Elena Paparizou - Musical Style and Performance - Vocal Style

Vocal Style

Paparizou possesses the vocal range of mezzo-soprano; from her Antique years up until 2005, she performed in a vocal range of C₄ to B♭₆. Her vocal timbre has been described as "deep, sensual", "dramatic", and "metallic". Critics have frequently debated over whether laïko or pop material best suits the artist vocally, usually coming to varying conclusions; while some found her equal in both, Greek critics tended to prefer her in pop and dance repertoire and often that in the English language. This was partially triggered by expectations arising from Paparizou's Swedish upbringing and Eurovision win, desiring her to pursue a more contemporary image. Also, having been raised abroad, her accent in English was different than that of a native Greek speaker. This view was contradicted by native listeners of Western music. Swedish critic Dan Backman of Svenska Dagbladet felt that Paparizou was no exception to the rule that musical artists sound better in their native language, describing her vocal performances as "expressive" in Greek and "bland" in English. He also consistently selected her pure laïko songs, such as "Stin Kardia Mou Mono Thlipsi", "I Zoi Sou Zari", M'angaliazei To Skotadi", and "O,ti Axizi Ine I Stigmes" as being best suited to her voice, suggesting it may possess "the right dramatic nerve" for the style.

Reception to Paparizou's vocal abilities has been mixed. While some critics have felt that they are at least sufficient, with Makis Kalamaris of Avopolis describing them as "not insignificant", others have criticized her lack of technical skills, particularly during her live vocal performances. Regardless, her vocals are generally not perceived as the source of her appeal, which has been more attributed to her media image and marketing. A writer for Nitro was skeptical of Paparizou's musical abilities in general, writing in a piece titled "If the World Was Fair" that it should be widely recognized what a significant role image and the aid of backing vocalists play for Paparizou. Pavlos Zervas of Music Corner opined favourably of her voice, noting that on the Euro Edition EP her voice was "adaptable" and "pliable" to the necessities of each of the songs, from the ballads to the uptempo ones. Critic Georgia Laimou of Eleftheros Typos, however, highly disagreed with this statement of versatility. Laimou found her deliveries to be very monotonous and possessing no nuances between songs and styles. She also commented that her limited range meant she had to repeat a similar set of notes. The most common vocal criticism Paparizou has received over the years is regarding her tendency to strain her voice through oversinging, specifically shouting, which progressively grew worse with age. Laimou noticed that particularly following her Eurovision victory Paparizou sang with a new-found confidence and force. Circa 2008, critics noticed an improvement in her voice and commented that the album Vrisko To Logo Na Zo contained her best vocal performance. Compared to her previous simplistic tunes, this album presented Paparizou with more challenging material. However, as the difficulty level of the songs progressed, the more the singer's excessive shouting became noticeable, as a result of having to push her voice further due to insufficient volume and high notes. Her technique was panned on the songs "Eisai I Foni", "Den Tha 'Mai 'Do", and "An Isouna Agapi" and it was said that Paparizou wrongly believed singing loudly was equivalent to natural lung power. For her style, she has received comparison to singer Despina Vandi, credited with popularizing the trend among laïko-pop female singers. Although most critics agree that her "vigorous" interpretations reduce the quality of her songs, on occasion her style has served to augment the entertainment factor. Kalamaris, who found both her 2008 and 2010 albums to be very dull and mediocre, commented that Paparizou was "able to give life to even the most boring tracks with her delivery".