Jazz

The New Yorker described Sade's voice as a "grainy contralto full of air that betrays a slight ache but no agony, and values even imperfect dignity over a show of pain", a "deeply English" quality that makes categorizing the artist's voice difficult.[62] Her voice was described by the BBC as "husky and restrained" and compared to singer Billie Holiday. BBC called her songwriting "sufficiently soulful and jazzy yet poppy, funky yet easy listening, to appeal to fans of all those genres."Sade has been called a "pop star".[62] With the musicians in her band, Sade, The New Yorker wrote, "created one of the most profitable catalogues in pop"; the band's "easy" sound backing songs "exploring the heavier lifting inside love: commitment, consistency, friendship."[62] Her success has been attributed to a combination of her unique beauty, seemingly indefinable origins, and mysterious persona.[62][63]

More important than range in voice classification is tessitura, or where the voice is most comfortable singing, and vocal timbre, or the characteristic sound of the singing voice.