Okay, so today I decided to mess around a bit, focusing on Tom Jones and Danny O’Donoghue, you know, from back when they were on The Voice together. Always liked that dynamic they had, and their voices are miles apart, which is interesting.
Getting Started
I kicked things off just by pulling up some old clips and songs. Spent a good hour or so just listening. First, a load of Tom Jones stuff – the classics mostly. Then I switched over to The Script to get Danny’s vibe. Didn’t have a super specific plan, just wanted to soak in their sounds, see what jumped out.
The Actual Practice Bit
After listening for a while, I thought, right, let’s actually try something. Fired up my recording setup, nothing fancy, just the usual mic and computer. Decided to try singing a few lines from each. This was tougher than I thought it would be.
- First up, Tom. Tried a bit of ‘Delilah’. Man, getting that big, booming sound? Really hard. It sounds so effortless when he does it, but trying to find that power without just shouting felt awkward. Recorded a few takes. Listened back. Yeah, needs work. A lot of work.
- Then, Danny. Picked a bit from ‘Breakeven’. His style is completely different. It’s clearer, maybe sits higher? Tried to capture that sort of emotional, pop-rock delivery. Again, recorded it. Sounded a bit thin compared to the original. Felt like I was just mimicking the surface, not the real technique behind it.
I went back and forth between the two for maybe another hour. Didn’t aim for full songs, just short phrases, trying to capture the essence, you know? Listening back to the recordings side-by-side was… well, educational. You really hear the difference, and you really hear where you’re falling short.
What I Reckon I Learned
It wasn’t about becoming a perfect impersonator, obviously. It was more about feeling the contrast. Tom’s power feels like it comes from the chest, grounded. Danny’s feels more focused, maybe more head voice involved? Hard to explain properly. It definitely made me think more consciously about where the sound is coming from when I sing.
Also realised how much control they both have, even though their styles are so different. It’s not just raw talent; there’s serious technique under the hood for both of them.
Wrapping Up
So yeah, that was the session. Didn’t master anything, didn’t suddenly turn into Tom Jones or Danny O’Donoghue. But it was a good practice. Got me thinking about vocal placement and power in a new way. Maybe next time I’ll pick just one tiny aspect of one of their voices and really drill down on that. For now, it was just a fun, slightly humbling experiment.
