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Because these fabulous performers ahead aren’t vying for roles in the opera, the comparison is on the weight and comfort zone of the voice instead of trying to determine an exact subdivision of the voice type:

 Higher female voice: Compare the light sounds from soprano Olivia Newton-John singing “Hopelessly Devoted To You” with Kelly Clarkson singing “Since You Been Gone.” When Newton-John sings, you hear a bright and light voice compared with the fuller sounds of Clarkson’s voice. Clarkson has a lot of weight in her voice. In other words, her voice sounds heavier compared to lighter Newton-John.

 Lower female voices: Listen to Beyoncé singing “Halo” and Adele singing “Hello.” They both comfortably sing an octave below Middle C in the songs, but the big difference is when they start moving higher. Beyoncé narrows her sound as she ascends, making it sound easy for her to belt that high whereas Adele has much more weight in her voice. High sopranos would find it difficult to sing these two low songs much less stay that low, yet these two women are comfortable singing low in their range.

 Comparing a higher and lower female voice: For bright and high sounds listen to Cyndi Lauper singing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” compared with the deeper and lower voice of Karen Carpenter singing “Rainy Days and Mondays.” Both are terrific performers, but there is a difference in the timbre of the voices. The songs have a difference in their ranges, and both show the comfort zone of the performer. Lauper is super comfortable singing high whereas Carpenter is comfortable singing low.

 Higher male voice: Compare Maxwell singing “Pretty Wings” with David Phelps singing “I Have Nothing.” Maxwell is singing high notes, but it sounds easy because he’s so comfortable singing in that tessitura (the tessitura or comfort zone of his voice is high.) Phelps also sings high, but the weight of his voice makes those same notes sound heavier or fuller. Phelps’s voice is heavier or fuller whereas Maxwell’s voice is lighter.

 Lower male voices: Compare the sounds of baritone Darius Rucker singing “Wagon Wheels” with bass-baritone Josh Turner singing “Your Man.” Both sound lower than the tenor, but Rucker has more height in the tone compared to Turner who has more depth especially on low notes. Turner has deeper notes so he sounds like a bass-baritone, and Rucker sounds more like a baritone.

 Comparing higher and lower male voices: Compare tenor Justin Timberlake singing “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” with baritone John Raitt singing “Shenandoah” and bass-baritone Paul Robeson singing “Some Enchanted Evening” from South Pacific. When you hear these three voices in a row, you can hear how the baritone voice fits right in the middle between the tenor and the bass-baritone.