Frank Kogan

Not that I disagree (I'll have to give this further thought), but Ashlee's singing style(s) is/are pretty far from Demi's. On Bittersweet World Ashlee is playing a bunch of different singers, and as each she gets into the music like a singer not an actor. What kills a lot of post-'40s show music for me is the tendency of the singer to deliver in clearly enunciated syllables the psychology of the character and the point of the lyrics, all this at the expense of the music. Whereas good singers like Ashlee just sing the song, letting the character and the lyrics take care of themselves without needing a highlighter, and everything (including character and lyrics) is stronger for this.

But Demi is one of the very rare singers who pulls off show music's full-throttle over-dramatization without squashing the music in the process.