For "ask BK day" ...
Dear BK,
Do you ever run into the situation with singers, where they don't actually realize what is the best part of their range? I thought of this because you mentioned setting keys for songs in "The Brain," and I used to encounter an odd thing when I was working with soloists each week.
It seemed especially true of sopranos and tenors; they always would try to pick a key that was just a little too high for them. I don't know if they felt that they had to prove how high they could sing, but they invariably would get weak in the very top range, and the color wasn't as rich or warm. I finally solved the problem, by just dropping the key a half or whole step on the actual performance day.
So, what is your system for getting across to singers where they are actually the strongest and best-sounding?