Lionel Richie
Tenor · Soul · R&B · Pop · USA · prominent since 1974
What is Lionel Richie’s vocal range?
Lionel Richie's vocal range is commonly cited as F2 to G5 — about 3.2 octaves, or 38 semitones, and is usually classified as tenor. Full voice is cited up to around A4; everything above that comes from falsetto or head voice.
Warm, unhurried tenor that leans on breathy tone over volume and steps up to a light falsetto. That cited span is wider than 73% of the 357 voices in this library.
- Signature song
- Hello
Reading the numbers
- 10 semitones — 26% of the whole span — sit above the cited full-voice ceiling, so much of this range is head voice, falsetto or whistle rather than chest.
- The closest range in the library belongs to Layne Staley (E2–G5), within 1 semitone at both ends.
- 5 other voices here are cited to the same G5 ceiling.
- Ranked by bottom note, it is the 44th lowest of the 357 voices here; by top note, the 189th highest.
Commonly cited figures, not lab measurements — extreme notes are one-off recorded moments, not the singer’s everyday range.
Take the free 2-minute range test — your mic finds your lowest and highest notes, then this page shows exactly how your voice lines up with Lionel Richie’s.
Also bottoming out on F2
66 other voices here are cited to the same floor.
Also topping out on G5
5 other voices here reach the same ceiling.