Sade Adu (5,751 views)

[Baronessa]

Helen Folasade Adu (16 January 1959)
Member of: Sade (1983…)
Vocal Range: B2 - E♭6

SPOILER: Click to show

{Synopsis}Throughout Sade's catalog Helen Adu's voice conveys a strong sense of longing but never of pain, her forward-projecting, occasionally breathy tone carrying a depth that makes her belts heavy and low notes easy, Helen by virtue sounding a lot lower-placed than she actually is. In reality, the contralto-styled illusion comes from her relative range-conservatism as far as her lead vocals go, though reaching resonant belts live in the upper fifth octave and utilizing her lower notes more prominently in backing vocals. Lead singing in studio rarely sees her reaching wider than about one and a half octaves, opting to sing resonantly in the mid-to-upper fourth octave and dipping down into an airy upper third octave, occasionally showing off diva-esque belts and an ethereal falsetto register. This versatile blend of approaches lends greatly to the singers influenced by Helen, whether it be in R&B or trip hop, her strong tone being emblematic of the black singers that gained traction during the '80s; while her image in pop culture continues to be rightly praised, even tried and true musicians can derive a lot of inspiration from Sade and to a greater extent Helen as a sort of singers' singer.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Vocal Range Timeline}Sade:
Diamond Life (1984): D3 - D5 - F5
Promise (1985): F3 - C♯5 - E♭5
Stronger Than Pride (1988): E♭3 - E♭5 - F5
Love Deluxe (1992): D3 - D5 - G♯5
Lovers Rock (2000): B2 - C♯5
Soldier of Love (2010): C3 - D5 - D6

Significant High Notes:

E♭6 ("Is It a Crime?" Inglewood, California 2001)
D6 ("Bring Me Home")
G♯5 ("Feel No Pain")
G5 ("I Couldn't Love You More")
F♯5 ("Babyfather", "Is It a Crime?" Inglewood, California 2001)
F5 ("Hang on to Your Love", "Is It a Crime?" Inglewood, California 2001, "Nothing Can Come Between Us")
E5 ("Bullet Proof Soul", "Cherry Pie", "Frankie's First Affair", "Give It Up", "Keep Looking")
E♭5 ("Feel No Pain", "Maureen", "Soldier of Love", "Tar Baby", "Turn My Back on You")
D5 ("Cherry Pie", "Cherish the Day", "Flower of the Universe", "Frankie's First Affair", "Hang on to Your Love", "Morning Bird", "Mr. Wrong", "Turn My Back on You", "War of the Hearts", "Your Love Is King")
C♯5 ("Babyfather", "Be That Easy", "Bullet Proof Soul", "Clean Heart", "I Will Be Your Friend", "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", "Kiss of Life", "Love Is Found", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "Never as Good as the First Time", "Pearls" San Diego, California 1993, "Sally", "The Sweetest Taboo", "You're Not the Man", "Your Love Is King")
C5 ("The Big Unknown", "Bring Me Home", "Flow", "Hang on to Your Love", "Haunt Me", "I Couldn't Love You More", "Immigrant", "In Another Time", "Is It a Crime?", "Morning Bird", "Nothing Can Come Between Us", "Paradise", "Pearls", "Soldier of Love", "Turn My Back on You", "War of the Hearts", "Why Can't We Live Together?")
B4 ("Be That Easy", "Bullet Proof Soul", "By Your Side", "Clean Heart", "Flower of the Universe", "Frankie's First Affair", "Give It Up", "Haunt Me", "I Never Thought I'd See the Day", "Keep Looking", "Kiss of Life", "Long Hard Road", "Lovers Rock", "The Moon and the Sky", "Mr. Wrong", "No Ordinary Love", "Sally", "Tar Baby", "When Am I Going to Make a Living?")
B♭4 ("Cherish the Day", "Cherry Pie", "Feel No Pain", "I Never Thought I'd See the Day", "I Would Never Have Guessed", "Is It a Crime?", "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", "Jezebel", "King of Sorrow", "Like a Tattoo", "Love Is Found", "Maureen", "Paradise", "The Safest Place", "Skin", "Soldier of Love", "The Sweetest Taboo", "Turn My Back on You", "Why Can't We Live Together?", "You're Not the Man")
A4 ("Babyfather", "Be That Easy", "Bring Me Home", "Every Word", "Fear", "Flow", "Frankie's First Affair", "Hang on to Your Love", "Haunt Me", "I Couldn't Love You More", "I Will Be Your Friend", "I Would Never Have Guessed", "Immigrant", "In Another Time", "Jezebel", "Kiss of Life", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "Lovers Rock", "Morning Bird", "Mr. Wrong", "Never as Good as the First Time", "Pearls", "Slave Song", "Smooth Operator", "Still in Love With You", "War of the Hearts", "When Am I Going to Make a Living?")
G♯4 ("Babyfather", "By Your Side", "Clean Heart", "Feel No Pain", "I Never Thought I'd See the Day", "I Will Be Your Friend", "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", "King of Sorrow", "Long Hard Road", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "Maureen", "Never as Good as the First Time", "The Safest Place", "The Sweetest Taboo", "Tar Baby", "You're Not the Man", "Your Love Is King")
G4 ("The Big Unknown", "Cherish the Day", "Cherry Pie", "Every Word", "Fear", "Flow", "Flower of the Universe", "Give It Up", "I Would Never Have Guessed", "Immigrant", "In Another Time", "Is It a Crime?", "Keep Looking", "King of Sorrow", "Like a Tattoo", "Love Is Found", "Lovers Rock", "The Moon and the Sky", "No Ordinary Love", "Paradise", "Sally", "Slave Song", "Smooth Operator", "Somebody Already Broke My Heart", "Still in Love With You", "The Sweetest Gift", "When Am I Going to Make a Living?", "Why Can't We Live Together?")

Significant Low Notes:

A3 ("The Big Unknown", "Bring Me Home", "Bullet Proof Soul", "Every Word", "Fear", "Flow", "Flower of the Universe", "Give It Up", "Hang on to Your Love", "Haunt Me", "I Couldn't Love You More", "Kiss of Life", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "Lovers Rock", "The Moon and the Sky", "Morning Bird", "Mr. Wrong", "Never as Good as the First Time", "Sally", "Slave Song", "Still in Love With You", "War of the Hearts", "When Am I Going to Make a Living?", "You're Not the Man")
G♯3 ("All About Our Love", "Babyfather", "By Your Side", "Cherish the Day", "Clean Heart", "Feel No Pain", "I Never Thought I'd See the Day", "I Will Be Your Friend", "Like a Tattoo", "Long Hard Road", "Love Is Found", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "Maureen", "Nothing Can Come Between Us", "The Safest Place", "Skin", "Somebody Already Broke My Heart", "The Sweetest Taboo", "Tar Baby", "Why Can't We Live Together?", "Your Love Is King", "You're Not the Man")
G3 ("The Big Unknown", "Bring Me Home", "Cherry Pie", "Every Word", "Frankie's First Affair", "Haunt Me", "I Couldn't Love You More", "I Would Never Have Guessed", "Immigrant", "In Another Time", "Is It a Crime?", "Jezebel", "Keep Looking", "King of Sorrow", "Mr. Wrong", "No Ordinary Love", "Nothing Can Come Between Us", "Paradise", "Pearls", "Slave Song", "Smooth Operator", "Soldier of Love", "Still in Love With You", "The Sweetest Gift", "Turn My Back on You", "War of the Hearts")
F♯3 ("All About Our Love", "Be That Easy", "Bullet Proof Soul", "Clean Heart", "Feel No Pain", "Give It Up", "I Will Be Your Friend", "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", "Keep Looking", "Kiss of Life", "Love Is Stronger Than Pride", "The Moon and the Sky", "Never as Good as the First Time", "No Ordinary Love", "War of the Hearts", "You're Not the Man", "Your Love Is King")
F3 ("Cherish the Day", "Flower of the Universe", "In Another Time", "Jezebel", "Like a Tattoo", "Love Is Found", "Maureen", "Morning Bird", "Nothing Can Come Between Us", "Paradise", "Pearls", "The Safest Place", "Skin", "Slave Song", "Smooth Operator", "Soldier of Love", "Somebody Already Broke My Heart", "The Sweetest Gift", "Turn My Back on You")
E3 ("All About Our Love", "Babyfather", "Be That Easy", "Bring Me Home", "Bullet Proof Soul", "Flow", "Frankie's First Affair", "I Couldn't Love You More", "I Will Be Your Friend", "Immigrant", "It's Only Love That Gets You Through", "Keep Looking", "Long Hard Road", "The Moon and the Sky", "Sally")
E♭3 ("Clean Heart", "I Would Never Have Guessed", "Like a Tattoo", "Love Is Found", "Lovers Rock", "The Safest Place", "Skin", "Soldier of Love")
D3 ("Flow", "Flower of the Universe", "I Would Never Have Guessed", "Immigrant", "The Moon and the Sky", "No Ordinary Love", "Smooth Operator", "The Sweetest Gift")
C♯3 ("Be That Easy", "By Your Side", "It's Only Love That Gets You Through")
C3 ("In Another Time", "The Sweetest Gift")
B2 ("By Your Side")

SPOILER: Click to show

{Questionable Notes}E5 ("By Your Side"^[1a])

C♯3 ("Feel No Pain"^[2a])
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1. Questionable legitimacy.
a. Ambiguous backing sounds.

2. Questionable identity.
a. Unidentified backing vocal.

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• Blue marks falsetto notes.
• Bold marks outstanding passages.
• Italics mark non-melodic notes.
• Underlines mark obscured notes.