Katie doesn't think she has the greatest voice. I don't often disagree with her, but on this she is simply wrong. So it made me think - what is it about a voice that moves us. What defines a voice as being great?
We are all different, so maybe there is no one definitive answer but I can tell you why, for me, Katie is so special.
It seems to me there are multiple qualities that define a good voice - range, power, timing and emotion being four of them. We'll assume that the ability to sing in tune is a given!
Range is how many octaves you can cover from low to high. It is more relevant to opera singers, less so for popular artists. I don't see how it makes you a greater singer just because you have a wider range. Though that blue alien woman in 'The Fifth Element' was impressive!
Power seems to be high on most people's list of what makes a good singer. The trouble is, power without control is just noise. Too many singers nowadays belt out songs at full volume with no subtlety and it all gets a bit shouty. Take Adele for example. A massive star these days, and talked about in revered tones, yet to me she reminds me of that wailing kid in the supermarket being ignored by its mother while the rest of the shoppers find it impossible to ignore. Being able to sing loudly does not mean you are a great singer.
Timing is a fairly important ability. The band members all keep strict time with the music so you need to make sure your words are sung in the right places, but this doesn't necessarily mean being bang on the beat. There is a brief window between the last note and the next one so you can get in slightly ahead or behind if you want to. Frank Sinatra was the master of this. He always seemed to sing the words when it suited him and it often felt like he was a mile off the beat and never going to get the words in. He always did. He did it his way, and it was what made him so great.
Then there is emotion. This doesn't mean just crying as you sing, it is far more subtle than that. It is the ability to convey emotion, not just through the lyrics themselves but in how you deliver them. This is where Katie is the queen. Just like her idol, Eva Cassidy, Katie has that rare talent of being able to connect to you so directly that you feel she is beside you singing to you alone. It doesn't matter what the song is about - rage, love, fear, insecurity - whatever, Katie will make you believe it. She is so good at it that she can even make you see old songs in a new light. Classics like 'Blowin In The Wind' and 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' - songs covered a thousand times - sound fresh when Katie works her magic on them. Normally, when people sing 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' you are sort of in autopilot mode, just waiting for the 'money' note near the end. That's all it is - building up the anticipation ready for the grand finale. Katie dispenses with all of that. Instead she really gets the lyrics across to you. You find yourself listening carefully, drawn in to those beautiful words. The whole song becomes a gorgeous experience. It is a magical thing. Katie is an enchantress, weaving her spell on you with her words. That, for me, is why she is the greatest singer around.

You are the one who keeps me strong in this world...
Tiger In The Night

Katie's gran is happy because she has the best grand-daughter in the world.

Here is the schedule for Katie's European gig dates in July

Katie posted an Instagram story which was a little video panning around a garden of grape hyacinths before revealing - a peacock! Wasn't expecting that!

My favourite film of all time turns 50 this year. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a masterpiece, a true work of cinematic art. It divides opinion, for sure. Many people dislike it because they don’t understand what it’s about. But it isn’t meant to be understood. Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke said that if anyone understood what it was all about they had failed. The whole point of it was to make you think. Think about time and space and the meaning of life and the Universe. It’s about as cerebral as film-making gets. Why are we here? Who else is out there? It’s an amazing Universe with so many unanswered questions and yet most people go about their business day by day and spend their water-cooler moments discussing last night’s soap episode. I fear that in this modern era of super-heroes and light sabres something like 2001, with its minimalist action and dialogue, will simply pass the current generation by. And that is such a shame. For it is art that inspires you to think that changes your life.
But, this site is all about Katie - is there a link to Katie in all of this? A tenuous one, but yes. Part of the atmospheric soundtrack music of the film is the gorgeous Gayane Ballet Suite, composed by Aram Khachaturian — who, like Katie, was born in Georgia. And on a personal note, two of the most influential things in my life have been 2001: A Space Odyssey and, of course, Katie Melua!

We're well into April now and there still hasn't been a single tweet from Katie this year. Not even one from her team. I don't know if this is because she wants no distractions as she works on the album or whether it is that she is a bit fed up with the platform. Maybe a bit of both. When I look at her timeline it is clear she isn't missing out on much. Most of the tweets she receives are either about the inaccuracy of 'Nine Million Bicycles' or some other inane comment, such as 'watch this video of me covering your song!" - why the hell would she want to do that? Beggars my belief! The only social media she is using regularly at the moment is Instagram, and that's only about once a week. And even then she is increasingly posting 'stories' - curious things that you can't leave comments on and that disappear forever after 24 hours. If you miss 'em, they're gone! (Except, I capture them and post them here ;-) So, when the new album is done and dusted perhaps we may start seeing a few new tweets but until such time I have removed Katie's twitter feed widget from this page. It was slowing down the page loading times and contributing nothing new to the site. But rest assured, if Katie starts tweeting again you'll be the first to know.

Katie is in Sheffield again on a cold and damp Easter Sunday with James and a ton of other bikers for the Children's Hospital easter egg run. Sure the kids will have a blast no matter what the weather!

The Archives

March 2018 archive

February 2018 archive

January 2018 archive

December 2017 archive

November 2017 archive

October 2017 archive

Back to top