Defining a Musical Generation: “SANGer”
There have been many vocalists in an array of musical genres that have exhibited all the qualities needed to be a singer. Rihanna, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are perfect examples of these types of artists. Although these artists are decent in their respective genres there is always room for improvement thus and such these, artist take note from “sangers.” The definition of a “sanger” is substantially different from that of a singer. A sanger has an undeniable intensity in their vocals, a burning passion for music and sing songs that are unparalleled to any other song in its genre.
A sanger’s intensity within their vocals is extremely recognizable and they pierce straight into your soul. Artists like Patti Labelle, Maxwell and Chaka Khan are perfect examples of a sanger’s vocal intensity. When you hear Chaka Khan perform “I’m Every Woman,” or when Patti’s sings “Lady Marmalade,” or when Maxwell croons “Fortunate” there is no denying that these artist sing from a different place and exhibit a strong since of emotion when delivering their vocal performances which sets them apart from the vast majority of the music industry who makes radio “friendly” music.
In addition to having intensity within their vocals, a sanger has a burning passion for music that is exhibited through their desire to go beyond just singing songs and being apart of more than just the entertainment aspect. Typically when a singer becomes popular within the music industry they are a packaged artist; a packaged artist is a musical artist who is marketed to generate a specific fan base and caters to it. A sanger is marketed to appeal to different demographics making them “crossover acts.”
They also are more in control of their career and are given the opportunity to enhance it. In addition to this sangers also work behind the scenes to make sure that they point of view is clearly seen and heard. Examples of these artists are Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Whitney Houston. Mariah Carey is actively involved in the total songwriting and production aspect of her music and ensures that what she wants conveyed is exactly what she wants to portray as an artist. Beyoncé is another example, with her being solely in charge of the directing and concept creating of her music videos, this ensures that her images is kept the way she wants it. Whitney Houston’s image has always been a big part of who she is as an artist and how her image was being perceived worked in her favor. She was in control of her appearance which I feel directly relates to her and why she has relevant for so long.
Lastly, the third a final characteristic that solidifies an artist as a sanger is their body of work (songs). A sanger’s song is the most important piece of work because it alerts the public about who they are as an artist. The song must be one of a kind, classic and most of all timeless. There are many songs out there that have either one or maybe even two of these traits but very few possess all three qualities and when one does nine times out of ten it came from a sanger. Songs like “We Belong Together” by Mariah Carey, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston and “Lifetime” Maxwell are all songs that are one of a kind, classic and timeless. The emotional depth put into these songs, mixed with the intensity of their vocals with the production certifies these songs and many others as sanger’s songs.
Sangers are increasingly becoming more apart of modern music with the upcoming success of Chrisette Michele, Trey Songz and Jordin Sparks and they are following in the footsteps of those who paved the way and created this term. Although people may not know what all a sanger entails, when they hear a musical artist belt out a song they instantly know that the person performing the song is a sanger. Sangers have been around for decades, now it time for everyone to be knowledgeable about them.
– Anthony T Lampkin
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