# Is there a name for this hyper-annoying singing style? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704 "2014-01-02T15:55:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/303 "2017-10-25T16:36:22Z")
I like a lot of the waify stuff, but IMO it only works if the singer stays in that mode throughout the song (and, preferably, the album). ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/304 "2017-10-25T18:08:26Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I love that commercial! I have a major crush on the shorthaired hipster girl. Apple clearly has me and my wife nailed as their target market: we have two iPhones, two iTouches, three iPads, two Apple TVs (including the new 4K), and an iMac. Oh, wow. I hate that commercial, and find the shorthaired girl to be not very attractive. You may be right about the target market, though, as I have never owned an iphone, ipad, ipod, mac or any other Apple product. The song itself is ok, I guess, but nothing I would ever listen to. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/305 "2017-10-25T23:02:35Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > Oh, wow. I hate that commercial, and find the shorthaired girl to be not very attractive. You may be right about the target market, though, as I have never owned an iphone, ipad, ipod, mac or any other Apple product. The song itself is ok, I guess, but nothing I would ever listen to. I can recognize that her face deviates in some ways from what is considered conventionally attractive (bit of a “jolie-laide” deal), although it would be hard to fault her body. But it’s all part of her hipster charm. Her style is on point too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/306 "2017-10-25T23:06:15Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I can recognize that her face deviates in some ways from what is considered conventionally attractive (bit of a “jolie-laide” deal), although it would be hard to fault her body. But it’s all part of her hipster charm. Her style is on point too. Naw, she’s pretty darn pretty. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/307 "2017-10-25T23:14:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Naw, she’s pretty darn pretty. I agree of course, but you don’t see how she deviates from a certain set of beauty standards? Think of Cobie Smulders or Gisele Bundchen. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/308 "2017-10-25T23:16:30Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I agree of course, but you don’t see how she deviates from a certain set of beauty standards? Think of Cobie Smulders or Gisele Bundchen. You mean she has very short hair? Yes. That I see. But it astounds me that people can’t see the prettiness because of the hair (judging by the Youtube comments I’ve seen on that commercial.) I mean, she is very attractive by any measure, I would think. (I don’t know who the people you are referencing are, but I assume more traditional feminine looks.) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/309 "2017-10-26T01:52:31Z")
No, I mean her face (although there are people who can’t find shorthaired women attractive, which is nearly the opposite of me). It’s a bit different but she carries it off. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/310 "2017-10-26T01:55:37Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > No, I mean her face (although there are people who can’t find shorthaired women attractive, which is nearly the opposite of me). It’s a bit different but she carries it off. Oh, I actually didn’t notice the face being all that odd or different to me. She has one of those “cute” faces. ---
**Author:** ![port](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@port](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/port)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/311 "2017-11-01T16:25:13Z")
It’s incredibly annoying, like most pop singers, just in a different way. Here’s an instructional video I thought was a joke, but it’s not. So obnoxious. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e-0K77ccAOU/hqdefault.jpg "How to: Hip-Sing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-0K77ccAOU) ---
**Author:** ![spock.rules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@spock.rules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spock.rules)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/312 "2018-03-12T00:32:13Z")
I’ve been trying to find a word or term that describes this truly awful style of singing. That way, I can say something like, “Hey, the xxxxx style of singing really, really sucks, don’t you agree?” I found this thread today and joined the forum just because of this very subject. Many thanks for everyone’s analysis and comments. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/313 "2018-03-12T00:44:35Z")
> [@port](#): > > It’s incredibly annoying, like most pop singers, just in a different way. Here’s an instructional video I thought was a joke, but it’s not. So obnoxious. > > [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e-0K77ccAOU&time\_continue=47&ebc=ANyPxKrIqIjLv6IdxyYCgd3rBrI7SciOIqnr8jcK8-wIJa3WXLBF9dGoHautZu3Fsy1Qhuoz1cc6pdBnVhNhWXfHAgkv00daeA](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e-0K77ccAOU&time_continue=47&ebc=ANyPxKrIqIjLv6IdxyYCgd3rBrI7SciOIqnr8jcK8-wIJa3WXLBF9dGoHautZu3Fsy1Qhuoz1cc6pdBnVhNhWXfHAgkv00daeA) Huh, if this is accurate the “hip” sound has evolved to something more full-throated and melismatic, akin to Lorde—as most of what she sang did not sound like the “waifs” we have been talking about. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/314 "2018-03-12T10:09:49Z")
> [@spock.rules](#): > > I’ve been trying to find a word or term that describes this truly awful style of singing. That way, I can say something like, “Hey, the xxxxx style of singing really, really sucks, don’t you agree?” I found this thread today and joined the forum just because of this very subject. Many thanks for everyone’s analysis and comments. Welcome to the fight against singing ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![Doyle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doyle/32/439_2.png) [@Doyle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doyle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/315 "2018-03-12T13:54:55Z")
I’ll take this style over Mariah Carey and her ilk any day. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/316 "2018-03-12T16:49:41Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Huh, if this is accurate the “hip” sound has evolved to something more full-throated and melismatic, akin to Lorde—as most of what she sang did not sound like the “waifs” we have been talking about. > Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk I think the hip sound is more R and B than indie. There is one out there right now, an indie college age sounding male white singer, whose voice goes “up, up” at the last line. OMG. It does soften my fear of death though. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/317 "2018-03-12T20:17:00Z")
> [@Doyle](#): > > I’ll take this style over Mariah Carey and her ilk any day. Agreed! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/318 "2018-03-12T22:39:19Z")
I have no idea how I missed this thread - but for some reason, Spotify has decided I like this and nearly every song on the “Discover Weekly” playlist is in that really, really, really awful style. (Most of the rest are in the overly high Tori Amos style. Which is annoying in a different way. Spotify must hate me) It makes you want make them sit in a tiny room and listen to each other until they learn to sing in a real voice or promise never to sing again. Either is fine. ---
**Author:** ![computertamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@computertamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computertamer)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/319 "2018-11-11T16:28:11Z")
This style of singing is known as “hip singing” and it’s a disastrous, ongoing ebola-like epidemic! I believe the origin of this style is rooted in an attempt to hijack the singing style of Billie Holiday. It appears that patient zero might be Cat Power, who’s been on the scene since the mid-90s. Somehow this virus laid dormant until the second decade of the 2000s. Interestingly, there is a co-morbid disease called vocal fry, that has reached the same epidemic proportions. Millennials seem to be the demographic most susceptible to these terrible diseases. They appear to have some kind of personality defect that leaves them vulnerable to monkey-see monkey-do behavior. In case anyone is still unclear as to the exact properties of the hip-sing style, here is a video that exactly nails it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/e-0K77ccAOU/hqdefault.jpg "How to: Hip-Sing") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-0K77ccAOU) ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/320 "2018-11-11T16:34:32Z")
> [@computertamer](#): > > This style of singing is known as “hip singing” and it’s a disastrous, ongoing ebola-like epidemic! I believe the origin of this style is rooted in an attempt to hijack the singing style of Billie Holiday. > > It appears that patient zero might be Cat Power, who’s been on the scene since the mid-90s. Somehow this virus laid dormant until the second decade of the 2000s. Interestingly, there is a co-morbid disease called vocal fry, that has reached the same epidemic proportions. > > Millennials seem to be the demographic most susceptible to these terrible diseases. They appear to have some kind of personality defect that leaves them vulnerable to monkey-see monkey-do behavior. > > In case anyone is still unclear as to the exact properties of the hip-sing style, here is a video that exactly nails it: > > [https://youtu.be/e-0K77ccAOU](https://youtu.be/e-0K77ccAOU) You’ve never actually listened to Cat Power, then? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/321 "2018-11-11T19:27:13Z")
> [@computertamer](#): > > In case anyone is still unclear as to the exact properties of the hip-sing style, here is a video that exactly nails it: > > [https://youtu.be/e-0K77ccAOU](https://youtu.be/e-0K77ccAOU) That’s a pretty good breakdown of this annoying style. And welcome to the SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2018, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704/322 "2018-11-11T21:52:42Z")
Is wearing a weird pair of glasses part of hip singing? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-hyper-annoying-singing-style/677704.md?page=17)