Moving and Moved Singers: Non-Vocal Embodiments of Vocal Expressions in the Era of Mass Media

This paper is dedicated to physically moving and emotionally moved singers who combine non-vocal embodiments as an essential content of what their singing conveys. The terms "movement of singers" and the "singers being moved" refer primarily to a physical process that may include the interpretation of the singers’ emotional situation. The main question is how these specific non-vocal embodiments in singers and their apparent outcomes are impacted by various forms of mass media showing a striking intercultural variety. Through three sections, based on participant-observation and audio-visual analysis, this paper contributes to the musicological and educational literature in interdisciplinary ways and through multiple perspectives of surveying movements in singers. Beyond this, it provides some new points to stimulate the discussion about the necessity of "singing bodies" in a world of increasing sound simulation. Methodologically, the authors focus mainly on the agency of the singers, actors, and producers in substantiating the final thoughts of the paper. The authors are interconnected through joint studies on the performing arts in and about Asia.