3.3.14 Glee songs on sale on iTunes. Countdown to MSG!

Lawd, that was awful! Don't get the appeal in any way. 

But it seems American audiences love their belting divas. And anything above a C5 is considered AMAZING. Maybe because most untrained voices cannot hit those notes? (Which are nothing for trained female voices.) I do think that audiences have been conditioned to think that the sound of straining to hit notes means the singer is great, is working very hard, and doing something very difficult.  The truth is more likely that they are NOT great, they are having difficulty singing the melody because they don't know how to use their voice.  

It reminds me of a TV show where a circus strongman is being coached. He is lifting heavy weights with ease, and the audience is unimpressed. He is told he has to grunt, moan, strain, shake, make it look like he is about to collapse under the weight. He does that, and is a huge hit. 

With singers, I keep thinking about James Brown. I always thought his histrionics were absurd.

My violin teacher always told me that my playing should look effortless, even or maybe especially if I was doing something pretty difficult. That doesn't really seem to be appreciated anymore, while it takes extra work to make something difficult seem very easy. I actually don't mind violin or cello players playing like they pour their heart and soul into the piece, it is just a different style. What irritates me is that many people misunderstand that as virtuosity. Sometimes they are really not playing anything that is as complicated as it seems, although sometimes they are. And yes, it takes a bit of effort to learn the difference, but for me it makes listening to music so much more enjoyable.

I think all the more credits to Adam that he keeps on doing things that are not easy (and thank you cassie, craazyforadam and others who have taught me that) while making it sound and look as if it is nothing special at all.