Mary J...The Goddess of the night!

Mary J. Blige took that hackneyed piece of kitsch claptrap called “What I did for love” and actually DID something with it.

Reinvention is not exactly something Broadway singers know how to do as they have one style and by god they are gonna stick with it till that closing notice is put up..

But Mary J…found something in that stinking pile of smud that was considered a bad show tune by 1976, and ran with it and what’s more, connected with it.

I do however wonder if Idina had sang it THE SAME EXACT WAY that Mary J did, what the reaction would be…

I, for one, considered it to be the vocal highlight of an otherwise phony, ridiculous, badly sung evening.

Updated On: 6/7/04 at 09:55 AM

grotesque is more like it

Of course it isn't. It's Voiceanth being tiresomely predictable and once more begging the question that if he thinks so little of Broadway then why exactly does he post on here?

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No.
It was awful on TV too.

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See, VoiceAnth thinks he's a contrarian. He likes to imagine himself "shaking things up a little." He wants to be provocative, he's like that in real life conversation, too. But, in real life, I found, if you confront him on the things he says he backs right down or crumbles.

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I've been searching for the melody to that song since the first time I ever heard it.

I didn't especially love her performance but I especially loathe that song so I'm probably not the person to judge.

Meaningless caterwauling.

My parrot was in the same room as the TV during the Tony's last night. He loves music and bobs up and down when he hears music or singing. UNLESS he doesn't consider it music, he then starts screeching loudly and must be removed from the room. Such was the case last night when the "talented" Ms Blige started murdering that tune..... Aretha she's not, regardless of how hard she tries

Voiceanth, your professed adoration for Mary J Bilge (that's not a typo) would have a lot more meaning if it weren't for the fact that for the past weeks, pretty much all you have done on this board is champion non Broadway people whilst belittling Broadway performers. That's all.

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I don't hate Broadway performers...

Ever since I sat in the last row in the back of the "Alvin" watching the OBC go through ANNIE ....I was hooked....

but I was also someone who also adored listening and going to the opera...and people like The Clash and Elvis Costello were blared in my ear as well.....

I don't know popcult, I guess I just get pisssy when people think that worlds can not collide or mix or learn and grow from each other...and worse, that only one world exsists...

I would defend a Patti LuPone at an Opera Party, when they "sniff" about how "awful" Broadway singers are, any day of the week as well.....

See we need an OPERAWORLD board...now that would be hell on earth!!

Updated On: 6/7/04 at 12:12 PM

I don't know popcult, I guess I just get pisssy when people think that worlds can not collide or mix or learn and grow from each other...

See now, no offence, but that's really how you've been coming across just lately, Voiceanth. The thing is, I totally take your point, but I think there are better ways of expressing it.

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Though I know the intent of this thread, I'll bite anyway...

I probably wouldn't have minded the Blige performance so much if she had chosen a different song. Lullaby of Broadway and What I Did For Love have been done to death and it would have been more appealing for me if they had both sang something that was a little less tired. I'm not a fan of R&B, but there is some stuff I like. Blige's performance just didn't do it for me. I found Pinken's performance, though vocally problematic, much more heartfelt and connected to the material than Blige.

"Reinvention is not exactly something Broadway singers know how to do as they have one style and by god they are gonna stick with it till that closing notice is put up."

Usually, it's because the song still has to remain in the context of the show. It's not the singer's choice to change the style of a score during the run of the show, but I'm sure you know that. Reinvention of the score for a show requires licensing agreements with the creators or the estates of the creators.

Personally, I would have preferred to hear Blige sing I Know Where I've Been from Hairspray as it is a great R&B ballad that has been seriously overlooked from television appearances. What I Did For Love was just tired, unimaginative and cliché.

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Now you're just being silly.

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