The Sweet Sounds of Really Bad Singing

The NY Times's Kelefa Sanneh is usually a good read, and is in particularly good form in The Sweet Sounds of Really Bad Singing.

However, I can't really agree that what he identifies as a trend for bad singers is particularly new. Lou Reed was no vocal virtuoso. And Billie Holiday didn't have huge chops either, she won them over with her idiosyncrasies and depth of interpretation. Although, Holiday isn't a "bad singer" in the way that, say, Pharrell Williams or 50 Cent are, of course.