A female singer; often specifically a popular or cabaret singer.
2006 September 7, Evan Serpick, “10 artists to watch 2006: The Noisettes, Jibbs, Silversun Pickups and seven other up-and-comers”, in Rolling Stone[1], archived from the original on 28 August 2009:
Smith could easily be lumped in with expressive chanteuses like Norah Jones and Alicia Keys, but she has a broader palette than either. On the soulful torch song "Dream," which Smith wrote, she conveys a sophisticated allure that would seem well beyond her twenty-seven years.
