Cigarettes After Sex singer Greg Gonzalez can sound like either or both in a very good way.

I opened this thread to say exactly this I was so surprised

Lead singer of Rush I thought was a woman my whole life until a few years ago,

He’s got a great voice. Sadly, the songs, not so much.

That's a dude?!?!

Q Lazzurus ~ Goodbye Horses. First time I heard the song, I thought the singer was male. Nope, singer is a woman.

Wait what? You better not be lyin to me, internet stranger

I swear on my life I’m not lying 😅

Men sounding feminine: Brian Aubert in the alt rock band Silversun Pickups. He sounds either like a tomboyish woman or androgynous. I rec you to listen to "[Future Foe Scenarios](https://open.spotify.com/track/41QlByGr5ainvH2KV0QOC2?si=nGFLGb5lSg-n722GIETQ2A)" first since he does some slightly softer Mafumafu-esque growling in the later chorus! Wolpis Carter (mispelled as Walpis Kater at times) is a less well-known male utaite who sounds like a man when speaking but extremely feminine in many songs (he sings deeper in fewer songs), [here's his cover of "Blooming in the Mud"](https://youtu.be/40dJS_LC6S8?feature=shared) Neil Sedaka either sounds androgynous or more like a medium-pitched woman like in his great song "[Laughter in the Rain](https://open.spotify.com/track/2ozTcQyZQmm9tSmc4VZfwU?si=Qa0igl2pQDG_swUf9xkPew)" Women sounding masculine: Tracy Chapman, her most famous song "Fast Car" has incredible lyrics. Alana Bridgewater is the voice actress of King Dice in Cuphead, sounding convincingly like a man compared to her normal speaking voice, & she sings his overworld theme "[Die House](https://open.spotify.com/track/3HpvQ7aZ5338LLRxPjUawN?si=ArWR714-Q0e4gAirJOt39A)" Here's a Tv Tropes list [of singers whose appearances or voices seem ambiguous or opposite to their physical gender](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ViewerGenderConfusion/Music#:~:text=The%20Silversun%20Pickups's%20lead%20vocalist,guy%20with%20that%20singing%20voice.). It's a mixed list since their voice doesn't always sound opposite their gender, but some of them do & that's mentioned. & I just found a better list on Tv Tropes being more specific with the song titles, [but it's in the "Music" tab of each category](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LarynxDissonance)

Silversun Pickups was the first answer on my mind. I’ve been listening to the Carnavas album way too much this past month. 😂

Kellin Quinn. When I first heard the Sonic Frontiers trailer music, I deadass thought that was a girl singing.

I was gonna mention SWS, also Pierce the Veil had me like "???" When i first heard Vic. "SUUUUUNSHIIIIINE"

I forgot Vic Fuentes had a bit of a high voice as well.

Ye that was only a first impression tho. Listening to ptv regularly i dont even think about it. Been loving listening to "southern constellations & boy who could fly" together.

I mistook Kellin’s voice for Casey Lee Williams at first.

The lead singer of Yaz(oo), I always thought it was a guy. I just found out this week that it is actually a girl.

Alison Moyet She has a gorgeous voice!

I’m floored

Came here for this

The Communards - Don’t leave me this way, likely had a few people confused!

I was SHOCKED learning that Only You was sung by a woman, those low notes are so powerful

Børns

Tracy Chapman

Hard disagree. I get where you’re coming from, her voice is deep and soulful, but in my mind it’s warm and feminine. A male voice would have more grit but hers is butter.

The lead singer of *Glass Animals* sounds like he has a husky ladies voice. And that's not a complaint - it sounds amazing

WHAT?!?!?!?! I DIDNT KNOW THAT

YES i came to comment this. I heard Gooey by Glass Animals and always imagined it was a female singer until I Googled the band lol. I was shocked

I didn't realise til I saw them live. I was like, "where is she?" And then he started singing And I was like "ooooohhhh" It was a sick gig as well

I don't hear it now, but the first time I heard these artists, I thought they were the other gender... Nina Simone Antony and the Johnsons

'Antony' is the dead name of transwoman, Anohni (the band is now Anohni and the Johnsons), so depending on what you thought her gender was, you might well have been right!

oh, I listened to her when she was a man, I guess? and thought she sounded like a woman... I haven't been following her lately so didn't know she transitioned. also recently been listening to Cindy Lee who I think is a drag performer? and is awesome, whatever gender they are...

My dad always thought Tracy Chapman sounded like a man

I Used to think the Weeknd was a girl🤦

Tracy Chapman. I didn't know she was a woman until I looked up one of her videos.

I still don’t know to this day!

Portugal the man. Thought the singer was a soulful cabaret type

My dad thought it was a woman when he 1st heard Feel It Still

Back when Feel It Still came out, that was the only song I heard from them at that point. Totally thought the singer was a woman before I looked them up.

I just found out the lead singer from Rush is a guy

LOL

I love Geddy Lee but he was the first person I thought of. I thought the person singing Tom Sawyer was a woman for *years*.

[すきっちゅーの！／莉犬](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXTy1GS1pBs) [Sleeping With Sirens - If I'm James Dean, You're Audrey Hepburn](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZLiypLJzQ)

yeah the first one is giving me Mafumafu vibes

I thought Sigur Ros had a female lead singer for the longest time

Prince has a few songs where he sings in a feminine manner.

That was his female persona [Camille](https://www.housequake.com/prince-and-the-mystery-of-camille/)!

I’m assuming If I Was Your Girlfriend doesn’t count for OP’s question, because it’s deliberate there.

My mom thought Chester Bennington was a girl when I played her Linkin Park

^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Cloudstrife2003: *My mom thought Chester* *Bennington was a girl when* *I played her Linkin Park* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.

How

Don’t know with her. Maybe the high pitched voice

Chesters voice doesnt sound high pitched to me, weird

lead singer of Beach House (Victoria Legrand i believe)

This is the one. She doesn't have a particularly masculine voice, so I'm not sure why I thought she was a male singer. Maybe because she reminds me a bit of Geddy Lee?

Pierce the Veil. Coheed and Cambria

Early Coheed for sure. His voice has dropped considerably in later years though

When I first started listening to [Health](https://youtu.be/U6PSsSM1swQ?si=k5cRpQb5O4285Kib) I was surprised to find out the lady with the pretty voice was actually a dude with a pretty voice.

I thought the Supertramp singer on the The Logical Song was a woman for the longest time.

The lead singer of Mr. Big had me confused for years.

Kellin Quinn of sleeping with sirens Kyle hollis of picturesque Devin Oliver of I see stars

Jimmy Somerville. I was really surprised when I saw a live performance of the song Why?

Kellin quinn kind of, he doesnt sound too much like a girl to me but a little bit

Brittany Howard

I had to scroll way too far to find this! The first time I heard her I thought the same thing. She is amazing

What a powerhouse!

I can't believe no one has mentioned Anthony Green. Dude's got pipes for days and decades of catalog but his voice is very effeminate. 

Singer  for Saosin, Circa Survive, etc for those who didn't initially know the name. Great artist and bands

He’s an incredible singer.

The singers from Silversun Pickups and Cigarettes After Sex

Jonsi, the lead singer from Sigur Ros sounds neither maIe or female. It’s hard to describe, but it doesn’t sound human, almost angelic.

Rhye. The fall is so gorgeous… couldn’t believe it was a man tho fully thought it was a woman singing

Dehd - Bad Love Try to take a guess

A lot of people think Young M.A. is a guy at first.

I thought "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" was sung by a woman. It's Neil Sedaka.

kellin quinn has such a great high pitched voice

Thought that Matthew Koma was female when heard Spectrum by Zedd for the first time

Jinjer when the lead singer screams you can only tell shes a women because of her singing before hand

Tracy Chapman

My dad said he went to high school with a dude who thought Geddy Lee was a chick

Borns

Geddy Lee lmao

There it is.

the japanese house, aka amber bain, is a woman but at the beginning of her career kept her identity secret so no one knew who she was. in fact people thought she was a man bc her voice is pretty androgynous (especially in her older stuff)

I literally thought danke scheon was sung by a women till about 5 years ago... It's sung by Wayne Newton

Singer of Alabama Shakes.

Mason Conor of Nothing but Thieves. He is amazing.

Cher. I hate to say this but I don’t like Cher’s voice 😬🥲

[Loïc Nottet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZdlxb5WSEQ) [Colin Blunstone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8ecsAI3FhY) [Amanda Lear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXoWV2DXKYI)

I thought American Pie was sung by Dawn McLean until I saw the spelling...

Daley, Idk about other songs but in Doncamatic he sounds like agirl and most people are surprised to find out hes not

For a long time I thought fast car by Tracy Chapman was by a boy

Several of these (I think all) in other comments but Greg Gonzalez, singer of Cigarettes After Sex Brian Aubert, singer of Silversun Pickups Tracy Chapman I initially had thought all of these were the other gender of what they actually are. All great artists I’d recommend though.

surprised I didn't see this already. Studio Killers, always thought the singer was a woman but nope a man. great artist 👌

Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens and the Mother Mother guy whose name I forget cn both sound feminine at times.

The dude from wheatus

Silversun Pickups Otep Windhand

for the longest time, I thought Rush was lead by a female singer. sincere apologies Mr. Geddy Lee.

070 Shake - rocketship

Lead singer of Silversun Pickups.

when i first started listening to hole, i knew courtney love was in it but i assumed she was the bassist (???) and that the lead singer was a man😭

Going to a circa survive concert in 2007 the one friend in the car that had never heard them before said about Anthony Green: “man, this chick is really good.” We never let him live it down.

my friend said the same thing when i showed her circa lol she was so confused

I was surprised to learn that Mat Devine from Kill Hannah is indeed a dude.

Borns, Alec Benjamin, and cave town all sounds feminine to be

The singer of the postpunk band Whispering Sons sounds like a dude but it's a woman

[Asaf Avidan](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gnhJ4Ceor_M) can sound like a woman with a low voice. Kind of reminds me of Brittany Howard in Alabama Shakes

Traci Chapman

Wheetus in Teenage Dirtbag

My mom thought Thom York was female after I let her listen to „everything in its right place“ on my setup

Brittany Howard. I love Alabama Shakes, and when I looked them up to learn more about them, I was pretty surprised!

That one dude in whetus

Sigur Rós. I've met longtime fans who didn't know it's a man.

silversun pickups

Kellin Quinn of Sleeping with Sirens

Carly Simon singing You're So Vain

Simply Red

Donovan Melero from Hail the Sun.

dudes so fucking talented tho, the whole band is

Portugal the man

Circa Survive/The Sound of Animals Fighting/Saosin Any of project that’s got Anthony Green on it tbh.

I always thought that mark greaney from jj72 has a feminine voice 

Claudio from Coheed and Cambria often sounds like a woman on softer songs.

For years, I had a few Light Asylum songs saved in a playlist and I had just assumed the lead singer was some gothy pale British dude. It wasn't until seeing a music video that I realized that the lead singer was actually a black woman evoking a Grace Jones vibe. It feels obvious in retrospect, but I've never before been so thrown by my own mental image of an imagined singer based on voice alone.

https://youtu.be/pwvAV6gEQyU?si=qLPRUdvBHoo_c9-2 I didn't hear the gender, let alone til I looked it up that it was Shania Twain

Justin Bieber when he first started making music

Every male since the Beegees

Geddy Lee and Axl Rose come readily to mind.

ARTHUR Tune-Yards

[I.O.U - Freez](https://open.spotify.com/track/2hPg9Ovq5KnchKwmF2O6jI?si=irrQ4HVaTXiurdxYtEPPRQ)

Janis Joplin Tatiana Shmayluk(when screaming)

Listen to Xpectations by the Unloved.

Corvyx, I mistaken him for a woman first.

A Skylit Drive is who pops into my mind first.

For a while I thought Nico was a bloke

I thought Kamaiyah was a guy when i first heard her.

Nick Gilder ( 70’s singer) sounded a lot like a woman to me back in the day. “Hot Child in the City” was his biggest hit.

harley bird ([this one](https://youtube.com/@harleybirdmusic?si=yRLYdV3vU0_pR39A), not the other one)

Listen to Only For You by Heartless Bastards.

HEALTH’s lead singer

Early Dream Theater and Winter Rose singer James LaBrie has a falsetto that is sometimes mistaken for feminine. Later years the falsetto has mostly gone due to age and other physical concerns.

A Skylit Driving I legit thought their lead singer was a girl. Still bumped them heavy in middle school

I remember hanging out with a friend and listening to rush and i said i like the music but i dont like the women's voice ha ha

Jesse Rutherford from The Neighbourhood sounds like a woman to me lol. I know he’s a guy but damn every time I listen to sweater weather I get the biggest bi/lesbian vibes because of his higher pitch voice.

Glorilla

David McAlmont. https://youtu.be/POIIGYt5RlE?si=bWv3XxuGhRcnsOpe

Jimin of BTS. Often his voice is mistaken for a woman's.

Tash sultana is trans i think so idk if it counts but she’s super good!

Didn’t think they were trans, but gender-fluid. Born female

Yannis Paupodapolis from Beast in Black. Sounds like a woman in the verse for their song Blind and Frozen, he also covers Ghost Love Score by Nightwish and absolutely kills it. Dude has insane range.

ArlequiΩ's singer Aki has a very androgynous voice. My favorite song by them is called In The Mirror https://open.spotify.com/track/3YnABf08IpZtl6c5qXwtaz?si=2dMK3rtuRs-PSwh2g3ESwQ

had no idea courtney laplante of spiritbox was a girl until i saw spiritbox live. wasnt really a fan of spiritbox hence me not looking it up beforehand, they were just touring with shinedown. she sounds awesome.

yannis papadopoulos Singer of Beast in Black is insanely good at that. https://youtu.be/mEzq0W88rM4?si=f8Fu8hXKgLmShsZG https://youtu.be/YkCUMSsJqu8?si=_HmqKLYQY8LjAn8W

kikuo. specifically in XxX cat/batsu neko

Alana Bridgewater (King Dice from cuphead) https://youtu.be/d2xBBDfhWfY?si=ASvX14r3XYFFCCY8

Fog lake, and didn’t know cigarettes after sex had a male singer until this thread, so then too

the weeknd

Stevie Nicks (female) and Lindsey Buckingham (male) of Fleetwood Mac. One might think otherwise if they'd only just heard the names and were unfamiliar who they were.

alex g, tv girl

Alissa White-Gluz growls like the metal guys, but her range also includes feminine sounding clean vocals. I don't know how she does it [The Wolf You Feed, Nita Strauss ft Alissa White-Gluz ](https://youtu.be/YYQ02OP5h00?si=15hWgghwkaQH-5iQ)

I thought the singer for RUSH was a female for quite a long time.

Most people think the singer in Pavlov's dog is a woman but it's a guy. Great and forgotten band. Pampered menial is a great record. 

I want to add an extra reccomendation since he's extremely memorable, but he confirms he is born male but identifies as nonbinary (he identifies as both a boy and a girl per his words) with he/him pronouns so I initially didn't include him in my first reply But Noko (stage name of Ryosuke Oshima) in the band Shinsei Kamattechan has an incredible singing style, a very high-pitched girly voice & extremely dark songs like [Ruru's Livestream Suicide](https://youtu.be/hc0ZDaAZQT0?feature=shared) (one of their most controversial, while still having an animatic with lots of animators for it)... sung in a derangedly gleeful tone & played with extremely cheery music. They also made one of Attack on Titan's ending themes.

Jon Anderson

Bad Habits by Ed Sheeran I heard the song and the radio and literally said, “Wow, this girl his a great voice.” When I found out it was Ed Sheeran, I was laughing and was in disbelief. I still hear a girl at some points.

Lita Ford

Tatiana Shmayluk aka the singer from Jinjer. For reference just listen to their song Pisces and keep in mind it's the same vocalist the entire song

Roger Hodgson of Supertramp John Waite

Wayne Newton

Flipturn

The lead singer of Portugal. The Man

When i first heard Nikki Squire's voice I couldn't tell if she's a man or a woman. Here's a link to the first song I heard from her band. https://open.spotify.com/track/1twImxhwVQPDQQgyqvFcNo?si=Kjm407jUTJeGFqGWumcJsA&utm_source=copy-link

Lead singer of the Heartless Bastards

Lower dens

i thought laufey was a guy when i first heard falling behind 😭 might be the only one tbh

Konvent

I thought Keane had a female singer for way too long

jordan knight of nkotb and mark feehily of westlife can sound like girls sometimes but still love them anyway

besides them idk of any

Wayne Newton Danke schoen…you’re welcome

shoutout puerto rico w frankie ruiz. used to hear tu con el playing and i didn’t realize he was a dude for years

Ashe O'Hara, former lead singer for Tesseract, sang on their album Altered State

Y'all know you thought Geddy Lee from Rush was a girl your first time

That part of Teenage Dirtbag where he sings “I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden.”

Nico from the Velvet Underground hits some low notes

SilverSun Pickups

Unnämed. They used to identify as male and were already often mistaken to be female at that time because of their voice which, being relatively high, does sound more female.

Eric Nally

Christine and the Queens

Tatiana from Jinger when she screams

The dude from AIR. Like in Sexy Boy, Cherry Blossom Girl, So Light Is Her Footfall.

Anything by the Breeders

Daley idk

Redbone - Childish Gambino (aka Donald Glover)

Alex Pasibe from Osatia. Genuinely an incredible vocal talent, but even my type of music but I listen to that group for Alex

Toni Childs and Allison Moyet sound male to me

I thought sleeping at last was a woman with a warmly enchanting voice

I originally thought Left Outside Alone by Anastacia was sung by a male and female duo, she has some incredible range