FAMOUS SINGERS WITH THE WORST VOICES

Some famous (or infamous) rock singers and other popular singers have whiny, nasal or otherwise off-putting voices. Please feel free to disagree in the comments, or to nominate other vexing singers.

THE WORST SINGERS EVER, AT LEAST WITH HIT RECORDS

Singers with terrible voices, or at least not very good voices, include some of the most successful musicians of all time, such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Among bands, the names that come up most frequently for bad singing include the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rush. However, I will maintain to my grave that they can’t hold a candle to the Grateful Dead!

My top ten terrible singers are Yoko Ono, Roseanne Barr, Tiny Tim, Kid Rock, Iggy Pop, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Geddy Lee of Rush, and the entire Grateful Dead.

I am not down on much-criticized singers who can actually sing, like Justin Bieber, Cher, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry. I may not care for some of their songs, but that doesn’t mean they have subpar voices. In my opinion Adele, Beyonce, Bono, Celine Dion, the Jonas Brothers, Cyndi Lauper and Rihanna have great voices, regardless of what anyone thinks about the songs they select or how they deliver them.

by Michael R. Burch

• Bob Dylan sings in a sort of nasally monotone that I find hard to abide for any length of time, as much as I like the lyrics of his better songs. On an amusing note, for years I thought Dylan’s best vocal performance was his version of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” But then I discovered that John Cale had sung the track for the 1973 movie Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, even though Dylan had appeared in the movie! That seems like an admission on the part of the director, the producer and Dylan himself that his vocals are not the best.
  
  “Bob fucking Dylan sings like a cat being beaten with a violin.”
  
  “Around about 2015 I went to a Bob Dylan concert. The emergency ward was filled with those who had poked their eardrums out, so they wouldn't have to listen to it anymore. The only saving grace was that the band knew just how bad he was, and played over top of him, so that you might not hear a single mumbled word on some songs. This probably saved the hearing of thousands 😂.”
  
  As Thomas Cayne observed: “In the wonderful documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” we can see some of the greatest American singers in the 1980s doing their thing. Lionel Richie (the man whose songs basically sculpted the decade), Michael Jackson in his prime, Bruce Springsteen in the raw (and very best) version, Stevie Wonder (the “wonder” says it all), the feisty but very talented Cyndi Lauper, the magnificent Ray Charles, Steve “The Voice” Perry — the list goes on and on. And then there was Bob. Bob Dylan was so blown away by the sheer talent of his peers, that he refused to sing his lines because improvising like the rest of them were doing that night, was beyond his limited singing talent. He admitted that he would look really bad if he would even try it, so he refused.

  Stevie Wonder had to talk him into doing it eventually, and it was indeed arguably the worst contribution by far. Bob’s many musical limitations basically were exposed in that rising sea of musical talent, and he knew it. He was drowning through the for-him-impossible notes the others could produce without any effort. One of my very best friends recently made a dream come true and went to see Bob (a bit older now), as a super duper fan. The concert was more than disappointing — in fact, it felt more like a cold shower than anything else.”
  
  Why is Bob Dylan so successful when he’s not a great singer? I believe it’s because his lyrics connect with people and they’re listening more to what he says than how he sings.

• Neil Young has been called the “godfather of grunge.” He reminds me of Bob Dylan: they’re both great songwriters who are hard to listen to for extended periods of time because they both sing in a nasally monotone. I think Neil Young has also been successful because people connect with his lyrics. I particularly like his songs “After the Gold Rush,” “Heart of Gold,” “The Needle and the Damage Done” and “Old Man.” When the songwriting is that good, the singer doesn’t have to be perfect vocally. But not everyone agrees…
  
  “Neil Young makes me wanna jam ice picks in my ears.”

• Tom Petty may have been the “second godfather of grunge.” He was another singer who didn’t have a great voice but made up for it with great lyrics that people connected with.
  

• Johnny Cash was not a bad singer, but he didn’t have what I consider a great voice. What he did have was a sort of weatherbeaten baritone that suited the songs he wrote, such as “I Walk the Line” and “Folsom Prison Blues.” When he sang “Hurt” toward the end of his life, that was another song that suited his voice.

• Leonard Cohen had a Cash-like baritone, not as good, but other singers made his songs memorable.
  
  “It’s a tie between Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen.”
  
  “This guy just talks during his songs. He has a creepy, low talking voice and yet people think he is talented. He is a good songwriter though.”

• The Grateful Dead are the band version of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, sans the great lyrics. When your best-known songs are “Touch of Gray” and “Truckin’” … well, need I say more? Sorry Bill Walton, but I’m not a fan.

• Why are there so many Deadheads? It could be that people like band’s vibe, or just want an excuse to get out of the house and let their hair down, every now and then.

• I’m not sure that what Yoko Ono does is technically “singing” and it’s safe to say that I will never buy anything she records. Calling your band the Plastic Ono Band seems like a pretty big clue that the genuine article has been replaced by something artificial.
  
  “A melody-free caterwaul with incomprehensible lyrics … an animals-being-skinned-alive sound.”
  
  “She sounds like a seagull being eaten alive by another seagull. She sounds like someone repeatedly pulling the parking brake at highway speeds. She sounds like a coyote got the wind knocked out of it. I'd make the same noises if I got my hand caught in the garbage disposal. I'm actually mad that I had even the slightest curiosity about this. I will never get those 5 minutes of my life back.”
  
  “Yoko Ono for sure. Bjork is a close second.”
  
  “Saying Yoko is a singer is either sarcasm or a stretch.”
  
  “Yoko being number 1 is a unanimous choice. There is no argument.”

• Florence Foster Jenkins is "usually mentioned as the world's worst" singer, according to AI.
  
  Jenkins was an American socialite and amateur lyric soprano who “became known, and mocked, for her flamboyant performance costumes and notably poor singing ability.”
  
  “Florence Foster Jenkins remains, it is widely agreed, ‘the worst opera singer in the world’. But the most incredible thing of all is that she had no idea.”

• Sonny Bono “rode Cher’s coattails.”

• Lou Reed is no threat to Luciano Pavarotti, I will leave it at that.

• Tom Waits is another singer in the Dylan-Young-Cash-Cohen-Reed category.
  
  “Tom Waits has the worst voice I have ever heard. It sounds like he's gargling marbles.”

• Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers had the most votes in my informal and highly unscientific poll for the worst lead singer of a popular band, followed closely by Geddy Lee of Rush.
  
  “Anthony Kiedis' voice is like nails on a chalkboard with nasal congestion.”
  
  “Yeah, Anthony Kiedis is absolutely tone deaf. But, you know... Give the man credit, he made a career out of singing off key.”

• Willie Nelson is a great songwriter with a strained, whiny, nasally singing voice. Listening to him performing “To All the Girls I Loved Before” is like having wisdom teeth extracted without Novocain.

• James LaBrie of Dream Theater “sometimes shrieks like a dying bird in concert.” I don’t know why, but this quote cracked me up when I read it.

• Vince Neil of Motley Crue sounds “like a dying goat.”
  
  “Vince Neil. He couldn't sing in the 80s and he really can't sing now.”
  
  Vince Neil also “frequently forgot his lyrics.”

• Carly Rae Jepsen tops at least one “worst singer of all time list” and ranks high on others.

• Selena Gomez shows up frequently on worst singer lists.
  
  As one wag observed, “Lord only knows why Selena Gomez is famous for ‘singing’.”
  
  “Selena at the AMAs circa 2018? was SO bad! You could barely hear her which wasn’t a bad thing.”

• On some of the “cusp” singers I have consulted my wife, Elizabeth Harris Burch, who has worked as a professional singer in Nashville. I have published her grade first, followed by mine, like this: (B/C), for what it’s worth.

• Fergie had success with the Black Eyed Peas, then released her debut solo album, The Dutchess, in 2008. The album spawned three number-one singles: “London Bridge,” “Glamorous” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Fergie may have hit on a successful formula: “The fewer clothes you wear, the more units you sell.” (D/D)

• I have a theory: “If you’re singing in your undies, you may be distracting the audience from your singing.”

• Taylor Swift has become singing Victoria’s Secret model. Not that I’m complaining! She has been accused of relying on autotune, but her fans apparently could care less. (B/B-)

• Iggy Azalea became famous after her songs “Pussy” and “Two Times” went viral on YouTube. Her debut studio album, The New Classic, hit the top five in various charts around the globe. Iggy may also subscribe to the “less is more” motif.
  
  “Iggy fucking Azalea on top of having the voice of a pissed-off monkey also has no talent.”
  
  “Her only claim to fame is having a big ass and even that’s not real!”

• Cardi B may be better at making out in public than singing. She’s been called one of the worst singers of all time, even after copious autotuning.
  
  “I still feel she's some inside joke I'm not a part of.”

• Jennifer Lopez’s voice has been described as “thin” and she, too, has been accused of over-relying on autotune. I’d say it’s neck and neck between her, Selena and Cardi B for the most votes for the worst female singer.
  
  “I have no respect for any BAD SINGERS list without Jennifer Lopez as No.1.”
  
  “She can't harmonize, do adlibs, keep pitch, the voice is thin, no technical control...”

• Paris Hilton has also become a “singer.” Do we see a trend developing, perhaps? She released her debut album, Paris, in 2006. The album reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned the hit “Stars Are Blind.” If they bought the album or the single, that may well be true. Deaf also.

• Jessica Simpson’s voice has been called “grating” and it has been alleged that “studio trickery” is required to make her singing fit for human ears. Rather incredibly, her debut album, Sweet Kisses, sold over two million copies. There really is no accounting for taste, apparently.

• Ashlee Simpson “may not be the worst singer in her family. Just sayin’.”

• Roseanne Barr singing the national anthem was a trainwreck and a national embarrassment.

• Liam Gallagher has been called “truly awful” in some of his performances.

• Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit.
  
  Fred Durst “Oftentimes didn’t remember his own band’s lyrics, but who could tell? Because his singing style did not require pronunciation.”

• Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.

• Britney Spears is another singer whose voice allegedly requires heaping helpings of autotune.

• Madonna “has been a powerhouse at many aspects of her industry but if you isolate her singing it is really just mediocre.” According to Nile Rodgers, Madonna was snubbed by the “We Are the World” producers because some of her peers didn’t think she could sing. (B/B)

• Milli Vanilli would be the obvious answer, except they weren’t allowed to sing their songs, so no one knows how terrible they really were. We can only guess at their awfulness.

• Vanilla Ice

• Kid Rock might top my list of bad singers, but I always turn him off immediately, so I can’t be sure.
  
  “Kid Rock is the Steven Seagal of music.”
  
  “Kid Rock is the official soundtrack of copper catalytic converter theft.”
  
  “Kid Rock is an artist who stops at nothing … and stays there.”
  
  “If a skid mark took a human form it would be Kid Rock.”
  
  “I feel sorry for Kid Rock: it must be awful to go through life with a shower allergy.”
  
  “Kid Rock is basically an older Machine Gun Kelly.”
  
  “Kid Rock is a fifty-something-year-old version of Cartman.”
  
  “Kid Rock checks all the boxes of being a Karen.”

• Brian Johnson of AC/DC has been compared to a “shrieking cat” and accused of “gravelly high pitched screeching.”
  
  “His voice is worse than nails on a chalkboard.”
  
  “It always sounds like he's passing a very painful turd while he tries to sing.”
  
  “Brian Johnson...shrieking cat. Spoiled iconic songs with his shrieks.”
  
  (Disclaimer: I’m an AC/DC fan and am simply reporting what I’ve heard.)

• Bruce Springsteen gets criticized for his singing, but I like his voice on great songs like “Born to Run” and “Thunder Road” that suit him to a “T.” (B/B+)

• Paul Stanley of KISS

• The debate continues to rage about Chad Kroeger of Nickelback. Is he a terrible singer, or do people just not like him or his group?

• Geddy Lee of Rush has an irritating voice. Even his fans admit that he has “screeching vocals.” (B/B-)

• Adam Levine of Maroon 5 can get irritating and he seems to be singing the same song over and over in slightly different versions. He’s not a bad singer but the results can be annoying. (C/C+)
  
  “Adam Levine. He has always sounded to me like he’s doing a joking falsetto that just makes me cringe when I hear it.”

• I find Ed Sheeran incredibly annoying. It’s not that he’s a bad singer, it’s what he sings and how he sings it. Give me Sam Smith any day.

• David Lee Roth of Van Halen may have been the most annoying singer every. I refuse to listen to him sing, on principle. I also know a girl who met him and she said he was a complete asshole. (C/C-)

• Drake makes the list of worst singers because “anything he doesn't sing with autotune is straight water trash.”
  
  “Needs a vocoder to stay in tune, cannot play a musical instrument, and tries hard to appeal to 15-year-old girls.”
  
  “I don't know why Drake is as popular as he is, His singing is flat and lacks any tone.”

• Ian Brown of the Stone Roses is “karaoke bad.”

• Rihanna
  
  “Rihanna. She’s atonal.”

• Kanye West because he “can't sing for sh-t and does it with the most confidence in the world.”

• Lil Wayne because his voice “sounds like he has never blown his nose his whole life.”

• Macy Gray’s voice “is a cross between Carol Channing and Donald Duck.”

• Iggy Pop is more of a performer than a singer. Did he invent “shock rock”? Iggy started out as the lead singer for the Stooges, then went solo, without ever bothering to learn how to actually sing, as far as I can tell.

• Justin Bieber gets a lot of criticism on social media, but is it because of his singing or his songs? (B/B-) He tops the Top Tens’ “Top 10 Worst Singers of All Time” and is fifth in Ranker’s public poll of the worst bands and musicians.
  
  “His voice is downright annoying, and his songs sound like they could be a porn soundtrack.”

• Machine Gun Kelly shows up in several worst singer lists.
  
  Machine Gun Kelly “is the personification of cringe and bad singing.”

• Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas has been criticized for poor singing. On the other hand, “Calling him a singer is a bit of a stretch.”

• Akon “should stick to rapping because he can’t sing.”

• Snoop Dogg is another rapper who should “stick to rap.”

• Eddie Murphy should “stick to stand-up.”

• Tom DeLonge co-founded the group Blink-182 and it has been opined that his voice is on the blink. DeLonge’s singing voice has been described as “shouty” and “bratty.” But the band’s 1999 album Enema of the State spawned three hit singles, went quadruple-platinum, and sold over 15 million copies. So apparently some people like DeLonge’s voice.

• Ozzy Osbourne has been called a bad singer, although I don’t mind his singing myself. He’s no Steve Perry, but I have no major objections. Ozzy Osbourne started out as the lead singer for Bad Sabbath, then went solo, selling over 13 million copies as a solo artist. (B/B)

• Billy Corgan is the lead singer of grunge band Smashing Pumpkins. His voice has been described as “screechy.” I think it’s safe to say that the lead singers of grunge groups tend not be the greatest of singers.
  
  “I don't know what they do to Billy Corgan's vocals in the studio, but live was like a drunk kid going through puberty doing karaoke.”
  
  Billy Corgan has a “punchable voice.”
  
  “Billy Corgan. I'm sorry but his singing style is just awful. Smashing Pumpkins’ music is mostly very pleasant and enjoyable, but I wish they would release instrumental versions of their albums.”

• Rebecca Black produced one of the most-hated songs of all time, “Friday,” although it may be the lyrics people hate more than her voice. Several of her defenders pointed out that she’s much improved as a vocalist.

• Kesha comes up a lot in discussions of the worst singers. The dollar sign in Ke$ha may be a clue about her priorities.

• Nicki Minaj is another singer whose name comes up a lot in such discussions. Minaj is second-worst in the Top Tens’ “Top 10 Worst Singers of All Time.”
  
  “Some actresses need a body double. Nicki Minaj needs a voice double.”
  
  “No one has done more harm to rap in recent years, and no one could be more overrated or sound more awful. With poor lyrics, auto-tune, and inexplicable popularity…”

• Trent Reznor has been called “whiny.”

• Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day “sang like he had allergies.”

• Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish.
  
  “Hootie can’t sing, and when he does every song is the same.”
  
  “I cannot stand Darius Rucker's voice. It sounds like he's got chronic strep throat.”

• Chris Rea’s voice “always sounds like an advertisement for throat lozenges.”

• Marilyn Manson “is literally white girl dookie. Was forced to listen to it on a group date. Wanted to swerve the car into a wall and end it all. Absolute garbage to the 5th unit of dog piss e. Coli.”

• Dave Mustaine, the frontman for Megadeth, has fans and critics.

• Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon has a “terribly annoying whiny voice.”

• Axl Rose gets a lot of online criticism but I think he’s a great singer on “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” And really, who can match him on those songs? (A/A)

• Morrissey “always sings in the same vibrations and methods in each of his songs; let's say he's not the best and most creative singer out there.”

• Geri Halliwell of Spice Girls due to “horrendous caterwauling, especially Geri.”

• Stevie Nicks is fine “when she sticks to her lower register” but “when she goes for high notes it sounds like someone violating a goat.” (A/A, We both thought Stevie’s songs are perfect for her voice, and vice versa, so she doesn’t need to hit ultra-high notes.)

• The Yardbirds had “Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck on guitars — and the hapless Keith Relf on the microphone.”

• Spencer Sotelo of Periphery has been compared to a “pissed-off cat.”

• Julian Casablancas “can’t sing, but the not-so-melodic sounds that come out of him are perfect for the Strokes.”

• Shane MacGowan of The Pogues.

• Joanna Newsom “sounds like a dying cat.”

• Robert Smith of The Cure “has hardly any reach or control.”

• Hayley Williams gets “screechy when she hits the higher notes.”

• Les Claypool of Primus has to be taken in small doses, according to his critics.

• Gavin Rossdale of Bush “would do better to let his band do instrumentals.”

• Thom Yorke of Radiohead now that he can no longer hit the high notes.
  
  “Watching Thom live is kind of painful these days. Dude just can’t hit the notes like he used to.”

• Mick Jagger because “all he does now at 80 years old is lip sync to his songs and his gushing groupies actually think he is singing.”

• Chris Martin of Coldplay.
  
  “Awesome music, great lyrics but the man just can't sing!”
  
  “He sings in such a lazy manner. He has that indie-ish voice where he sounds either low or very high. I cannot stand that type of voice.”

• Bret Michaels of Poison.

• Scott Stapp of Creed.

• J.J Cale is a “great guitarist” but “not so good a singer.”

• Demi Lovato has been accused of yelling her high notes.

• Paula Abdul “doesn't even sound good through autotune.”
  
  Paula Abdul’s voice has been described as “screechy, dull and lifeless.”
  
  However, I will note that, unlike some of the singers mentioned here, Paula Abdul does have a number of passionate defenders.

• Katy Perry “sounds like karaoke girls trying to hit high notes.”
  
  Katy Perry has been accused of “screaming” her high notes.

• Idina Menzel “just sounds like she's screaming.”

• Camila Cabello because “her voice sounds like it was created in a computer, then run through a dishwasher.”

• Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction.

• Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead “brought with him an extremely raw chesty vocal style. It was less like singing and more like yelling and shouting.”

• Chuck Mosley of Faith No More.

• Joe Strummer of the Clash.

• Mark E. Smith of the Fall “cannot sing a fucking note.”

• Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is a great guitarist but not nearly as good a singer.

• Kris Kristofferson
  
  “Kris Kristofferson was a songwriter for a reason.”

• Randy Newman is “more of a songwriter than a singer.”

• Paul Williams, ditto.

• The Cherry Sisters were judged wanting, by an actual judge. A newspaper called their singing “the wailing of damned souls”. They sued for libel. The judge had them perform, then ruled in favor of the newspaper.

• Lily Allen
  
  “She has that I'm-Whispering-Because-I-Can't-Sing thing going on with her. She talks and whispers throughout her songs.”

• Buffy Sainte-Marie
  
  “Her voice (and really, her whole musical aesthetic) is like nails on a chalkboard to me. … If there is a hell, and I’m sent there when I die, I’d expect the soundtrack to be Buffy Sainte-Marie music. Eternal torture!!!”

• Zach Bryan because “from a vocal perspective he is absolutely horrid. Doesn’t finish words, nasally, and raspy. It sounds like a congested dog whining. It’s just hard to listen to.”

• Ian Curtis of Joy Division has been criticized for poor singing, but he struggled with epilepsy and depression and committed suicide at age 23.

• Kevin Federline is #4 in Ranker’s public poll of The Worst Bands & Musicians of All Time.

• Onision is #6 in Ranker’s “worst list.”

• Soulja Boy is #8 in Ranker’s “worst list.”

• Chris Brown is #12 in Ranker’s “worst list.”

• John Cena sang his WWE intro song. It did not go well and there were no cries of “Encore!”

• Jake Paul graduated from being a fake boxer to being a fake singer. If Logan Paul can be accused of singing, he belongs in the same category.

• Pitbull “sings like his namesake, albeit with less range.”

• IceJJFish “sings with the diction of a bag of marbles.”

• Mrs. Miller was the wife of a wealthy investor; she studied music late in life then “embarked on a series of off-tune, off-tempo, popular recordings with the heaviest vibrato ever known to man.”

• William Shatner
  
  “Maybe Shatner should just stick to acting. Because his foray into music... shouldn't even be considered music. It's been parodied everywhere from Animaniacs to Futurama.”

• Richard Thompson — like JJ Cale: a “great guitarist” but “not so good a singer.”

  As opposed to Colin Blunstone [Zombies] - now there’s a singer! — Geoff Carter in the comments

CONTROVERSIAL CRITICISM (WITH WHICH I DON’T AGREE): Beyonce, Bono (A/A), Michael Bolton, Cher, Billie Eilish, Cindy Lauper, Meat Loaf, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks (A/A), Axl Rose (A/A), Shakira (B/B+), Bruce Springsteen (B/B+), Gwen Stefani (B/B), Eddie Vedder (A-/B+, Beth said he has amazing vocal quality for what he does), Roger Waters (B/B+)

THE CRITICS ARE DIVIDED: Bjork

DIS-HONORABLE MENTION: Jason Aldean, Jack Antonoff, Bad Bunny, Sabrina Carpenter, Nick Cave, Taio Cruz, Billy Ray Cyrus, Pete Doherty, Sara Evans, Marianne Faithfull, Bryan Ferry, Gordon Gano, Halsey, Hanson, William Hung, Island Boys, DJ Khaled, Dave Matthews, Ted Nugent, Passenger, Sade, Jacob Sartorius, Bon Scott, Gene Simmons, Ringo Starr, Tiny Tim, Meghan Trainor, Oliver Tree, Yolandi Visser, Joe Walsh, Lil Yachty, Rob Zombie

SOURCES

The quotes came primarily from Reddit and YouTube threads on the subject of the worst singers.

by Michael R. Burch

#WORST #SINGERS #MRB-WORST #MRBWORST #MRBWORSTSINGERS