Vocal Points: Can Adele's Voice Last?

posted in: Features • Pop

Our voices are capable of incredible things. They tell our stories, allow us to spill our guts and, most importantly, make us unique and special. Welcome to Vocal Points, a blog that will cover all aspects of the voice of a musician, from singers who have already molded the music industry, to new voices who are continuously shifting it. We’ll talk not only about literal voice and tone, but about the effects an artist’s voice can have on the world.

Adele‘s voice is one which has been making recent headlines. Her album, 21, is Number 1 on iTunes and this month’s performance at the iTunes Festival still has fans raving. It seems that people simply can’t get enough of her smoky, deep voice and the emotion she is able to convey with it. She is one of those singers who can make you cry by simply telling her own sad story, which makes her fans feel as though they understand her pain and, therefore, relate to her.

But the question is, is Adele’s voice strong enough to last? Recently, a bout of laryngitis caused her to cancel the last nine stops of her North American tour, and caused some uproar. Adele’s success comes from her vocal truthfulness and pure talent, but that just makes her voice even more valuable and holds her to a higher standard.  The fact that she uses only her voice and not all the theatrics that other artists use is great, and her loyal fans obviously still love her despite this incident, but the fact that her voice failed her cost her the opportunity to win over all sorts of new fans with her incredible talent. Even worse, the illness caused fans to question whether she is taking care of her voice properly.

Taylor Swift also recently had to postpone four shows on her summer tour because of a case of bronchitis. And while Taylor’s voice is not exactly comparable to Adele’s, this is the first time in her career that a setback like this has occurred. While the quality of her voice is not as essential to her career as it is for other singers, no artist can really afford to have incidents like this occur on a regular basis.

It comes down to a case of longevity. Adele is talented, but does she have what it takes to make her voice last for a long career? Professional singers put great amounts of stress on their voices and they have to be incredibly conscious of the way that they use them outside of performances. Adele has achieved massive success, but this doesn’t mean she will necessarily do all that she can to protect her stunning voice.

The fact that Adele can’t seem to stop smoking may have caused her severe case of laryngitis, but it could just as easily have been a viral infection or acid reflux. It’s impossible for us to know what caused the condition that lead her to cancel so many shows. The only thing which is certain is that Adele needs her voice. Whatever it takes, she needs to make sure that she can live to sing another day. After all, if you want your story to be heard, you have to have a voice to tell it with.