Best Vocal Performances by Artists Not Known for Vocals?

[Future Lovers 6,927]

Like the title says, what are some great vocal performances from artists that are not typically known for their vocals? This one always comes to mind for me. 

 

[Chic 20,830]

Lana Del Rey’s Cola always got me.

[androiduser 7,438]

this is Madonna's best vocal performance ever

 

[Lucas 27,137]

 

[weed 73,926]

 

[BillieGOAT 5,227]

 

[Head Empty 25,209]

6 hours ago, weed said:

 

I'm not a huge Rihanna fan, nor do I think of her as an especially great performer, but this performance is one of my favorites from the past decade. It takes guts to have such a "stripped down" stage show, but she nailed it in every aspect.

[StrawberryBlond 14,881]

Up until 1:30:

Make sure to watch until the very end:

Moral of the story: most singers possess some amount of singing talent no matter what anyone says.

[streamstarcrossed 409]

Cher gets kind of mixed reactions. People either love her voice or absolutely hate it. Her fast, wide vibrato can be overbearing for some. From an objective vocal pedagogical point of view, though, her technique is wonderful. Her phrasing and rhythm are always precise, intonation is great with good breath support enabling her to sustain long climactic notes, and she can belt like it’s nothing even in her late age (although she has lost some range in her 70s, which is typical.) I think people often don’t take into consideration how powerful her voice is. Its fullness doesn’t really translate in performances where she’s singing in huge arenas. To put it into perspective, imagine you were in a closet with just Cher and she was singing directly to you. It’d be quite a robust sound. 

 

[StrawberryBlond 14,881]

Here's some more...

If anything, Britney's voice as a child was her at her best, but as an adult, this is right up there:

And in probably their greatest performance of all time, Girls Aloud proved that more than 2 of them could sing better than we knew. Sarah (RIP) had the most marked improvement with a lot of lead vocals and I didn't know she could hit notes like the one she does towards the end:

 

[Poltergeist 3,625]

Maria Brink of In This Moment is... a bad vocalist live, she always sounds like she's very tired and can't pull the notes, but here... Starting at 3:00 until the HEAVENLY scream at 3:32 (either it finally worked out or she had a great live autotune ). I can never stop myself from crying listening to this, the emotions, the pain, it's just too much for me. Perfect!