Vocal style

Jackson sang from childhood, and over time his voice and vocal style changed noticeably, either through puberty or a personal preference to align his vocal interpretation to the themes and genres he chose to express. Between 1971 and 1975, Jackson's voice descended from boy soprano to androgynous high tenor.In early 1973, the singer adopted a "vocal hiccup", first heard in the song "It's Too Late to Change the Time" from the Jackson 5's G.I.T.: Get It Together album. Jackson did not employ the hiccup fully until the recording of Off the Wall; its usage can be seen in full force in the "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" promotional video. The purpose of the hiccup—somewhat like a gulping for air or gasping—was to help promote a certain emotion, be it excitement, sadness or fear.^[11] With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; Allmusic described him as a "blindingly gifted vocalist".^[149] At the time, Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly".^[150] 1982 saw the release of Thriller, and Rolling Stone were of the opinion that Jackson was then singing in a "fully adult voice" that was "tinged by sadness".