19 Best Female Singers With Low Voices

There is no denying that the sultry, low tones of a singer’s voice are beautiful and can infuse emotions into a song. In general, female voices with a lower sound have a vocal range of contraltos, mezzos, and sometimes mezzo-sopranos. Read on to learn about some of the best female singers with low voices.

1. Adele  

Adele is an English singer known for her soulful ballads and powerful singles. Some of her well-known songs include “Rolling in the Deep”, “Set Fire to the Rain”, and “Skyfall”. She rose to prominence in 2008 with her debut album, “19”. Her vocal abilities range between B2 and C6, making her a mezzo-soprano. As of 2023, she received an Oscar, five American Music Awards, 18 Billboard Music Awards, 12 Brit Awards, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe.   

2. Amy Winehouse 

Amy Winehouse was an English singer who performed soul, jazz, and r&b with her deep contralto voice. The singer rose to prominence with her second album, “Back to Black,” for which she won a Brit Award in 2007. Her well-known songs include “Back to Black” and “Rehab.” She, unfortunately, died in 2011 at the age of 27 due to alcohol poisoning. 

3. Annie Lennox     

Annie Lennox is a Scottish singer known for her solo career and collaborations. She was a singer in the Tourists and Eurythmics throughout the 1970s and 80s. Her solo career took off in 1992 with the release of her 1992 solo album, “Diva.” Using her contralto vocal range, Lennox can perform a variety of genres, including pop, soul, electronic, jazz, r&b, and rock music. 

4. Avril Lavigne

Known for her pop-punk music and aesthetic in the early 2000s, Avril Lavigne is a Canadian singer. She released her debut album, “Let Go” in 2002 at 18. Her second album, “Under My Skin” came out in 2004 and sold 10 million copies in the world. Throughout her career, she has eight Grammy nominations. While Levine is considered a soprano, her wide vocal range allows her to sing low notes too. 

5. Cher   

Cher possesses one of the most recognizable deep singing voices in the industry. Her contralto voice is versatile. As is her ability to transform her style repeatedly throughout her 60-year-long career. She was originally known as half of Sonny and Cher, who performed “I Got You, Babe.” As of 2018, Cher released 28 studio albums and received several awards, including a Grammy in 2000. 

6. Fiona Apple

Fiona Apple is an American singer who performs art pop, alternative music, and baroque pop. Her singer-songwriter skills started developing early after receiving classical training on piano. As of 2020, she released five successful studio albums. Her classically-trained voice has great range while being considered contralto. Her well-known songs include “Criminal”, “Paper Bag”, and “Pure Imagination.”

7. Florence Welch  

Known primarily as the lead singer of the indie-rock band, Florence and the Machine, Florence Welch is an English singer-songwriter. She uses her contralto vocal range to explore themes of mental health, abuse, love, and time. Welch released her first album in 2009, and it was high on the UK Albums chart. That success would continue with the four albums that would follow.  

8. Karen Carpenter

Karen Carpenter is primarily known as half of the band The Carpenters, with her brother Richard making up the other half. She had an impressive three-octave contralto vocal range. In addition to singing, she also played the drums. The Carpenters rose to prominence in 1969. Unfortunately, she died at the age of 32 from heart failure, related to anorexia.

The band released 10 albums during her life and four albums posthumously. A posthumous solo album was also released that she recorded in 1979 and 1980. Her struggle with anorexia brought the issue of eating disorders more into the public consciousness than before. 

9. Lana Del Rey     

Lana Del Rey is an American singer-songwriter whose music and music videos are known for their uses of nostalgia, glamor, and Americana. Her contralto vocal range spans almost four octaves. This artist's music includes a variety of genres, such as pop, jazz, rock, and alternative. She rose to prominence in 2011 with her single, “Video Games” after spending several years trying to get a foothold in the industry. Del Rey has several awards, including Brit Awards, a Satellite Award, and MTV Europe Music Awards. 

10. Marina Diamandis

Marina Diamandis is a Welsh singer known as Marina and previously Marina and the Diamonds. She became well-known after being on Sound of 2010. She steadily rose in prominence with her Debut Album “The Family Jewels.” Her style is notable for her highly stylized music and music videos and use of several pop sub-genres. Marina is usually described as a mezzo-soprano, in terms of vocal range.

11. Miley Cyrus      

Originally known for her role on the TV show, “Hannah Montana,” Miley Cyrus is a singer-songwriter known for her low and gravelly voice. She uses her mezzo-soprano vocal range to experiment with several musical genres, including pop, country, rock, and hip-hop. After “Hannah Montana” ended in 2011, Cyrus worked to transition into an adult musical career. 

12. Nina Simone    

The iconic Nina Simone was an American singer-songwriter and activist known for contributions to jazz, blues, gospel, pop, folk, and classical music. Her musical career started as a pianist in a nightclub. She released her first album in 1958 before releasing 39 more before 1974. Throughout her career, she received several Grammy nominations and a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000.

13. Norah Jones    

Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter who uses her low voice to sing jazz, blues, pop, county, and folk music. Before becoming famous, Jones was a lounge singer. She first rose to prominence with her 2002 album, “Come Away with Me”, which sold over 25 million copies. Since then, she has released seven more studio albums. She is known for her bluesy, deep voice. 

14. Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor is a Russian-American singer-songwriter who was popular in the independent music world before achieving mainstream success in 2004. She maintains her roots by primarily creating music in the anti-folk and indie-pop genres and tries to make each song its genre. While Spektor often plays piano while singing, she also sometimes plays the guitar. She has a mezzo-soprano vocal range. 

15. Selena Gomez 

Starting her career as a child actor, Selena Gomez now works as a singer, actress, and businesswoman. In addition to working in a range of fields, Gomez works in several genres, including pop, rock, synth-pop, and disco. Gomez has three albums with her former band, Selena Gomez and the Scene, and three solo albums. She also occasionally releases singles. She has a Mezzo-Soprano vocal range with a somewhat husky quality. 

16. Shakira    

Shakira is a Colombian singer-songwriter known for her unique, versatile, and deep voice. After struggling for a few years, Shakira became popular in Hispanic countries in 1995 with her third album, Pies Descalzos. She became famous in English-speaking markets with “Laundry Service”, her fifth album.

Part of what makes her so successful is her ability to sing many genres, including Latin, pop, and rock. As of 2017, Shakira released 11 albums, including some collaborations with other artists, such as Rhianna.  

17. Shania Twain   

Shania Twain is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known as one of the most famous female country artists. She made her debut with a self-titled album in 1993. Unfortunately, it would be two years before she would become famous thanks to “The Woman in Me,” which was her second studio album.

Twain is known for her contralto vocal range, which she uses to experiment with genres. She received several accolades throughout her career, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an Officer in the Order of Canada, and five Grammys. 

18. Tina Turner      

Tina Turner is an American and Swiss singer who became well-known in the Ike and Tina Turner Revue in 1957. By 1960, she started releasing her solo music while continuing her shows with Ike. She went through several iterations of her career, including a 1980s comeback. Turner performed rock, r&b, pop, and soul. She is successful with 12 Grammy Awards, and three Grammy Hall of Fame Awards. 

19. Toni Braxton    

Toni Braxton is an American singer-songwriter who primarily sings r&b, soul, pop, hip-hop, and dance music. She started her career as part of a group with her sisters called The Braxtons. She made her solo debut in 1993 with a self-titled album that sold 10 million copies around the world and won three Grammy awards. Since her debut, Braxton released nine more albums. She has a contralto vocal range and a husky tone.

Top Female Singers With Low Voices, Final Thoughts

If you are looking for a deep female voice to listen to, you have no shortage of options. There are plenty of amazing women with bold voices and beautiful musical stylings throughout history. They use their voices to convey deep emotion and complexity. Let us know which of these singers is your favorite!