11 Year Old Hits it OUT OF THE PARK with 'And I'm Telling You" from Dreamgirls — Page 2

She was channeling Holliday alot, it was obvious. She was good, but I think she was trying be like Jennifer Holliday too much.

It's sort of twisted that there are so many people who are very set on criticizing an eleven year old who actually has talent.

Unless you are like- oh, I don't know- between the ages of 10 and 13 and totally jealous that she's singing on TV and all, while the best thing you've ever done is win honorable mention with your performance of "Defying Gravity" in your grade school talent show- than it's a bit uncalled for. Or really just pathetic- it's up to you.

Yes, the girl has talent, but I just don't find it fascinating.

She can sing.

Yay.

"It's sort of twisted that there are so many people who are very set on criticizing an eleven year old who actually has talent.

Unless you are like- oh, I don't know- between the ages of 10 and 13 and totally jealous that she's singing on TV and all, while the best thing you've ever done is win honorable mention with your performance of "Defying Gravity" in your grade school talent show- than it's a bit uncalled for. Or really just pathetic- it's up to you. "

Just because some people's opinion differ from yours, it doesn't mean you can start criticizing us.

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Not that impressed either. She's a mimic and a very good one, but not a singer... yet. That may come in time, but she's not there right now.

And YES, I have heard a real singer at age 11 who wasn't a mimic and who could have blown her off the stage. His name was Michael Jackson. He was a true original, and his voice came from the heart, not from slick memorization. He was abused, and he is a complete mess now. But few have ever connected to a song at such a young age.

Do any of these shows have real SINGERS on them, or just "vocal gymnasts?" Does anyone know how to feel a song, or just how to stylize one and go through all the prefab motions?

This is why I don't watch these shows at all. They make me sad and discouraged at what passes for an "artist" and "art" today.

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Oh goody.

An 11 year old singing with an unhealthy technique. An 11 year year old singing a complex song who has not idea what the lyrics are about (it's called real life).

And we sit here and go ga ga.

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Nevermind.

Updated On: 7/6/06 at 02:46 AM

Does anyone remember the big, booming, mature, impressive voice of 11-year-old Britney Spears? Because I sure do.

Technique. It's all about technique, placement, and long-term vocal health. There is nothing natural about this girl's singing, and unless that changes quickly, her voice won't last. Count me in with those who don't get the hype. And no 11-year-old should be singing that song anyway. It's insulting to the lyrics and music.

ETA: Andrea McArdle, Donna Vivino, Alisan Porter - all kids who sang with technique and their "own" voice - not trying to sound "adult" or like something they thought they were supposed to sound like - all have fantastic voices today.

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Updated On: 7/6/06 at 07:02 AM

We're stuck in an depressing age now I call "the decline of the American singer."

We've become "Idolized" and look to the skill and tricks of individuals to indicate how "good" they are. It's as if everyone who was limber enough to kick high was automatically a good dancer. It has nothing to do with interpretation of feelings, or communicating an emotion to an audience. Singers are judged now on how wide their range is, how powerful their voice sounds, how many riffs they can do in a single phrase, etc.

They jump all over a song, as if it was a trampoline. A springboard to show how clever they can be, never getting "inside" a song long enough to figure out what it's supposed to mean. They don't "explore" the music and lyrics, they exploit them in cold, robotic fashion.

The first time I remember feeling this way was when Whitney Houston first hit the scene. So many were impressed, but I was not. I said, "she has a good instrument, but she doesn't know how to PLAY it yet." She never did learn. She exploited and abused it. I also said 10 "Whitneys" wouldn't add up to even ONE of her aunt (Dionne). Ms. Warwick had a smaller range, less power, wasn't nearly as "vocally adept," and yet was 50 times the singer that Whitney ever was. Because she could FEEL a song. She opened her mouth, and out came "art." Her interpretations made people THINK and FEEL and REFLECT. They didn't just sit back and clap like they were at the circus watching a high-wire act.

I do think that most people who are fans of theatre music, understand how important it is to "communicate" a song, not just twirl it like a baton. But I wish the rest of the country would figure that out... and FAST. Or maybe the majority of Americans don't want to THINK and FEEL and REFLECT. They just want to hold up judgment cards with scores on them, like Olympic events, and rate their singers solely on skill and "athletic prowess."

That would be very sad, indeed.

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Updated On: 7/6/06 at 09:15 AM

Try telling that to all the Jersey Boys fans. JUST SAYING. Not trying to be offensive in any way. A lot of people seem to consider that talent.

Would you elaborate, DRS?

I sang it when I was 10!

sydney23---Yeah, it would be nice if she found her Roger Edens. I hope so too. And as I said earlier, her skill and technical ability (aka her "instrument") is there, but the "singer" in her has not yet arrived.

To me it's no different that a young girl who can touch the back of her head with her toes. (Again), that's impressive, but it's not dancing.

I could applaud the gift this girl was given, but I'd rather see what she does with it first. So far she can imitate, and that's impressive. But she's not a star, she's a "curiosity" and an impersonator. Just as Baby Frances was when she first started out.

The sad truth is that she will likely never find her "Roger Edens" because so few are looking for real "singers" and interpreters of songs commercially anymore. A lot of it will depend on her parents. Michael's parents (particularly his father) scared him into learning how to sing, and without proper training and guidance, his voice was shot by the time he was 15. He had to rely on his own inventive stylizing to put over a song after that (which he did to great success). But in the "early days of Michael," he had the rare ability to feel a song and communicate it to listeners. Perhaps because of his (sad) upbringing he was able to understand some of these adult emotions. He sure grew up fast in the business, and then he so desperately tried to stay young and innocent for the rest of his life. Chasing after that "lost youth" in disturbing ways.

Oh... and if Frances Ethel Gumm had come along now, they would have stopped her right at "Sophie" and said, "Look! She has arrived!" The potential in her would have never been unlocked, and she would have wrecked her voice by 15 "vamping" it up with one skimmed-over pop-ditty after another.

I wish this girl the very best. She has more odds stacked against her than for her, in our day and age.

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Updated On: 7/6/06 at 11:41 AM