Singers with Unique Voices: Janet Devlin (The Unique Voices Club #36)

Every Friday, I write a post about singers with unique voices not commonly heard in mainstream music. My goal? To educate emerging artists and music lovers while inspiring them to embrace their own quirks. This week, I'm headed back to Northern Ireland to write about Janet Devlin.

Taken from her Facebook page

I first came across Janet Devlin when she appeared on The X Factor UK back in 2011 with a more tender rendition of Ellie Goulding's version of "Your Song." She repackaged it and released it in 2021 and it just happened to come on as I sat down to write this blog post. Let's just say, it took me back to my middle school days. And I kind of forgot Ellie Goulding existed for a second, much as I do love her. It's hard to believe that her only performing experience before that was school and local talent shows. I'd love to hear her sing an Irish-language folksong or write one someday since she went to an Irish-language preschool in County Tyrone (similarly my toddler nephew attends a bilingual preschool, however if Janet still remembers some words she can help keep this endangered language alive - thanks to Duolingo I'd know what she's saying).

Since she finished that season in fifth place, she released Hide & Seek (re-released as Running with Scissors later on with new songs) back when PledgeMusic was a thing, followed by a string of singles and EPs dispersed among her 2020 second album Confessional and latest album Emotional Rodeo that came out this year. She's mostly known for blending Irish folk, indie folk, pop and acoustic music like guitar and piano ballads, but Emotional Rodeo is her foray into alt-country. With her early stuff I could picture it being in an epic movie or something emotionally charging like Grey's Anatomy. But now obviously you can't categorize her as true country since the album operates outside of mainstream country mostly because of the introspective lyrics (that have nothing to do with a pickup truck driving down a red-dirt road or the like) and of course, her voice. I mean you have British artists like Olivia Newton-John who sang country as well as other things, but when you think Olivia Newton-John that's not the first thing you think of.

I do believe Janet Devlin was one of my first introduction to unique voices aside from Zolani Mahola, before I realized how important they could be to music lovers. Similar to Dolores O'Riordan, another Irish songstress, her voice is naturally light and airy creating some kind of haunting factor. Maybe she could take up keening the aforementioned Irish-language single I'm anticipating, since she has a little yodel effect. She doesn't employ Christina Aguilera runs or other contemporary acrobatics. Some of her diction doesn't even come from her Irish accent. It's almost like the emotional delivery of her singing just makes the sound come out however which way it will. Many people have compared her to Ellie Goulding's grainy texture and whistly high notes, but I beg to differ. I think I'm leaning more towards Aurora. All three women have crossed genres and come out of the folk space, but Aurora has a folk voice that Ellie doesn't.

See? They need to hire me as a voice finder or something. Maybe that'll be my next TikTok series or something.

Obviously follow Janet and her career and get lost in her extensive Spotify catalog for me, as I implore you every week. Just in case you forgot what she's up to 14 years after that first audition. Or you're school-aged and weren't born yet when Janet made her debut public appearance. In which case go get educated and read the other Unique Voices Club entries and subscribe so that you can get educated further every week. Who knows? One day you might be have the attuned ears to find other unique voices to suggest to me to write about over on my Patreon. And that's all for this week.

Stay educated,

Alexia