I've always liked the sound of a deep, rich voice on female singers. I'm no expert on what type of a range would constitute a contralto voice, but I don't think there are a lot of them out there in pop/rock/jazz music. I got to thinking about it when I was listening to a performance by Diana Krall:
I have neither perfect nor relative pitch, but I was curious about the low notes she was hitting, and the sheet music bottoms out at D3. That is really deep for a female voice!
I think Cher would qualify as a contralto. Annie Lennox definitely would. Probably Linda Perry from 4 Non Blondes. Any others? Maybe Grace Slick? Amy Winehouse? Not sure about Adele -- she has a big, rich, booming voice, but her overall range (to my untrained ears) would seem to land her more in mezzo-soprano territory. Same with Pink -- she can hit some really low notes, but her natural range seems to be more mezzo.
Would love to see someone more conversant in vocal ranges than I am to chime in.
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