]] performances of the same song in 1997 and 2019 respectively.

* Music/GreenDay's Billie Joe Armstrong started out in the with a heady and slightly strained voice in the late '80s throughout the '90s. From ''Music/AmericanIdiot'' onwards, his voice gradually deepened and mellowed out. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh9BnIUcScA these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt8D75KAHsY two]] performances of the same song in 1997 and 2019 respectively.

* Music/GreenDay's Billie Joe Armstrong started out in the with a heady and slightly strained voice in the late '80s throughout the '90s. From ''Music/AmericanIdiot'' onwards, his voice gradually to deepened and mellowed out. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh9BnIUcScA these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt8D75KAHsY two]] performances of the same song in 1997 and 2019 respectively.

* Music/GreenDay's Billie Joe Armstrong started out in the with a heady and slightly strained voice in the late '80s throughout the '90s. From Music/AmericanIdiot onwards, his voice gradually to deepened and mellowed out. Compare [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh9BnIUcScA these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt8D75KAHsY two]] performances of the same song in 1997 and 2019 respectively.

* Geoff Tate, of Music/{{Queensryche}} had a similar case to Lee. In the '80s, he had a high, operatic wail similar to Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson. Starting with 1990's ''Empire'', however, his voice became deeper and huskier, and he lost the ability to hit the notes, due to a smoking habit that had started in high school, leading him to shift to a deeper range. He completely lost his bright head voice register around the time of 2009's ''American Soldier'', shifting to a mid-range sound, and performs most of the old material in lower keys.

* Music/{{Rush}}'s Geddy Lee notably has undergone several. in the early days, his voice was very raw and screamy, and he could hit some ''amazingly'' high notes, his voice was naturally an "astoundingly high" tenor. See the fourth movement of "2112" for proof of how dynamic his voice was in those days. However, around 1978-1979 during the ''Hemispheres'' tour, his voice deepened considerably, and he lost his raw, screaming power (Compare [[https://youtu.be/XHqpmqMDZx0?t=29m22s these]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW-_aUNh39E two]] performances of "2112" for the shift), likely due to over-touring, which led to him singing in a much lower range starting with 1980's ''Permanent Waves''. His voice then shifted to a lower, more "normal" sounding voice starting with 1982's ''Signals''. With 1996's ''Test For Echo'', his voice got a lot thinner and more nasal. Most recently, with 2007's ''Snakes And Arrows'', he started singing with a fuller, less nasal sound again, albeit significantly deeper than before. Naturally, fans are [[BrokenBase split over what era is his best]].

* {{Christian|Rock}} PostGrunge band Kutless's lead vocalist Jon Micah Sumrall had a much scratchier, lower voice, and sounded a lot like Scott Stapp from Music/Creed on the band's debut album. He sounded like Scott to a point where if you were half-asleep, you'd mistake the two (the chorus for 'Tonight' is a good example). On the second album and beyond, his voice was higher and much smoother, probably because he wanted the Creed comparisons to stop.

* {{Christian|Rock}} PostGrunge band Kutless's lead vocalist Jon Micah Sumrall had a much scratchier, lower voice, and sounded a lot like Scott Stapp from Creed on the band's debut album. He sounded like Scott to a point where if you were half-asleep, you'd mistake the two (the chorus for 'Tonight' is a good example). On the second album and beyond, his voice was higher and much smoother, probably because he wanted the Creed comparisons to stop.