For fifteen years, a duet mostly meant two artists emailing files. The new wave is doing it in one room, on one microphone, on purpose.
Engineers say the shift is audible. Singers phrase differently when they can hear each other breathe, and the small collisions that used to be edited out are being kept.
The economics help too. A shared bill sells more theater tickets than either name alone, and the recording doubles as promotion for the tour.
