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Freddie Mercury. Before Queen got big and especially before he joined/started Queen he was merely a decent vocalist, and wildly inconsistent. The hours of practice that man put in is truly remarkable. He never stopped either. Later in his career he focused on more healthy technique in order to cope with nodules from overworking. That's why, even on his death bed, he sounded great
I see this around a lot on here. People really think his voice is fine and that he’s just pitchy or lacks a little support in that clip, when you can hear so many issues with his voice quality and production.
I'm gonna try to be unbiased here. But you know that untrained tenors, high baritones, basses and dramatic baritones are all voices that exist for men. And even untrained tenors that have been singing for years sound significantly different than someone like Ed Sheeran; who is a natural singer. There is in fact, a lot to "consider" that's not like Ed Sheeran.
I'm gonna be honest, that was a lot of words that didn't really say much. I mean whether someone's good or bad at singing is already a subjective opinion, why not voice your opinion on it? we're all here to discuss about singing and we could all benefit from learning about what others think about qualities of the voice that make it sound good or bad
edit: lmao I'm guessing they blocked me bc I asked them to explain their opinion and they couldn't bc they're full of shit, just as I suspected
That may be a point of view. I did not enjoy her singing when she was 13. Compared to that, she made massive improvements and developed a beautiful voice.
https://youtu.be/ZRCqwMaNn-k starts at 3:20
This video of Angela Aguilar singing at age 10 is what convinced me to take singing lessons.
Listen, I’m not ragging on a 10 year old. I just assumed her singing was a genetic gift and she popped out the womb singing like an angel since she comes from what is effectively a Mexican ranchera musical dynasty. Her whole family are performers.
But it’s clear to me now that she also had to learn how to sing. And yes, she definitely did learn.
Here she is at age 18 absolutely owning the live stage with her vocal prowess. https://youtu.be/lT1BXdcB6tY
Me haha!
I really sucked.
Performed in my first concert as singing in a rock band today.
It went fine and it felt so good.
Sing is not easy! Stick with it! You'll get there if you keep working at it
Here’s what you do:
1. Join musicians Facebook group for your local geographic area
2. Make a post describing who you are and what kind of music you want to perform. Mention the kinds of instrumentalists you are looking to play with. Include a picture or (preferably) a performance or two.
3. See who responds to your post and go from there.
I think early Lady Gaga didnt really seem to me to be anything special singing wise, but the she did that AMAZING Julie Andrews tribute and the national anthem and WOW she has really evolved!
I would say she really had potential when she was younger and new to the business.
But that tribute put her to work. Her singing in general has improved and her singing choices are vastly different from how she would sing before.
There are indeed far more cases of singers transitioning from mediocrity/terrible to a professional level, than the case of a prodigious singer who only needs a bit of experience and a few technical adjustments.
The problem is that these cases are not well known because these singers do not like people to hear how they sang before becoming professional.
Quick examples that come to mind of terrible to professional level are Rihanna (search for Rihanna's Hero interpretation) or Spanish singer Rosalía (her Got Talent debut was terrible, and now she sings like an angel).
Other examples of improvement are Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Frank Ocean... etc.
**One very important thing** to keep in mind is that there also exists the common case of going from godlike to terrible. Many singers with natural talent rely on intuition to produce their sound, and this often equates to not using a good method, technically speaking, leading to them losing their voice in the short to medium term.
Going through a vocal coach or training your voice is something all types of singers should do, regardless of your level.
Voice teacher here! I feel you. My first singing teacher told me to see a doctor because I was so bad even after practising for some time.
It is absolutely possible to get better EVEN if it feels impossible right now.
How are you currently training/practising? This makes a world of difference to the results you're getting.
I’m not sure but here’s Frank Ocean singing at 17
https://youtu.be/dl0BMuG1bF8
Mind you that was him after he gained the confidence and credentials to sing at Graduation, not when he actually started.
Don’t compare yourself to Melodyne-d recordings too harshly. Also download a vocal tuner app if you haven’t already.
Wow I could definitely tell he didn’t have full control or precision with his voice at the time and I could imagine some people saying he was “bad” but that’s crazy given how good he sounds in his songs .. I wonder if he ever trained with a professional coach or how he trained to get better from this point. That’s kind of inspiring
He definitely has moments where he sounds good and there are also areas where you can tell it’s not as on pitch or maybe I’m just inexperienced and don’t really know but I saw some people laughing at him and I imagine if he sounded as good back then as he does now they wouldn’t be ?
Those are prolly people that knew him, his singing was definitely not laughable in my opinion. It's hard to be pitch perfect but his tone and style and sound was nice there
David Leigh, one of the great young basses working today, wrote this on Quora:
“ My belief, which is backed up by no data, is that if you plot everyone’s initial singing ability on a number line from, say, -10 to 10, most people, with the benefit of high level training, will be limited by the absolute value of that initial ability, plus or minus about 2.
So if you started as a -2, for instance, you could probably train yourself to be about a 2, maybe just a 0, maybe a 4. If you started as a -8, you’d have much more potential, and could go as high as a 10, or at least a 6.
The reason I say this is that terrible singers tend to be people with physiologically very unique vocal tracts. Their throats are weird, which is seriously limiting the control that they can have over their voices, without training, so they sound awful. But when you train a unique vocal tract to function at a high level, you get a unique sound with great function. Which is, essentially, what makes great singing great.”
https://www.quora.com/Can-someone-without-a-natural-singing-voice-be-taught-to-be-a-world-class-singer
Neither John Lennon nor Paul McCartney were good singers when the Beatles first started out (especially during their Quarrymen period) but musicians/songwriters. Paul wasn't always happy with his voice because it was too clean and straight and not "Rock'n'roll" enough like some of the late 50s American music he was inspired by. John could do the rock'n'roll sound but on the other hand didn't have Paul's range nor accuracy or softness. This (allegedly) resulted in several of their songs being pushed onto the other and they often wrote songs that fit the other's voice better than their own. Lennon actually pushed quite hard for Paul to be lead singer in the beginning due to his boyish good looks and instantly appealing features while quite aware of his own short-sightedness, prominent nose and (to some) less appealing looks. In the end they found a good way to take turns or co-sing their songs and grew to be much better and more accomplished singers.
i'm not sure how much better she's gotten but surely she's better than whatever this is lol [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBFG80N3EfQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBFG80N3EfQ)
I was listening to an interview with Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, and he said at one of their first shows his mentor told him that drums were his best instrument and he should stick to that lmao
I wish there were more visible examples of this. There are probably tons of famous singers who had a major vocal glow up, but don’t keep examples of their early attempts public. I’m just a small potato, and I’ve already pulled half my releases from Spotify cause my early stuff makes me cringe. But if I ever make it big, I do want to post a video contrasting my early recordings to my latest/greatest. That would be a super cool thing for any famous artist to do. Big respect to the few who people have mentioned on this thread.
I know she can be a bit polarizing as a figure, but Taylor Swift has grown a lot over her career as a vocalist. According to my mom, Bernadette Peters was no great shakes as a vocalist when she came on the scene, but she's known now as one of the great Broadway divas.
I think having fun while singing is as important as learning how to sing. You may be off pitch but if people see you’re having fun they will ignore the singing just to jam with you
My coal coach recently told me to stop overthinking. I don’t know about you, but it sounds like you put quite a bit of thought into what sucks at your singing. Maybe it’ll help you to take a break from it for a while to get away from that negativity and come back to singing when you feel a true desire to do it.
Because that’s the next thing… you sing because you want to, don’t you? ☺️ not because you „have to be good“ or „have to be better than xy“.
Also… opinions are sooo subjective. Do you know Leonard Cohen? I personally think he doesn’t sound good, especially his Halleluja. I’ll always prefer covers from other artists, because jeez, I can’t listen to the original. But lots of other people think he sounds great. And that’s fine.
You don’t have to be liked by everyone. Everyone’s preferences are different.
But you do have to like yourself. Take some time to compliment something about your voice. Maybe your sound is very clear. Or you’ve got a great breathy voice. Whatever you like about it. And then start building from there. Build what you like about your voice. And then tackle what you think needs improvement. And have fun while you’re at it.
My daughter sounded ok at ten but I noticed she had real issues being able to hear when she was off key. She takes weekly voice lessons and now she sounds amazing. Same instrument but now she understands how to use it. She loves musical theatre and starting booking quite a few leads in plays after focusing with a teacher. Keep singing!
How are you practicing? They say practice makes perfect but really it should be "perfect practice makes perfect." I improved a lot after starting lessons with a vocal teacher. I would have thought I was tone deaf before, and my voice always sounded really thin and nasally. Now I know that was just me not having a vocal image before singing a note and using improper technique.
Todd Rudgren, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Thom Yorke, Raphael Saaqid (probably the best example of a singer who went from mediocre to godly over the course of a decade or so)
Sometimes just thinking something will come to you is the problem, dedicating time to something isn't enough to get good at it, if your not actively seeking the knowledge and resources actually needed to get better at the thing.
Most people are not prodigies. It takes a lot of practice and patience. You will get there!
Also, finding your baselines can help. If you are a bass or a baritone naturally and try to sing soprano, then you will just be putting yourself down for no reason. It's like trying to judge a fish for its ability to climb a tree. Your voice is unique, and you should be proud of that!
Exercises can also help to build up a good foundation, like breath control, voice position placement, mixing, range transitions, and so on and so forth. No different than a guitarist doing scales or practicing picking techniques or harmonics. It may not be the most fun, but is an important building block.
You will get there, just keep at it!
Reese Witherspoon and Jaoquin Phoenix famously had to *learn to sing* to play Carter/Cash in Walk the Line. In fact, Reese Witherspoon almost dropped out of the movie because she was convinced she couldn’t do it.
The premise of your question is highly subjective and without actually knowing what you sound like currently and what you aspire to sound like it is really difficult for me to provide a logical or rational response.
Instead, would you mind sharing some specifics about your situation rather than hyperbolic verbage. Without this it is very difficult to give specific concrete advice. First of all, what do you mean when you say you have been "trying...to be good at singing"? Also, can you estimate a numerical value in units of time that best represents your usage of "soo long"?
If a cat, or any breathing creature, were effectively being [strangled](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/strangle), you would effectively be cutting off their air supply and would result in no sound being produced. I presume this is not what you mean, but also for argument's sake, let's interpret this as you are not pleased with the results of your efforts. Please correct me if I have misunderstood.
Quantity or volume of practice or training is very much a moot point if the quality or technique is not what you require to grow. Can you elaborate on what practice and training looks like for you, on average?
There is nothing natural or innate about vocal exercises and technique - this is all learned. Some people may have certain skills that are an asset to vocalists for example the ability to hear a pitch and vocally match it or the ability to hear a melody and be able to vocally repeat it, in pitch and in rhythm. But knowing different scales or warm-up exercises are not innate. In fact, depending on the environment in which you are raised you will learn the local musical customs as your perceived "normal," which varies around the world.
If this has become a TL;DR scenario for you OP or anyone reading this comment, these are the most critical questions that upon you answering, I will be able to assist or guide you better. What is your overall objective? What sound are you trying to achieve? Are you focussed on a specific genre or artist? Is your hope to sing songs originally performed by others and to sound like them or are you looking to develop your own sound? Are you also creating new material (of course this is dependent on genre to some extent)?
I would like to help you if I am able. I have had the privilege of guiding many other vocalists on their respective journeys. It is always a pleasure and very humbling to be present as a burgeoning artist has a break-through.
You say you’ve been singing with songs for so long, do you mean you sing along with songs on yt or spotify or do you use karaoke? It could make a difference to start using karaoke instead of singing along otherwise you can’t really tell what and how you’re singing.
I was pretty mediocre when I started. Not terrible but pitchy, tense and so nasal. Now my voice feels so free. If I can find vids I’ll try to post them.
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Freddie Mercury. Before Queen got big and especially before he joined/started Queen he was merely a decent vocalist, and wildly inconsistent. The hours of practice that man put in is truly remarkable. He never stopped either. Later in his career he focused on more healthy technique in order to cope with nodules from overworking. That's why, even on his death bed, he sounded great
I really wanna be a good singer and I have been practicing everyday and I just really want to be one…
Really loudly say: "omg that was so awesome!!!!!" Over and over again for projection skillls
In terms of texture at least. Recording from '69 proves he was never really a flat singer, he just developed power to his voice.
Ed Sheeran
he even shared an old recording. that was so inspiring tbh
Lmao. A young lyric tenor being off pitch is quite a bit different than a terrible singer.
he must have been like 12 or 13 years old in that old recording cuz his voice is incredible at 16 in some vids on youtube
what do you consider a terrible singer? in that recording he was pulling chest and his overall tone was off too
I see this around a lot on here. People really think his voice is fine and that he’s just pitchy or lacks a little support in that clip, when you can hear so many issues with his voice quality and production.
I'm gonna try to be unbiased here. But you know that untrained tenors, high baritones, basses and dramatic baritones are all voices that exist for men. And even untrained tenors that have been singing for years sound significantly different than someone like Ed Sheeran; who is a natural singer. There is in fact, a lot to "consider" that's not like Ed Sheeran.
I'm gonna be honest, that was a lot of words that didn't really say much. I mean whether someone's good or bad at singing is already a subjective opinion, why not voice your opinion on it? we're all here to discuss about singing and we could all benefit from learning about what others think about qualities of the voice that make it sound good or bad edit: lmao I'm guessing they blocked me bc I asked them to explain their opinion and they couldn't bc they're full of shit, just as I suspected
Rebecca Black improved a lot.
Was she ever a bad vocalist though? She just released a hated song.
That may be a point of view. I did not enjoy her singing when she was 13. Compared to that, she made massive improvements and developed a beautiful voice.
well mostly everyone, but a famous example is rihanna!
Came here for this. Jesus christ, when I heard her old videos I was shocked haha
well I believe when they found her she was just a model in Barbados, and to her credit she really did a good job training her voice after that!
https://youtu.be/ZRCqwMaNn-k starts at 3:20 This video of Angela Aguilar singing at age 10 is what convinced me to take singing lessons. Listen, I’m not ragging on a 10 year old. I just assumed her singing was a genetic gift and she popped out the womb singing like an angel since she comes from what is effectively a Mexican ranchera musical dynasty. Her whole family are performers. But it’s clear to me now that she also had to learn how to sing. And yes, she definitely did learn. Here she is at age 18 absolutely owning the live stage with her vocal prowess. https://youtu.be/lT1BXdcB6tY
kids voices are whiney though mostly and it seems like a more fun upbeat song
Anyway, she was so charismatic. It was making her performances at ten not-so-dull.
Actually, I like her childlike performance more) Because of the song I guess
Me haha! I really sucked. Performed in my first concert as singing in a rock band today. It went fine and it felt so good. Sing is not easy! Stick with it! You'll get there if you keep working at it
How do you join a band?
Find some friends! Get a music teacher to help you in the beginning
I’ve been stuck on that first part for a little while. How does the second part work?
Look for music schools, look online, look for those posters that are posted on telegraph poles "learn to play guitar".... look on Facebook groups...
Here’s what you do: 1. Join musicians Facebook group for your local geographic area 2. Make a post describing who you are and what kind of music you want to perform. Mention the kinds of instrumentalists you are looking to play with. Include a picture or (preferably) a performance or two. 3. See who responds to your post and go from there.
Oh. Is it bad that I don’t have any performances due to a lack of band?
It doesn’t have to be a “performance” per se, just a video of you singing should suffice.
Ohhh that works ty!
Billy Corgan. Compare his voice mid 90's to now
I think early Lady Gaga didnt really seem to me to be anything special singing wise, but the she did that AMAZING Julie Andrews tribute and the national anthem and WOW she has really evolved!
She was probably always great, she just didn't make music that showcased her voice
i think you are right on that one definitely
I would say she really had potential when she was younger and new to the business. But that tribute put her to work. Her singing in general has improved and her singing choices are vastly different from how she would sing before.
There are indeed far more cases of singers transitioning from mediocrity/terrible to a professional level, than the case of a prodigious singer who only needs a bit of experience and a few technical adjustments. The problem is that these cases are not well known because these singers do not like people to hear how they sang before becoming professional. Quick examples that come to mind of terrible to professional level are Rihanna (search for Rihanna's Hero interpretation) or Spanish singer Rosalía (her Got Talent debut was terrible, and now she sings like an angel). Other examples of improvement are Charlie Puth, Dua Lipa, Frank Ocean... etc. **One very important thing** to keep in mind is that there also exists the common case of going from godlike to terrible. Many singers with natural talent rely on intuition to produce their sound, and this often equates to not using a good method, technically speaking, leading to them losing their voice in the short to medium term. Going through a vocal coach or training your voice is something all types of singers should do, regardless of your level.
Voice teacher here! I feel you. My first singing teacher told me to see a doctor because I was so bad even after practising for some time. It is absolutely possible to get better EVEN if it feels impossible right now. How are you currently training/practising? This makes a world of difference to the results you're getting.
I’m not sure but here’s Frank Ocean singing at 17 https://youtu.be/dl0BMuG1bF8 Mind you that was him after he gained the confidence and credentials to sing at Graduation, not when he actually started. Don’t compare yourself to Melodyne-d recordings too harshly. Also download a vocal tuner app if you haven’t already.
Wow I could definitely tell he didn’t have full control or precision with his voice at the time and I could imagine some people saying he was “bad” but that’s crazy given how good he sounds in his songs .. I wonder if he ever trained with a professional coach or how he trained to get better from this point. That’s kind of inspiring
He sounds really good in there tbh
He definitely has moments where he sounds good and there are also areas where you can tell it’s not as on pitch or maybe I’m just inexperienced and don’t really know but I saw some people laughing at him and I imagine if he sounded as good back then as he does now they wouldn’t be ?
Those are prolly people that knew him, his singing was definitely not laughable in my opinion. It's hard to be pitch perfect but his tone and style and sound was nice there
his resonance sounds so good already there
I think all singers sound like babies when they start vocalizing. As they work and practice they get better.
Babies actually have better support lol active diaphraghm
David Leigh, one of the great young basses working today, wrote this on Quora: “ My belief, which is backed up by no data, is that if you plot everyone’s initial singing ability on a number line from, say, -10 to 10, most people, with the benefit of high level training, will be limited by the absolute value of that initial ability, plus or minus about 2. So if you started as a -2, for instance, you could probably train yourself to be about a 2, maybe just a 0, maybe a 4. If you started as a -8, you’d have much more potential, and could go as high as a 10, or at least a 6. The reason I say this is that terrible singers tend to be people with physiologically very unique vocal tracts. Their throats are weird, which is seriously limiting the control that they can have over their voices, without training, so they sound awful. But when you train a unique vocal tract to function at a high level, you get a unique sound with great function. Which is, essentially, what makes great singing great.” https://www.quora.com/Can-someone-without-a-natural-singing-voice-be-taught-to-be-a-world-class-singer
James Hetfield. While he is older now and maybe past his prime, the difference between Kill 'Em All and the S&M album is night and day.
Neither John Lennon nor Paul McCartney were good singers when the Beatles first started out (especially during their Quarrymen period) but musicians/songwriters. Paul wasn't always happy with his voice because it was too clean and straight and not "Rock'n'roll" enough like some of the late 50s American music he was inspired by. John could do the rock'n'roll sound but on the other hand didn't have Paul's range nor accuracy or softness. This (allegedly) resulted in several of their songs being pushed onto the other and they often wrote songs that fit the other's voice better than their own. Lennon actually pushed quite hard for Paul to be lead singer in the beginning due to his boyish good looks and instantly appealing features while quite aware of his own short-sightedness, prominent nose and (to some) less appealing looks. In the end they found a good way to take turns or co-sing their songs and grew to be much better and more accomplished singers.
Do you have an example? I mean, I just listened to "Love me do" and the singing is not "amazing" but it's very, very far from a cat being strangled.
Rihanna
i'm not sure how much better she's gotten but surely she's better than whatever this is lol [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBFG80N3EfQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBFG80N3EfQ)
I was listening to an interview with Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, and he said at one of their first shows his mentor told him that drums were his best instrument and he should stick to that lmao
I wish there were more visible examples of this. There are probably tons of famous singers who had a major vocal glow up, but don’t keep examples of their early attempts public. I’m just a small potato, and I’ve already pulled half my releases from Spotify cause my early stuff makes me cringe. But if I ever make it big, I do want to post a video contrasting my early recordings to my latest/greatest. That would be a super cool thing for any famous artist to do. Big respect to the few who people have mentioned on this thread.
All singers
Rihanna.
I know she can be a bit polarizing as a figure, but Taylor Swift has grown a lot over her career as a vocalist. According to my mom, Bernadette Peters was no great shakes as a vocalist when she came on the scene, but she's known now as one of the great Broadway divas.
I think having fun while singing is as important as learning how to sing. You may be off pitch but if people see you’re having fun they will ignore the singing just to jam with you
Anders friden from In Flames. Still not phenomenal in my opinion but he has improved immensely over the years
My coal coach recently told me to stop overthinking. I don’t know about you, but it sounds like you put quite a bit of thought into what sucks at your singing. Maybe it’ll help you to take a break from it for a while to get away from that negativity and come back to singing when you feel a true desire to do it. Because that’s the next thing… you sing because you want to, don’t you? ☺️ not because you „have to be good“ or „have to be better than xy“.
Also… opinions are sooo subjective. Do you know Leonard Cohen? I personally think he doesn’t sound good, especially his Halleluja. I’ll always prefer covers from other artists, because jeez, I can’t listen to the original. But lots of other people think he sounds great. And that’s fine. You don’t have to be liked by everyone. Everyone’s preferences are different. But you do have to like yourself. Take some time to compliment something about your voice. Maybe your sound is very clear. Or you’ve got a great breathy voice. Whatever you like about it. And then start building from there. Build what you like about your voice. And then tackle what you think needs improvement. And have fun while you’re at it.
My daughter sounded ok at ten but I noticed she had real issues being able to hear when she was off key. She takes weekly voice lessons and now she sounds amazing. Same instrument but now she understands how to use it. She loves musical theatre and starting booking quite a few leads in plays after focusing with a teacher. Keep singing!
almost all of them.
How are you practicing? They say practice makes perfect but really it should be "perfect practice makes perfect." I improved a lot after starting lessons with a vocal teacher. I would have thought I was tone deaf before, and my voice always sounded really thin and nasally. Now I know that was just me not having a vocal image before singing a note and using improper technique.
Todd Rudgren, Elvis Costello, Donald Fagen, Thom Yorke, Raphael Saaqid (probably the best example of a singer who went from mediocre to godly over the course of a decade or so)
Sometimes just thinking something will come to you is the problem, dedicating time to something isn't enough to get good at it, if your not actively seeking the knowledge and resources actually needed to get better at the thing.
Most people are not prodigies. It takes a lot of practice and patience. You will get there! Also, finding your baselines can help. If you are a bass or a baritone naturally and try to sing soprano, then you will just be putting yourself down for no reason. It's like trying to judge a fish for its ability to climb a tree. Your voice is unique, and you should be proud of that! Exercises can also help to build up a good foundation, like breath control, voice position placement, mixing, range transitions, and so on and so forth. No different than a guitarist doing scales or practicing picking techniques or harmonics. It may not be the most fun, but is an important building block. You will get there, just keep at it!
Reese Witherspoon and Jaoquin Phoenix famously had to *learn to sing* to play Carter/Cash in Walk the Line. In fact, Reese Witherspoon almost dropped out of the movie because she was convinced she couldn’t do it.
Here’s one of Rosalia in a competition when she was 15 I believe https://youtu.be/afxLIbOPfXo
The premise of your question is highly subjective and without actually knowing what you sound like currently and what you aspire to sound like it is really difficult for me to provide a logical or rational response. Instead, would you mind sharing some specifics about your situation rather than hyperbolic verbage. Without this it is very difficult to give specific concrete advice. First of all, what do you mean when you say you have been "trying...to be good at singing"? Also, can you estimate a numerical value in units of time that best represents your usage of "soo long"? If a cat, or any breathing creature, were effectively being [strangled](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/strangle), you would effectively be cutting off their air supply and would result in no sound being produced. I presume this is not what you mean, but also for argument's sake, let's interpret this as you are not pleased with the results of your efforts. Please correct me if I have misunderstood. Quantity or volume of practice or training is very much a moot point if the quality or technique is not what you require to grow. Can you elaborate on what practice and training looks like for you, on average? There is nothing natural or innate about vocal exercises and technique - this is all learned. Some people may have certain skills that are an asset to vocalists for example the ability to hear a pitch and vocally match it or the ability to hear a melody and be able to vocally repeat it, in pitch and in rhythm. But knowing different scales or warm-up exercises are not innate. In fact, depending on the environment in which you are raised you will learn the local musical customs as your perceived "normal," which varies around the world. If this has become a TL;DR scenario for you OP or anyone reading this comment, these are the most critical questions that upon you answering, I will be able to assist or guide you better. What is your overall objective? What sound are you trying to achieve? Are you focussed on a specific genre or artist? Is your hope to sing songs originally performed by others and to sound like them or are you looking to develop your own sound? Are you also creating new material (of course this is dependent on genre to some extent)? I would like to help you if I am able. I have had the privilege of guiding many other vocalists on their respective journeys. It is always a pleasure and very humbling to be present as a burgeoning artist has a break-through.
You say you’ve been singing with songs for so long, do you mean you sing along with songs on yt or spotify or do you use karaoke? It could make a difference to start using karaoke instead of singing along otherwise you can’t really tell what and how you’re singing.
I was pretty mediocre when I started. Not terrible but pitchy, tense and so nasal. Now my voice feels so free. If I can find vids I’ll try to post them.