Does anyone like falsetto singers?

[roadman65]

I was wondering if anyone out there like's male singers who purposely sing like females as gimmicks?  Groups like the Bee Gees who use the falsetto to gain extra fame when in reality their voices are not that way normally.  If you listen to the Bee Gees first two albums you can hear what they sound like in their normal voices and it is no where near the falsetto of Staying Alive.

Then you have Frankie Valli who with the early Four Seasons sang falsetto which I cannot say for sure if that is fake or real as I am too unfamiliar with his work.  Plus Geddy Lee of Rush, Roger Hodson formerly of Supertramp, early Todd Rungren, and of course that R & B singer who sings, I am not sure the exact song title of this but it has this in the chorus of the song,  Pull Me Down then I'm gonna lose control which was about circa 1982 or 1983 or so are all famous falsetto voices and made hits each with their voices.

What is your opinion on these  types of singers?  To me I like the sounds of Rush, Supertramp, Rungren, but the Bee Gees I think are a bit over dramatic and the R & B singer I mentioned is phony and makes you think some hot chick is singing the song when listening to it.

[Pete from Boston]

I think all the post-1980s work of Sting should be piled into one large trash compactor while simultaneously being burned, but The Police rarely had a dull moment, and somehow that ridiculous falsetto of his worked. 

[spooky]

Can you please clarify the difference between a "fake" and a real falsetto?

[roadman65]

Can you please clarify the difference between a "fake" and a real falsetto?

Fake is someone who changes their voice purposely and a  real is one who cannot help the way their sound comes out.

[spooky]

I think you're being typically obtuse about a singer's natural abilities.

[Pete from Boston]

Can you please clarify the difference between a "fake" and a real falsetto?

Fake is someone who changes their voice purposely and a  real is one who cannot help the way their sound comes out.

Sometimes it makes no difference.

[bugo]

I love castrati singers.

[DTComposer]

I think your terminology is slightly off. In pop/rock, many of the singers you mentioned (Sting, Geddy Lee, Jon Anderson of Yes also comes to mind) sing (or sang) almost exclusively in a register that is much higher than an average male voice, but they are not singing in their falsetto - it's more of a "mix" voice. A true falsetto (Bee Gees, Frankie Valli, Brian Wilson) is a very different sound and requires a different physical approach vocally.

As far as "fake" vs. "real", people switch into their falsetto on purpose all the time (Prince, for example). If someone can not help but sing in a falsetto on particular notes, it's more an issue of their developed range and break than "fake" or "real."

[Doctor Whom]

It depends on the genre.  In early music, the use of a falsetto can add authenticity when the piece would originally not have used a female singer.