[NEW MUSIC] Toni Braxton - Deadwood

Post by: Montrez Rambo

Toni Braxton isn't done ya'll. The nearly fifty year old is showing that her voice is still in good shape with the new sing Deadwood.

The track starts with some sweet, if ordinary, sounding acoustic guitar. They give way to some light weight but dark in colour vocals, a signature of Ms. Braxton. She gave upper mid-belts and growls towards the end, that forego the love it or hate hypo-nasality associated with her style.

[New Music] Toni and Tamar Braxton Return With New Music. One good, the other not so much.

Another release from Tamar Braxton's September-due album Love and War has been uploaded to SoundCloud- say hello to All the Way. This grown up slice of Rnb was written by the legendary Diane Warren (and Tamar, I should add) and it's a slow burner that improves with every listen. The vocals aren't as showy as we've come to expect from the youngest Braxton, but that doesn't mean they're any less impressive.

Unfortunately the more I hear from this album, the more I think it will probably flop- not that I'm wanting that. But Rnb isn't selling right now and that's what Tamar is delivering. However, I'll be the first to pony up my pounds if it's full of quality like this and the album's title track. So Tamar you can sleep easy knowing you should have at least one guaranteed sale come the release date...

Review: Toni Braxton "I Heart You"

Surprisingly slow to capitalise on the the success of the hit show she and her family star in, the eldest, and most successful sister, Toni Braxton, returns with new single I Heart You.

Hearing the song about a month back I wasn't overly impressed. Despite aiming for the club, the production was a little limp and lifeless to really grab, and the vocals weren't anything exceptional. We all know Toni Braxton can really sing, but here she was delivering the vocals like it was a ballad instead of a club track! Everything about this song needed to be lifted and energised. I do like the build up in the middle and the following Christina Aguileraesque vocal run that follows it, but I think this song would have worked with more fire or, failing that, at a slower tempo.

Countdown: Top 5 Contemporary Contraltos

Note: "Alto" should read "Contralto"

The operatic contralto range usually spans from an F3 to a G5 but amazingly our lovely pop Divas can do better than that, with many of them demonstrating the ability to reach at least 4 notes below the lowest requirement.

Apart from the ability to reach an F3, contralto voices have other characteristics usually associated with them- though they are not always present- such as a smoky timbre, a lower access point to the chest register and a heavier weight to the voice. So celebrate this rare vocal type, below is a list of my 5 favourite contralto range capable Divas.

Note: Of course, in reality, comparing a pop singer to an opera singer is like comparing an apple to an orange so any opera aficionados don't bite my head off please...I need it for living.

Flashback: The Braxtons

The Braxtons (Verson 1.0):
It was way back in 1990 when 5 sisters named Toni, Tamar, Trina, Towanda and Traci Braxton released their first, and last, single The Good Life as a group.

Toni Braxton - Vocal Profile/ Range

Toni Braxton

Vocal Type: contralto
Whistle Register: No
Vocal Range:3 Octaves. Bb2- Bb5 (approx)
Longest Note: 7 seconds - "Maybe"
Vocal Pluses: Dark and heavy voice throughout the low and belted notes. Is capable of lifting the weight and colour of her voice with her middle range which the has an airier quality. Her head voice is nice with a smooth, rich sound that retains a weight to it.
Vocal Negatives: Heavy weight of the voice doesn't allow or suit vocal runs. Belted notes sound less impressive than that of her contemporaries and tends to sound at unease with her voice the higher she sings.