Last night we were eating at Golden Corral. A song by Jewel came on the music system and at first and I originally idenitified the song as being by Tori Amos. Once I listened to the song a little more I realized it was Jewel. My thought was, “Damn! I’m always mixing those two up.”
I know there must be other examples of this. A friend of mine can’t tell Bryan Adams from Don Henley, and I have to agree that if I weren’t familiar with their respective songs I’d probably mix them up as well.
The lead singer of the Editors (Tom Smith) sounds a lot like the lead singer of Interpol (Paul Banks), who in turn sounds rather like the lead singer of Joy Division (Ian Curtis).
David Coverdale (of Whitesnake) sounds a lot like Robert Plant on some songs, but I’m sure that was deliberate.
Nancy Wilson and Dinah Washington always get me confused.
And more recently, I thought Bonnie Raitt was singing The Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.
Whenever I hear Tim McGraw singing When Stars Go Blue, I have to remind myself that it’s not Five for Fighting.
Tom Petty & Bob Dylan. Back in the day, sometimes I found it difficult to distinguish between these two Traveling Wilburys.
VCNJ~
For some reason, I always get the lead singer from iAudioslave* mixed up with the guy from Soundgarden. 
Actually, Chris Cornell kind of sounds like David Coverdale, too. (Or rather, as I listen to Whitesnake – please, please don’t ask why – I think David Coverdale sounds like Chris Cornell.)
Kim Carnes (Bette Davis Eyes) and Rod Stewart.
In the 1980s Vince Clarke teamed up with Alison Moyet and had a few hits under the name Yazoo. That duo dissolved and Vince formed a new duo, called Erasure, with vocalist Andy Bell. It took a while before most people noticed, because Bell often sounds* exactly* like Moyet.
Suggests that when Mr. Clarke went shopping for singers, he knew exactly what sort of voice he was looking for.
Staind = Nickelback = Creed = every other band that sounds like a bad Cher impersonator in the lead.
I’m surprised nobody else has them yet, but Dave Matthews and John Mayer.
I shouldn’t do this, but I will. One of Happy Rhodes’ high voices sounds almost exactly like Kate Bush’s high voice, especially on her early albums, and there’s a reason for it that doesn’t have anything to do with being a wannabe or a copycat. She learned how to sing by singing along to Kate’s album The Kick Inside when she was a teenager. However, Happy has a phenomenal range, and has other high voices, a midrange, and a low, deep voice that don’t sound anything like Kate. Besides that she’s her own artist with very original music.
Now THAT’S funny. Never thought about it before, but now I won’t be able to hear “Bette Davis Eyes” the same way again.
Back in their heyday (early to mid 70’s?), I couldn’t distinguish any difference between Boston, Foreigner, Styx, Kansas, and Toto. Whenever one of their songs would air on radio, and someone asked me who the artist was, I’d say “Boston/Foreigner/Kansas/Styx/Toto”. Got some funny looks from that, but to me they were indistinguishable. I still can’t tell them apart when I hear one of these songs today.
I think the guy from Godsmack sounds a lot like James Hetfield. I’m sure he’s trying to.
For the record, I don’t think Tori Amos and Jewel sound alike, but I’m not a casual Tori Amos listener, and I hate Jewel.
It seems to me that Tom Waits usually sounds alike.
hehe. AskNott, you have a good ear. Possibly two.
I don’t think Tori Amos and Jewel sound alike. Early Tori Amos sounds a little like Kate Bush to me though.
Simon Climie (of Climie Fisher) reminds me of Rod Stewart. And I keep mixing Jason Mraz up with fellow folk-rocker Jude Christodal.
Back when poppy ska-punk was big in the late '90s, a lot of people seemed to confuse Reel Big Fish and the Hippos.
The late ‘90s swing bands: Royal Crown Revue, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Unless you were a fan (and I was a HUGE fan), I imagine they sounded interchangeable to most people.
Fiona Apple’s voice always reminds me of Annie Lennox’s.
Boxcar Racer sounds exactly like Blink 182 to me.
I get all the new songs mixed up and couldn’t tell you, of the modern stuff, who sings what (I remember Blink 182 from back before I ever heard of Boxcar Racer.)