Lady Embodies the Blues

I’ll openly and unhesitatingly admit that I love melancholy music. It probably has more than a little to do with my experience with life and love, but there’s something about listening to songs about heartache, heartbreak, longing, and unrequited love that resonates with the core of my being. I usually turn to female artists when I’m in the mood to drown my emotions and ears in lilting lyrics, soul-crushing chords, and radiating refrains. So why is it that female singers seem to hit all of the right notes when it comes to matters of the broken heart?

They’re (Often) Better Equipped

While a majority of men were taught that showing and sharing emotion is a sign of weakness and emasculating vulnerability, a majority of women are expected to show and share these emotions. I’m not saying male singers are unable to or are forbidden from crooning about being afraid to fall in love or the emotional blight that results from a one-sided breakup, but I am saying that most of the female singers I enjoy know how bring those emotions to bear in all of their unadulterated and bitter glory.

When I hear Tweet, Jazmine Sullivan, Adele, or Amy Winehouse sing about lost love, I feel them digging deep deep deep into the feeling and the experience. They don’t half step when they come up to the mic, even though they know full well their song will be heard by thousands or millions of listeners. They don’t hold back when it comes to recalling that feeling and filling every note to the brim with it. You can hear the tears in their music, but you can also feel the recovery and strength those tears bring.

They Have the Insight

It’s believed that women operate on a different wavelength than men, and I’m inclined to believe that. Call it intuition, a gut feeling, extra senses, or even societal conditioning, there’s no denying that women perceive the world differently. When it comes to love and everything that goes with it, a woman can have a completely different perception of the experience and how it makes her feel and act. I believe female singers can see the subtle nuances etched into a fully realized love as well as all of the cracks and chips in a shattered heart.

This insight is infused into the voice, one of the most powerful and expressive forces known to man(and woman)kind. I gain a new way of looking at and understanding love and life when I listen to Teedra Moses confess that “you’ll never find a better woman or a bigger fool.” It’s pure poetry that can only be uttered from the lips of a woman.

They Have the Voice

There’s something about juxtaposing a soft voice with a hard truth. While male groups like Heatwave and Earth, Wind and Fire and male singers like Maxwell and Daley are well known for embracing the higher end of the scale, female singers are able to weave their angelic voices with lyrics that seem as if they were written by the devil. It’s like getting punched in the stomach while watching a beautiful sunset and feeling unadulterated joy for the first time; it’s almost too much for your soul to bear. I admit that I’ve teared up more than a few times at the savage beauty unleashed by a sultry siren.

I realize there are male singers who are talented at painting a portrait of the human condition across the canvas of our ears, but there’s a certain intimacy and honesty rubbed into a woman’s voice. In any case, it’s clear that lady feels the blues just as well as she sings them.