The lead vocalist, lead vocals or lead singer in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer would either lead the vocal emsemble, or set against the emsemble as the dominant sound. In vocal group performances, notably in soul and gospel music, and early rock and roll, the lead vocalist takes the main vocal part, with a chorus provided by other group members as backing vocalists.

Especially in rock music, the lead vocalist or solo singer is often the frontman or frontwoman, who may also play one or more instruments and is often seen as the leader or spokesman of the group by the public. As an example in rock music, Mick Jagger is the lead singer of The Rolling Stones. Similarly in soul music, Smokey Robinson was the lead singer of The Miracles.

History

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of tonality, rhythm, the use of sustained tones and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung without accompaniment or with accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in a group of other musicians, such as in a choir of singers with different voice ranges, or in an ensemble with instrumentalists, such as a rock group or baroque ensemble. Singers may also perform as soloist with accompaniment from a piano (as in art song and in some jazz styles) or with a symphony orchestra or big band. There are a range of different singing styles, including art music styles such as opera and Chinese opera, religious music styles such as Gospel, traditional music styles, world music, jazz, blues and popular music styles such as pop and rock.

Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised. It may be done for religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual, as part of music education, or as a profession. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice. If practice is done on a regular basis then the sounds can become more clear and strong. Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific musical genre, such as classical or rock, although there are singers with crossover success (singing in more than one genre). They typically take voice training provided by voice teachers or vocal coaches throughout their careers.