Best Brittany Howard Vocal Performances

Howard begins with remarkable tenderness, then drives the final section into the full-throated release that makes this performance overwhelming live.

Her light falsetto makes the song feel joyful, but the grain in her voice keeps the optimism from sounding polished or easy.

She tells a brutal story about the racism faced by her interracial family in a quiet voice that makes every detail land harder.

Over Robert Glasper's deliberate wall of noise, Howard turns an improvised-sounding monologue into a fierce sermon about resistance and freedom.

Howard barely raises her voice, letting precise phrasing and a worn-in tone carry this patient account of a fading relationship.

Howard's rasp turns the lyric's refusal into a physical confrontation, especially when the chorus opens into that unmistakable yelp.

Howard attacks the chorus with real fury while controlling every shift between a low murmur, a growl and a clean high note.

That opening growl introduced Alabama Shakes to millions, and the performance still works because Howard sounds urgent rather than merely powerful.

She stretches the held notes until the restrained arrangement feels ready to break, making vocal tension the center of the song.

Howard moves around the beat like another percussion instrument, using clipped phrases and sudden accents to keep the groove unsettled.