As you all know, I have built my life around music. Every day, I receive lots of comments from new and exciting artists, sometimes I can’t believe that I haven’t heard them before or that they aren’t more widely recognised. I have picked ten singers that I consider underrated and don’t get the recognition they deserve.
There isn’t one thing that makes someone ‘underrated’ and of course it’s based on personal tastes and opinion, but I’ve tried to take a broad view. Some of these artists are really well renowned but only within their niche, some are more broadly famous but maybe they’re not as recognised for their ability to sing so much as their image. I’ve linked all the artists in the description with clips of my favourite examples of them, so you can check them out and see if any of them speak to you. So many more singers deserve more recognition than they get and I want to do another one of these videos in the future, so please share your suggestions and check out some that others are sharing in the comments!
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, otherwise known as the ‘Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, was a pioneer of the Rock ‘n’ Roll genre and one of the first to use heavy distortion in her guitar technique. She influenced countless musicians including Elvis, Little Richard and Johnny Cash and her style of playing the guitar was the start of a whole new genre of Rock Music. When asked about her music and rock and roll, Tharpe is reported to have said,
"Oh, these kids and rock and roll — this is just sped up rhythm and blues. I've been doing that forever".
But despite her influence, Sister Rosetta never really hit the levels of fame of the artists who followed, although I’m glad to see in recent years there has been a surge in interest in her effect on modern music.
Yebba
Yebba is an artist that has the rare ability to combine technique and skill with heart-wrenching emotion, she’s one of my favourite singers performing right now. It might seem strange to call her underrated considering she’s already won a Grammy, but I’ve found she’s only really known within niche circles, partially because she hasn’t released that much music yet. I would suggest checking out her live performance of her heartbreaking song “My Mind” on YouTube, as well as her duet of “Gravity” with Clark Beckham. She has recently signed a record deal with RCA Records and is working with Mark Ronson, so keep an eye out. I am certainly excited to see what she releases in years to come.
Kaleigh Baker
Kaleigh Baker is an artist I found on YouTube a few years ago and I think that she is someone everyone should know. Her voice has the depth and warmth of Adele with a touch of the soul and emotion of Janis Joplin, melding a rock attitude with jazz and mountain-soul influences. I would recommend checking out the live version of her song ‘The Weight Of It All’.
Ralf Scheepers
Well-known in the Metal community for his work with Gamma Ray and Primal Fear. Ralf navigates powerful high notes and warm baritone lows with both energy and control. And, unlike many of his contemporaries, his voice has continued to get better as he has aged. Plus, I was lucky enough to have him on the podcast to chat about his vocal journey and he’s a super nice guy! Check out him performing ‘The End Is Near’ with Primal Fear. It is genuinely thrilling to watch and listen to.
Aston Merrygold
You might be a little shocked to see JLS singer Aston Merrygold here, the lead singer of a dancing boy band whose rise to fame happened through X-Factor. Boy bands like this generally get a bad reputation for lack of ability, but after watching Aston give performances that Bruno Mars would be proud of in the Masked Singer U.K, there’s no doubt he’s a seriously good vocalist. Aston’s skill as a singer, dancer and overall performer has even earned him a spot in the UK Musical Theatre world, showing some real versatility, and he’s had one big single. I would love to see him release more music as a solo artist.
Concha Buika
With a raspy voice filled with spine-tingling soul, Spanish singer Concha Buika is comparable to Nina Simone and Edith Piaf. Her music is a unique blend of copla - an old-fashioned Spanish song style - flamenco, jazz, Cuban music, soul and blues. Concha is probably being underrated from a worldwide point of view because her music is in Spanish, which doesn’t always appeal to all English speakers. I think it is worth giving her music a listen even if you don’t understand the language. I love her collaboration with Javier Limón on the song Buenafuente, where there is an excellent live version on YouTube.
Floor Jansen
Many of you might be thinking - how could you call Floor Jansen underrated?! We all know her! And yes, she has a massive following across YouTube and in the metal community generally. But plenty of people outside of these communities don’t know her, even if we all know her vocals could rival any of the superstar performers that are popular right now. If you don’t know her or haven’t heard her work outside of metal, I suggest you look at her performances on Beste Zanger. My personal favourite was her singing Shallow by Lady Gaga as she makes the song her own and takes the song to emotional heights that I didn’t think was possible. If you want to see her range, she also does a fantastic version of Phantom of the Opera.
Morgan James
I first came across Morgan in her work with Postmodern Jukebox and subsequently caught her on tour in London. Seeing her live was one of the most amazing gigs I have ever been to, and I couldn’t believe that I heard this truly extraordinary voice in such an intimate venue. Morgan has forged her way as an independent artist, which without the backing of a big label makes it harder to get your work out there. I chatted to Morgan about this on the podcast and I’ll leave a link below. I really recommend checking out her solo work, as well as both her covers on her YouTube channel and her work with Postmodern Jukebox. My favourite is her cover of Aerosmith’s ‘Dream On’.
Ronnie James Dio
Ronnie James Dio is the less controversial but also lesser known Black Sabbath singer. But with excellent musicality, control and storytelling, in my opinion, he vocally trumps Ozzy Osbourne - sorry Ozzy fans! He does some fantastic work with his bands Elf, Dio and Heaven & Hell, although my personal favourite is the song Stargazer with the band Rainbow.
Mercedes Sosa
Mercedes Sosa was one of the most well-known singers in Argentina but is less well known outside South America. An outspoken opposition to Jorge Videla’s dictatorship in the 1970s, Mercedes became known as the “voice of the voiceless ones”. Her voice is warm and earthy yet powerful, passionate and politically charged. I love her emotional rendition of Nueva Canción song ‘Gracias A La Vida’, it’s well worth a listen.
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