John Lloyd Young Quotes

I consider myself a method singer, not a method actor. I applied method acting to singing.

Ninety-nine percent of singing is listening and hearing, and so then 1 percent of it is singing.

If you've got a good vibrato, you can get away with a lot.

I treat my vocals as an instrument.

I sing as an actress. Whatever I'm singing about, I just become the story.

I studied other singers, so I would learn how to phrase, and learn how to breathe. And the main thing was, I learned how to inhabit my song.

Acting and singing are integrally locked together.

I was singing about six notes higher than I had to, in a range that kept me up in a bubblegum sound.

I've always felt myself as being a serious singer.

When I write a song and come up with an arrangement and a vocal part, it's always a challenge trying to find a singer who can interpret it sort of the way that I hear it, and it's a very difficult thing to do. I mean, singing is like playing an instrument - everybody does it a little bit different - singing maybe even more so.

I wanted to emulate Bob Flanagan, the high voice in the 'Four Freshmen.' I wanted to sing high like he did.

For singers, our singing voice is our natural voice, not the speaking.

I've always had a deep resonance, but I love vocal work, and I've been doing it for so many years.

I don't sing operatically, and I sing very intimately, but I still do the scales, and I think in terms of intonation and making sure that I'm hitting the notes right on the head... and having it appear quite effortless.

I never breathe through the nose, not when I'm singing. In the opera, you don't have so much time. That's fine at the beginning of an opera or after somebody else has been doing an aria, and you want to get a good fresh start.

I'm not a pop singer; I'm not a jazz singer. And I know I sing like not a whole lot of people do; I also know that a lot of other people act like I do. And better than I do. But what informs the singing is the acting. They're not separate from each other.

For me, bel canto is medicine for the voice.

I don't push my voice; I try to keep a good technique, a natural way of singing, to sing from the breath, which is the main thing.

I wouldn't be me if my repertoire wasn't bel canto.

I enjoy singing soulful melodies because they add that extra zing to your performance.

Everything I'd taught myself about screaming is basically a big no-no for singing. Your posture, your airflow - you're just pushing all the air out. When you start out, you're fast, heavy and loud but you're hiding behind it in a way. When you stop screaming, that's when it gets hard.

I think I've learned a lot on the vocal side of things.

Exene taught me how to bend my notes when I sing. That's her style. And I learned that from her.

Boy George always told me to stop noodling; he wanted me to belt like Ethel Merman.

I found my own voice slowly. I don't do big tricks like Mariah Carey, so I've found this weird way of singing that works for me.