Lead vocalist

<h2 id="terminology">Terminology</h2>
<p>The lead vocalist may also be called the main vocalist or lead singer. Especially in rock music, the lead singer or solo singer is often the front man<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> or front woman, who may also play one or more instruments and is often seen as the leader or spokesman of the band by the public.
</p><p>In <a href="/facts/K-pop/3d7p4uKH">K-pop</a>, the lead vocalist is often referred to as a vocalist with the second-best vocal technique.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
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<h2 id="history">History</h2>

<p>It is uncertain when the term "lead vocals" was first used, but it may have emerged in the late 1930s, when rich vocal interplay with multiple voices where one or more voices may dominate began to impact on North American popular music, which was previously dominated by solo vocals.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The practice of using a lead singer in vocal groups, however, has a longer history: an early form is the "<a href="/facts/Call_and_response/HHszhTBe">call and response</a>" found in <a href="/facts/Work_song/YE8P5zlG">work songs</a> and <a href="/facts/Spirituals/1gutmM45">spirituals</a> sung by African-American slaves. Songs of the late nineteenth century frequently used a leading solo voice (or "call"), followed by a choral response by other singers.  As the style developed through early commercial recordings and performances in the early 20th century, the role of the lead vocalist became more established, although popular groups of the 1930s and 1940s such as <a href="/facts/The_Ink_Spots/MHksIv8V">the Ink Spots</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Mills_Brothers/pj1eJA2X">the Mills Brothers</a> generally used different lead singers on different songs rather than keeping the same lead singer throughout.  By the 1950s, singers such as <a href="/facts/Sam_Cooke/RQSCwLnd">Sam Cooke</a> (with <a href="/facts/The_Soul_Stirrers/rlRySC0p">the Soul Stirrers</a>) and <a href="/facts/Clyde_McPhatter/bVDAHRhL">Clyde McPhatter</a> (with <a href="/facts/The_Drifters/AUq1hqE7">the Drifters</a>) took on more clearly defined roles as lead singers, and by the end of the decade credited group names often changed to reflect the leading roles of the main vocalists, with examples such as <a href="/facts/Frankie_Lymon_%26_the_Teenagers/uL9ddaaf">Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers</a> and <a href="/facts/Dion_%26_the_Belmonts/J2QlFR5p">Dion & the Belmonts</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
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Academic David Horn has written:</p><p>The influence of US <a href="/facts/Rhythm_and_blues/UT5v5rXb">rhythm and blues</a> recordings may well be a crucial one in the assimilation of the format of lead singer plus <a href="/facts/Backing_group/BDNGTNNm">backing group</a> into the guitar-based British '<a href="/facts/Beat_music/oRpCQRuT">beat</a>' groups of the 1960s, and in US groups such as <a href="/facts/The_Beach_Boys/6CdaMJwW">The Beach Boys</a>. From these various points – including <a href="/facts/Motown/c3uuwLK9">Motown</a> – it went on to become a standard device in much rock and pop music.  In some bands – most famously, <a href="/facts/The_Beatles/2syHWLcM">The Beatles</a> – the role of lead singer alternated (in this case, principally between two performers), while in others – for example, <a href="/facts/Herman%27s_Hermits/EBv4Evnm">Herman's Hermits</a> – one lead singer dominated.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></p>
<h2 id="characteristics-and-exceptions-in-rock-and-pop-music">Characteristics and exceptions in rock and pop music</h2>

<p>There are as many types and styles of lead singer as there are styles and genres of music. However, the lead singer of a group or band is usually the main focus of audiences' attention.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> The lead vocalist of band is sometimes called the "front man" or "front woman", as the most visible performer in a group. While most bands have a single lead singer, many others have dual lead singers or other members of the band that sing lead on particular songs. The lead singer often defines the group's image and personality to the general public.
</p><p>In rock music, the lead singer is often the band's leader and spokesperson. While lead singers or spokespersons for any musical ensembles can be called a front man, the term is used very widely in rock music. Since the position commonly has an expanded role from simple lead vocalists, there have been cases in which the front man for a band is someone other than the lead vocalist. For example, while the lead vocalist for the band <a href="/facts/Fall_Out_Boy/mL0pgFP6">Fall Out Boy</a> is guitarist <a href="/facts/Patrick_Stump/YUCEyHH1">Patrick Stump</a>, the bassist and lyricist, <a href="/facts/Pete_Wentz/QcsmhMhp">Pete Wentz</a>, is generally called the front man, both in the media and by the band members themselves, since he represents the band in most interviews and contributes most to the band's image in the popular media.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a>
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/List_of_lead_vocalists/lXqvcP05">List of lead vocalists</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>John Shepherd, ed. (8 May 2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production. Continuum. pp. 634–635. ISBN 978-0826463227. <a href="978-0826463227" target="_blank">978-0826463227</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>John Shepherd, ed. (8 May 2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production. Continuum. pp. 634–635. ISBN 978-0826463227. <a href="978-0826463227" target="_blank">978-0826463227</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"Definition of FRONT MAN". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 12 February 2017. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/front%20man" target="_blank">https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/front%20man</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Pham, Jason (4 September 2020). "25 K-Pop Fandom Words Every K-Pop Stan Should Know". StyleCaster. Retrieved 28 June 2023. <a href="https://stylecaster.com/feature/k-pop-fandom-words-1153522/" target="_blank">https://stylecaster.com/feature/k-pop-fandom-words-1153522/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>John Shepherd, ed. (8 May 2003). Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production. Continuum. pp. 634–635. ISBN 978-0826463227. <a href="978-0826463227" target="_blank">978-0826463227</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>David Horn, '"Lead Singer", in Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production, A&C Black, 2003, pp.103–104 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=pJvzEzjahkQC&dq=%22lead+singer%22&pg=PA103" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=pJvzEzjahkQC&dq=%22lead+singer%22&pg=PA103</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>David Horn, '"Lead Singer", in Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World: Volume II: Performance and Production, A&C Black, 2003, pp.103–104 <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=pJvzEzjahkQC&dq=%22lead+singer%22&pg=PA103" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=pJvzEzjahkQC&dq=%22lead+singer%22&pg=PA103</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>"Role of the Lead Vocalist", Vocalist.org.uk. Accessed 2 May 2015 <a href="http://www.vocalist.org.uk/lead_vocalist.html" target="_blank">http://www.vocalist.org.uk/lead_vocalist.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>CARAMANICA, JON (12 December 2008), "The Frontman in the Background". The New York Times. (accessed 19 January 2009) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/arts/music/14cara.html?_r=1" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/arts/music/14cara.html?_r=1</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Lead vocalist open-in-new

Lead vocalist