I recently attended a vocal workshop where I was encouraged to sing one of my songs completely in chest voice, the song was "Popular" and the teacher as well as the other students loved my performance of it when I sang it that way. My problem is I am a classically trained soprano and it is painful for me to sing in chest voice too high for too long. It seems to me when Kristin sings this song she is never, except maybe on the lowest notes, singing in chest voice, but a blend or a mixed voice.
I am unsure how to move forward now, do I work on developing my chest voice for songs like "Popular", or should I continue singing in mixed or head voice so I don't ruin my voice? How does a singer push their voice so hard without causing pain and future trouble?
I do not encourage my own voice students to sing in chest voice and when I hear other singers singing completely in chest voice it sounds to me like they are stuck there, like they haven't developed their middle or head voice. I am afraid of going into auditions and sounding like an untrained, undeveloped singer, when I have a lot of talent.

Mixed voice!!! In the context of the show, Glinda would never sing it in chest--it's out of character. Your instincts are dead on. The role is written for a high soprano--I actually just started working on her high pieces which are great. Plus, belting with good technique is actually not the same as taking your chest voice all the way up (I just started working on this as well, and it's really cool to see when you properly belt how it's different).

What kind of crazyperson would encourage you to sing in a way that hurts?

It could be that your class thought it sounded better because it had a straighter tone when it was in your chest-- do you have a lot of vibrato naturally, especially in your higher registers? That would be the only reason I could think of that someone would say a Glinda song sounded better in a chest voice.

If that's the case, then definitely use a mix but concentrate on straightening out the tone, or maybe making it a little brighter. When you're classically trained, it's easy to slip into that deeper, richer, operatic sound, which is not appropriate for "Popular"; Glinda has some pretty operatic moments in the show, but "Popular" has a pretty contemporary sound.

I'm not saying that's what's actually happening... but I'm at a loss to explain any other reason your class/teacher might have to say a song like that sounds better all in a chest voice!

ridiculous request! People throw these terms around and don't know what the really mean!!! Mix that voice together! Nobody sings purely in chest throughout the register - it is not possible - it still mixes, but will sound differently due to resonance shape, how much chest mixes into the centre resonator etc etc...

Singing completely in chest would mean your range would be very short, and/or you would be screaming NOT singing...

I wrote a blog entry about this VERY thing this morning - feel free to check it out.

But again, recognize the style informs the tone, and throwing around terms like chest/head/belt without discussion of what that means, is a big mistake.

Kinnniggets probably just gave you more ideas than this teacher did but suggesting ideas to achieve this contemporary style!
However, remember, Kristen has her training in opera literature, but still can access many different sounds - so find YOURS and make that song YOURS.

Kinniggets, I think you got it right. When I am nervous, which I was in this workshop when it came my turn to sing, I tend to fall back on that warmer, more operatic sound I developed in my early training. Maybe what they wanted was a brighter, more mixed sound, I wish they would have said that instead of "sing in chest voice". It wasn't the vibrato, on my other song, "Someone Like You", they actually encouraged me to sing with more vibrato, and the director commented I might use more vibrato on "Popular" as well.

I expected musical directors to have a broader vocabulary when it comes to singing and the voice; mixed, blend, and belt are terms used every day in the theater. As the director/musical director for a musical, or singers in a workshop on auditioning for a musical, it would be helpful for the actors if they did.

Anyway, thanks for helping me decipher! I'll work on a brighter more mixed sound.

musical theatre is very mixed and a lot of the musicals expect to have a loud twang sound in your voice. however a lot of old musicals expect the lead girl to be a high soprano
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chest voice... you will felt painful ,it's because you still not get some singing soprano skills yet... you must to find out all about soprano skills and try to understand it ... that's just a way for you to improve yourself... And also can get some suggestion from another person like your friends, lecturer... Hope you can get success on