Up and running!

Both are correct. A great passaggio would imply that it was smooth and seamless, in my opinion. Whereas with most singers I would have to say, "His passaggio is rough with noticeable shifts in power and resonance." Or, "he has difficulty with his passaggio." Or, "he sucks at shifting registers." (No, I won't say who specifically I was thinking with that last one <coughkrisallencough> cuz I might still be just a slight bit bitter.)

(Posted this on April 13th daily thread, but thought I would add it here for future reference.)

A little treat to start out your day. A while back we discussed synesthesia on the thread. This is the ability that some people have to actually SEE sounds, and SEE music. Thought to be due to some strange connection of synapses in the brain. We wondered what Adam's voice looks like.

Angelina Kalahari, who yesterday had an online radio broadcast about Adam (which will be replayed at 5 pm EDT today and the rest of the week, allegedly) is one of those people who sees sound. I asked her about Adam's voice. Her reply read like poetry to me. I asked her if I could share it with you here on ATop. She was a little nervous that she might be ridiculed but I assured her that y'all would be fascinated and appreciatively supportive. With that assurance and because she, like all of us, wants to do all she can to promote Adam for all he is and does, she agreed. So without further ado, here is her reply. Enjoy.

Angelina: "Okay, I will do my best, but it’s difficult to describe everything, because the colours change all the time. The thing that’s most astonishing to me about his voice, is that it is harmonious - not only in sound, but in colour and shape, too - at all times! I’ve never experienced a voice like that before!

"The overall colour of his voice when he speaks is a kind of glistening sea-green/aqua, sometimes emerald green and his voice makes rounded shapes - there are never any spikes. His laughter to me is shiny, sparkly gold and silver bubbles."


ME: For example Soaked vs. IIHY.

Angelina: OMG SOAKED - I’ll try to give the overall colours, but in truth, there are so many, I’d have to do it almost note-by-note. The song starts off as a kind of shiny silver colour, then on ‘and you’ve had enough’ it swirls into a deep shimmering violet, which becomes almost a kind of royal blue and then purple, into a very deep, dark velvet red on the ’someone NEW’ head voice note, and it ends in a soft sparkly rose at the end. It makes every hair on my body stand up!

"IIHY - starts off as a kind of light orange/yellow and it looks like someone’s thrown a pebble in a pond, then it turns to a glittery green on ‘if I had you’ - ‘the flashing of the lights’ turns into a baby blue/white/yellow wavy shape - when Adam goes ‘Jump, Jump’ on the new DVD for example, it’s huge golden balls.

"My favourite song to listen to when I’m down is Sure Fire Winners, because the colours are outrageous! Almost entirely bright orange, canary yellow, lime green and vibrant royal blue, and it looks like someone’s thrown paint all over a huge matt black wall! It's a total mind-fuck!"


So, there you have it. Does anyone else see a connection between the colors Adam likes best - rich jewel tones- and her description of Soaked? Or the colors and images on the video IIHY and her description? Coincidence? Or might Adam SEE sounds too? Hmmmm.

Thank you! I like being able to sound knowledgeable when I talk about Adam's vocals, and you have been tremendously helpful in that regard! When I can give details, I find that people are more impressed than if I just say, "He's a really, really good singer!"

Just getting around to watching this week's Idol performances, and what struck me about Lauren's was the way she broke lyrical phrases to breathe. For example, at 0:27 she sings, "Every move I make feels <breath> lost with no direction." It would sound much better if she sang the entire phrase in one breath. If she couldn't sustain that long (and I suspect she couldn't --- she was struggling on the low notes), the more natural, easier break musically and lyrically was "Every move I make <breath> feels lost with no direction." Or, possibly "every move I make feels lost <breath> with no direction." Her choice was awkward.

Later, at around 1:00 she sings, "what's waiting on the other <breath> side." Again, with the way the music builds to the top note, it really should be one phrase on one breath. It lost its impact and movement with her breathing.

Yes, she has a nice country voice. It would be better, more polished, if she had more technique to support it. Adam is a master at that sort of breath control and phrasing.