Provocation Proposal

This short provocation presents my initial idea for a doctoral project looking at the way in which social and fan interactions with celebrity singing voices have changed due to technological developments in the 21st Century.
 
As social media increasingly becomes a larger part of society, popular culture, and a part of everyday life, many pop stars interact with social media on a daily basis, increasing our access to their speaking voice, not just their sung voices known through recorded albums or live performance. Beyond radio and television interviews, it has become increasingly easy to listen to engage with singers through story uploading capabilities on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

I want to look at the implications these changes have had on fan engagement with celebrity voices, and in particular the ramifications for any sense of the ‘original’ voice. Vocal relationships are, then, no longer just between the audience and the sung voice of celebrities for which they are known. As technology has developed, it has also allowed the facility to re-listen to live interviews and conversations taking place on the TV and radio online. Smartphone developments mean that it is no longer necessary to be in front of a TV or radio in order to listen to interviews; now any smartphone users have the access to these voices wherever they may be. All these developments mean that access to a celebrities spoken voice is more tangible than ever before. How has this easy access changed the listener/vocalist relationship through a different connection to voice in popular culture?

After studying a BA Hons Degree in Musical Theatre at the University of Portsmouth, Sophie Ranger continued to do an MRes in Theatre Performance, looking at the uses of Voice within biographical musical theatre, in particular the plurality and intertextuality between the methods used to represent voice throughout a show. Upon completion of her MRes, she wishes to continue studying towards a PhD. Her main areas of academic interest are voice studies, the use of celebrity in musical theatre and biographical musicals.