No one likes to be preachy, but it should go without saying that smoking is one of the worst possible things for a singer, though countless people do it anyway (once upon a time, even yours truly). At first, smoking doesn’t seem to effect your vocals (one might even think it helps with that raspy Tom Waits tone) but eventually it’s negative consequences are very obvious (especially in the upper range of the voice). Most obviously, smoking affects lung capacity which we hear is somewhat important for giving a great vocal performance. It has been said that damage from cigarettes smoking can take up 6 months to be repaired by your body, and apparently some things are irreparable. Don’t bother wasting your money on vocal lessons or all that time rehearsing if you’re only going to cough your way through it. We only need one Winehouse in the world – luckily there are plenty of other ways to be a real rock-n-roll d00d without killing the instrument you’re trying to use to make you famous to begin with.
