February 22, 2018 4:41 pm

Friday, Hit the High Note with Neil deGrasse Tyson and Kelly Clarkson… and You Could Win a Free Copy of “Meaning of Life” Signed by Kelly!

Warm up those vocal chords and grab the nearest microphone – This week on StarTalk Radio, Neil deGrasse Tyson sits down with international pop star Kelly Clarkson and vocologist Dr. Brian Gill to explore the science of singing.

If you’re not sure what a vocologist is, fear not. As Brian says, vocologists help habilitate singing voices so they don’t get injured – yes, you can have singing injuries – and they also help re-habilitate voices if the injuries have already occurred. Brian’s expertise comes in handy when we dive into Neil’s sit down with Kelly Clarkson.

To start, Neil and Kelly discuss Kelly’s new album Meaning of Life and how it differentiates sonically from her previous albums. After that, you’ll hear Neil and Kelly delve into a variety of topics including the longevity of her career, how she conveys emotions through songs, autotune, children’s books she’s written, and lastly, their shared interest in The Great American Eclipse. You’ll also hear Neil and Kelly perform two micro-duets.

Brian is our guiding hand throughout the episode providing background info and science tidbits on how Kelly is such a great performer. Brian explains how Kelly is a “thoroughbred vocalist,” how age is a major factor in vocal range but not necessarily a defining one, the importance of tonality, and the anatomy of the vocal chords.

However, my favorite part of the episode was at the very end when Brian, Chuck, and Neil sing a rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” – it’s as silky smooth as you can imagine.

Please join us tomorrow night for Singing Science, with Kelly Clarkson at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.

Want to Win a Free Signed Copy of Kelly’s album, Meaning of Life?

Stick around until the end of Friday’s episode for a special message about how you can win a signed copy of Kelly Clarkson’s latest album, Meaning of Life. (And yes, you’ll have to listen to the very end!)  Just in case you don’t win the signed copy of Kelly’s album, you can get your own copy of Meaning of Life here. And don’t forget to listen to Kelly’s new single, “I Don’t Think About You.” You can hear it right now on YouTube.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen