I know where you're coming from, but have to disagree on the Whitney / Aretha example. Ms Houston always seemed to get lumped in with all the other vocal technicians of the time, and whilst she may have had a few goes at being a bit OTT, in the main she was just an amazing singer, and (I think) one with a lot of 'soul' too. He first couple of albums are quite remarkable, and despite the slightly dated production still hold up today. Also Aretha ( Whitney's honorary Aunt) was quoted many times praising her, so very unlikely to have been of the opinion she was just a voice and nothing else.
Now there's a challenge! Maybe a whole new topic waiting to be unleashed alongside this one. 😉