Hope44 Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Since I'm involved with music, I was asked by a friend (who was thrilled with this performance) for my opinion. My friend is not a singer and not very musical. I think she did ok. Don't get me wrong - Lady Gaga actually is very talented. I don't like some of her public persona, but musically, she has talent (which is far more than some of the other female "pop" singers.) Anyone else not completely blown away? I just thought it was average. She was in tune and she had emotion. Still, I think many of the songs were too big for her and I noticed it most when she could not hold out some of the notes at the end of phrases. I'm thinking many theatrical singers could have done just as well. Julie Andrews has super smooth note transitions, incredible range, and can hold out notes well at the end of phrases and they don't lose their impact. I just thought her performance vocally was ok. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 The opening few lines were good. I was pleasantly surprised. Then she kept singing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I think she did a good job for not being Julie Andrews, who simply can not hit all those notes anymore thanks to botched surgery. I did not know they were doing a SofM tribute....and earlier yesterday had devoured in one sitting a new book on the making of SofM! Kinda eerie. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I was pleasantly surprised by how good her voice was. Her presentation made me cringe -- now we wave the right arm around, now we pick up the skirt and wave it around, now the arm, now the skirt, again and again. I stopped noticing her singing due to horrified fascination with what she was doing with her body. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I was just shocked when I realized who it was (I tuned in mid performance) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I think she did a good job for not being Julie Andrews, who simply can not hit all those notes anymore thanks to botched surgery. I did not know they were doing a SofM tribute....and earlier yesterday had devoured in one sitting a new book on the making of SofM! Kinda eerie. You'd fit right in over on unsinkable's thread about weird coincidences! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 She was fine. I didn't have a strong opinion of it really . They had a lot of pop artists doing songs that weren't "theirs"- Maroon 5, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyacinth Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I had no idea she could sing (showing my lack of pop culture cred here) as I know her only as the woman in the crazy egg costume from a while ago. Dh had a hard time getting past the tattoos; they didn't seem to be the right accessories for that gown. Slight topic change . . . Tim McGraw? Yum. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I did not know they were doing a SofM tribute....and earlier yesterday had devoured in one sitting a new book on the making of SofM! Kinda eerie. FYI. And here's the link to the new (Sept 2015 release) book. "The Sound of Music: Behind the Scenes . . . " http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Music-Behind---Scenes-Celebration/dp/162008192X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424708476&sr=1-2&keywords=sound+of+music+behind+the+scenes And this one was released this week (Feb 17, 2015): "The Sound of Music Story" http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Music-Story-Beguiling-Handsome/dp/1250064465/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424708767&sr=1-1&keywords=the+sound+of+music+story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SproutMamaK Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I was impressed by how she kept it toned down, actually. I'm not a fan of her music, but having heard some of despite not liking her as an artist, lol, I know that she can definitely belt powerfully when she wants to... and yet for the most part she kept it tightly in control and gave a solid, but not overpowering, performance. I actually thought she could have belted a little more than she did, but it seemed like she was deliberately trying to go for understated and in control, which frankly I didn't expect her to be capable of. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I thought she did great. Now the song Adam Levine sang- not so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope44 Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 I hope I don't sound like a Debbie Downer. I DO think Lady Gaga was gracious and I appreciated her dress. I'm only speaking that vocally, I thought it was ok, but I wasn't "blown away." It IS good to see her do something that shows she truly has talent and isn't afraid of live performances. I also like that she didn't try to do runs and shrills and "make those songs her own." Truth be told, I'm very picky with music, so it takes MUCHO to blow me away:) It is just so terrible what happened to Julie Andrews voice. She had an operation to remove nodules on her vocal chords, correct? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope44 Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Now I have to go youtube Adam Levine's performance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I thought she did a superb job. It is incredibly difficult to sing those songs because we all "hear" Julie Andrews and automatically compare it to her. Added to which, Julie Andrews was right there listening! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Now I have to go youtube Adam Levine's performance! I got up halfway during his performance to do laundry. I normally like him but this song/voice combo was not good. Did you see Rita Ora's perform "Grateful"? I thought she was good with the little time they gave her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I had to look this up. She's out of tune in spots, badly. She scoops horribly - everywhere! (Scooping is NOT a stylistic *thing* here.LOL) She shouts on every note above a b. She grovels on every note below. She has no brilliance in her tone at all. Her placement is all in her throat. It's painful for me to listen to her. All in all, she makes an interesting case for studying vocal faults. It's not that she's no Julie Andrews (She's NOT!!!! HA!!!). It's that she has no real vocal skill. She has some natural knack that has been exploited for $....maybe...but she is not a vocal talent. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I thought she did very well and find it bizarre that you would start a thread for the sole purpose of saying meh. Then again, it's bizarre that I would post to this thread just to say that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope44 Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Maybe it is bizarre. Maybe it isn't. I was interested in others opinions. I;m pretty sure that asking for opinions is a norm on message boards. At least I was under the impression that it was. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope44 Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 I got up halfway during his performance to do laundry. I normally like him but this song/voice combo was not good. Did you see Rita Ora's perform "Grateful"? I thought she was good with the little time they gave her. No now I have to go look at that performance as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I did not see it. Ms. Gaga composes, has formal vocal and instrumental training and was accepted to Julliard at 11, but went for academics and subsequently went to a prestigious arts school in NY, did she not? Paid her way. Doing fairly well does not surprise me. I looked all this up when I first saw her video for poker face. I thought, "She is too plain to be just a singer/dancer. She must have some kind of talent." Indeed, she actually is a real performance artist (vs. just performer). So what if it's pop. She found her niche and she's going for it. She knows she's going to get old so now she's doing serious / broadway where you can't see the wrinkles. She is a smart woman. Her mom said she's a businesswoman. I agree with that. And I don't begrudge her her money in pop. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I thought it was really good. I've always liked her. Even her weird stuff. I think she is creative. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I did not see it. Ms. Gaga composes, has formal vocal and instrumental training and was accepted to Julliard at 11, but went for academics and subsequently went to a prestigious arts school in NY, did she not? Paid her way. Doing fairly well does not surprise me. I looked all this up when I first saw her video for poker face. I thought, "She is too plain to be just a singer/dancer. She must have some kind of talent." Indeed, she actually is a real performance artist (vs. just performer). So what if it's pop. She found her niche and she's going for it. She knows she's going to get old so now she's doing serious / broadway where you can't see the wrinkles. She is a smart woman. Her mom said she's a businesswoman. I agree with that. And I don't begrudge her her money in pop. I'd be interested in seeing what her vocal training background is made of. Being accepted into Julliard at 11 only means that she has raw talent. It does not imply that she studied voice. What I heard is not the sound of a professionally trained vocalist. Pop or folk or classical, there are certain things that a trained vocalist does, and she didn't do them. It's difficult to explain, but her vocal placement gives it away. A professional...has a more sophisticated toolbox to stretch for a bad analogy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Well, I'm a trained vocalist and I liked her! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I preferred this performance to her usual over the top antics. If you can sing, just sing. No bizarre costumes needed. Tim McGraw was good but that song kills me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I had no idea that she has such a strong, powerhouse voice. I thought her dress and hair were lovely and complimented the musical number. I found her large upper arm tattoo distracting as she waved her arm about. (a trumpet?) I know she is an "odd duck", but she has an amazing voice and true talent, unlike many pop stars who have average-ish vocal talent combined with great marketing and personas. (Britney Spears, anyone?) I think that she would reach a wider audience with fewer odd theatrics and dress because she is so much more talented than I would have imagined. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 She is not Julie Andrews and no one is. She did great. In the age autotune Lady Gaga can actually sing. There are very few people who have the range that Julie Andrews had. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hope44 Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 I do agree that Lady Gaga is truly talented. I've heard her play and sing her own stuff, and she is good! However, I just wasn't blown away by her voice on this set of songs although I thought she did as good as she possibly could given that this is not her genre. If you listen carefully, she has a hard time sustaining notes that are meant to be sustained. I have to wonder why not a true theatrical singer like Idina Menzel would not have been better suited? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I love Lady Gaga! She's a very talented performance artist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I am a professional pianist, and I've accompanied some pretty unbelievably talented and polished vocalists. So, here is my take. It is not going to be easy for anyone to sing a Julie Andrews number period. JA is a difficult act to follow. That said, she isn't as polished, nor has the depth. But, she did a very nice job, and has nothing to be ashamed of either. Now, I do have to say that I found some of her movements to be rather distracting. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsuga Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I'd be interested in seeing what her vocal training background is made of. Being accepted into Julliard at 11 only means that she has raw talent. It does not imply that she studied voice. What I heard is not the sound of a professionally trained vocalist. Pop or folk or classical, there are certain things that a trained vocalist does, and she didn't do them. It's difficult to explain, but her vocal placement gives it away. A professional...has a more sophisticated toolbox to stretch for a bad analogy. I think she has basic vocal training, like, a class or two. She did study performance at arts school in college. I agree that it's obvious she is not a professionally trained vocalist as in, an opera singer. Based on interviews I have glanced at, her attitude seemed to be--not that I agree with this--"You're asking me to work hard at a craft for which the median wage is zero (negative if you include professional expenses), to sing in a way that some old guy decided we had to sing 200 years ago, but I'm a talented person and I'm going to use my talent and you all can take your 5 years of vocal training to tutor rich kids. If effing Madonna can be the top female artist for a decade and she can't sing for crap, I can do it. I want to get music out there, not please some critic." There are pros and cons to that approach. She seems to be seeing more of the pros at this point in her career. It would be very sad to see every artist having to make this choice between craft and eating which is why I support the arts. I have to wonder why not a true theatrical singer like Idina Menzel would not have been better suited? Trying to bring in a younger audience? This is where Gaga's business strategy for selling her performance art has paid off big time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I thought she did great. Now the song Adam Levine sang- not so good. I liked that song and the movie it came from... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Now, I do have to say that I found some of her movements to be rather distracting. Dh said "Is she trying to rip her skirt off?" Which knowing Lady Gaga, was in the realm of possibility! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 I thought she did a superb job. It is incredibly difficult to sing those songs because we all "hear" Julie Andrews and automatically compare it to her. Added to which, Julie Andrews was right there listening! This is my problem, probably. IMO, I thought LG did a surprisingly good job, but nowhere near what I would think is superb. I feel like she doesn't have the right voice or tone to sing those songs. Now, I saw her perform some standards with Tony Bennett recently, and I saw a version of her singing Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang, and she blew me away with those performances! But I don't think she was a fantastic choice for TSoM. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I am a trained musician and vocalist and I have never been impressed with Lady Gaga. I've had the luck to work with some incredibly talented vocalists, though, and that may jade my opinion. Lady Gaga wouldn't rank in my top 500 vocalists. That said, she doesn't suck either. She's just okay-meh. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 This is my problem, probably. IMO, I thought LG did a surprisingly good job, but nowhere near what I would think is superb. I feel like she doesn't have the right voice or tone to sing those songs. Now, I saw her perform some standards with Tony Bennett recently, and I saw a version of her singing Nancy Sinatra's Bang Bang, and she blew me away with those performances! But I don't think she was a fantastic choice for TSoM. I bought my dh the duets CD she did with Tony Bennett, and we both thought it was truly awful. She had no range and seemed to shout instead of sing whenever she had trouble hitting her notes (which was very often.). I wanted to like the CD and I admired her for doing something out of her normal comfort zone, but I listened to it once and that was enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Dh said "Is she trying to rip her skirt off?" Which knowing Lady Gaga, was in the realm of possibility! LOL! That's exactly what I said. I was so nervous watching, alternately fascinated by that upper-arm tattoo and worried she was going to rip off her (very tasteful) dress! :-) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 So what if it's pop. She found her niche and she's going for it. She knows she's going to get old so now she's doing serious / broadway where you can't see the wrinkles. She is a smart woman. Her mom said she's a businesswoman. I agree with that. And I don't begrudge her her money in pop. I've been to one of her concerts. She sings live and her piano playing is beautiful. It maybe pop she sings, but I appreciate her dedication to music. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Didn't watch the Oscars, went just now to watch the SOM song clip. Gaga strikes me as someone who is neither as bad or as good as some make her out to be as a musican, dancer and overall performer. I find her stuff likable. If someone doesn't like her tattoos in that dress, I think they just don't approve of tats in general. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 She's no Joan Sutherland, but good for a pop singer. I am not crazy about her music but respect the fact that she actually sings and plays the piano in live performances. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I've never been a Lady Gaga fan but I didn't find her horrible last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 LOL! That's exactly what I said. I was so nervous watching, alternately fascinated by that upper-arm tattoo and worried she was going to rip off her (very tasteful) dress! :-) I'm with you. I was a bit afraid she was going to rip off the skirt to reveal an outfit made of weasels or something. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I'm with you. I was a bit afraid she was going to rip off the skirt to reveal an outfit made of weasels or something. :smilielol5: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Dh said "Is she trying to rip her skirt off?" Which knowing Lady Gaga, was in the realm of possibility! Yes! Dd thought she was about to rip it off and start tap dancing like Fiona in Shrek the Musical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I think she has basic vocal training, like, a class or two. She did study performance at arts school in college. I agree that it's obvious she is not a professionally trained vocalist as in, an opera singer. Based on interviews I have glanced at, her attitude seemed to be--not that I agree with this--"You're asking me to work hard at a craft for which the median wage is zero (negative if you include professional expenses), to sing in a way that some old guy decided we had to sing 200 years ago, but I'm a talented person and I'm going to use my talent and you all can take your 5 years of vocal training to tutor rich kids. If effing Madonna can be the top female artist for a decade and she can't sing for crap, I can do it. I want to get music out there, not please some critic." There are pros and cons to that approach. She seems to be seeing more of the pros at this point in her career. It would be very sad to see every artist having to make this choice between craft and eating which is why I support the arts. Trying to bring in a younger audience? This is where Gaga's business strategy for selling her performance art has paid off big time. Her quote makes sense. She's a business minded artist, not an ARTist artist that got a lucky break. A Classically trained singer can do Opera, pop, folk, Broadway, whatever. A switch in genre doesn't mean dropping trained skill. Ex. I'm not expecting to hear big vibrato (like in opera) b/c the genre requires a straighter tone, but I am expecting to hear those high notes floating in powerful brilliance from her head....not blasted as if through a potato shooter from her throat. Granted, she's talented at the potato shooter approach, but ... 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRAAB Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I thought she was surprisingly good. Says the lady who couldn't carry a tune if her life depended on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I thought she did very well and find it bizarre that you would start a thread for the sole purpose of saying meh. Then again, it's bizarre that I would post to this thread just to say that. There are rules for this??? I'm in so much trouble. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I was pleasantly surprised. I've listened to much worse! My DS takes voice with classically trained opera singer who performs professionally on a regular basis. The last couple years of sitting in on voice lessons and being a more acute consumer of performance art has really changed my ear. There are many amazing vocal artists in the world that will never have the recognition of someone like Gaga. It's mostly about marketing a product. We live in a large performing arts community and I've sadly at times have heard better vocalists in community theater productions than many pop stars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Her quote makes sense. She's a business minded artist, not an ARTist artist that got a lucky break. A Classically trained singer can do Opera, pop, folk, Broadway, whatever. A switch in genre doesn't mean dropping trained skill. Ex. I'm not expecting to hear big vibrato (like in opera) b/c the genre requires a straighter tone, but I am expecting to hear those high notes floating in powerful brilliance from her head....not blasted as if through a potato shooter from her throat. Granted, she's talented at the potato shooter approach, but ... Pretty sure dd will be using that potato shooter analogy in the future. :lol: 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I liked that song and the movie it came from... :) The song is very nice but it was like he sped it up or something. It was just not good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 I am a trained musician and vocalist and I have never been impressed with Lady Gaga. I've had the luck to work with some incredibly talented vocalists, though, and that may jade my opinion. Lady Gaga wouldn't rank in my top 500 vocalists. That said, she doesn't suck either. She's just okay-meh. I did not know you were a vocalist. Hmmm....that explains your awesomeness. :coolgleamA: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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