Up and running!

I have heard Kathy's name before, but not her singing. Thanks for the examples. I can understand her appeal to you. She has that low (yes alto) voice --- even smoother and richer than Anne Murray's --- and the troubadour, story-teller style of Taylor and Loggins. You get the best of both worlds.

I really do love her voice. Very soothing and relaxing. No strain what so ever.

What the hell are they doing on Idol????? Is this who they had to import in order to have someone who can SANG on the show??? Are they making the statement that good singers aren't necessary or even relevant in pop or country, and you have to go to the light opera realm to find them?

That was good fun to listen to. Beautiful voices, not a lot of nuance or subtlety, but a pleasant "popp-y" version.

But, Idol, if you wanted to show that pop can have beautiful voices with great artistic expression, I can think of a much better, more relevant performer (initials AFL). Maybe not for country, (tho' it would be hilarious to hear him sing in an authentic country twang -- which I am confident he could do) but I know several members of this forum have given us examples of great voices/interpreters in country music as well.

ETA: I just Googled them and they are still teens, which explains the youthful unsteadiness in the voices. Very nice for that age. I still have trouble thinking they will last long in America by singing Italian traditional songs.


I thought they looked like a sweet novelty act. Can't imagine much staying power, but you never know. Young voices, with some training. But like Cassie said, light opera. I didn't find the performance (and subsequent ones that I saw in the next couple days) very compelling. Sort of "The Three Tenors" because some of the embellishment was straight from the original on "O Sole Mio." I'm not into that style of music, but thought the performance was mediocre. There are plenty of college voice majors who could do that or better. Again, who knows why some people get breaks and others don't.

Thank you for that link. Yes, I have read her comments before, but not in a while. And I had to search for each week. This link, combined in one page, was wonderful.

I agreed with most of what she said about Adam. Of course, she is the expert, so it would be hubris for me to debate her. But, hell, I did disagree with two things. The first was her comment about Adam's weak lower register on Ring of Fire. I thought it was a stylistic choice he made to start soft and breathy, not a mistake in resonance. I probably assume that because he is so good at accessing the resonance in his lower register that he wouldn't neglect it due to nerves or whatever. However, on the GNT CD, he does sing the first part of the song with a clear, resonant tone. So, on Idol was it style or lack of support/placement? I'm gonna trust Adam on that one.

The other thing I disagree with is when she talks about Adam occasionally spreading his mouth rather than rounding it, and singing his diphthongs "wrong." On this one I confidently say this is a stylistic choice. I know what she is saying as far as classical technique is concerned. But, it is one of the things that make classically trained singers sound awkward and inappropriately classical when they try to sing contemporary and pop music. Their vowel pronunciation sounds affected and phony in the pop genre. Adam's ability to change his production and diction to sound naturally pop without losing his resonance and clarity is one of his great assets.

Adam knows very well how to sing with that rounded tone and open vowel portions of a diphthong. Listen to him sing CTMBTM. How he pronounces words there. Or, listen to My Conviction. That one cracks me up because he is having such fun with classical technique. He will do almost a parody of the dark, round tone and open vowels, sounding very operatic. Then, he will widen his mouth, dumping that pure tone out the sides of his mouth to sound almost crass.

Listen to the diphthong on the first "my" conviction. He sings a rounded maaaaahhhhhhh, adding the ee part of the diphthong at the very end. Same for "appearance are nothing MOHHHHHHHHHre". Perfect pronunciation for that round, operatic tone placed in just the right spot for resonance and ring. Then he sings "drab camouflage" and practically blats out the short "a" sound. Followed by operatic pronunciation of "gaawwwwwwdy plumage." That long sustained note for "actually" is brilliant classical pronunciation of the same short "a" sound that he blats earlier. On this one, he aims the tone directly into that wonderful resonance of his mask (the front of the face and sinuses) and sings a vowel that is more like a short "e" or the "e" as it is pronounced in Spanish. Kinda a half "eh" and half "ay" without the "eee" sound at the end. Textbook example of how to sing the short "a" vowel. Oops, okay, getting too detailed here, probably.

But my point is Adam KNOWS how to sing diphthongs in a classical style, and how to make it sound very pop-ish. He is a master of stylistic diversity.

Now, if you ask me about her comments to other contestants, I agree with the criticisms she had with their voices, but thought she was too liberal with her praise. She made them out to be much more technically and musically expert than they often were. I get where she is coming from, as a teacher. You try to find something good to highlight in each student. Praise them for the more effective parts of their performance, or for improvement from previous songs. Then, give the criticism or point out where they need to improve. Finally, say something nice to round it out. It's the sandwich technique.

But, from a standpoint of just critiquing, not coaching/mentoring, I wouldn't have praised some of the contestants' performances to the extent that she did. Not being mean, just being honest.