|
|
Issue #332-- Monday, August 16, 2010
|
|
New Posts
This section has changed:
We no longer include individual links to posts. Each section header below will lead you to the section indicated, for the most current update.
(Normal login rules apply.)
 Alto & tenor section leaders Another alto church job Choir director -- So OC After-school instructors Church music coordinator Exec Asst/Grants Coord 
Schtuffmarkt:
Anybody wanna sell their Master Chorale dress?
Main forum:
New funding opportunity
Discounts:
Tix discounts for the Bowl
NOTE: Later in August, Facebook will be shutting down the 'Boxes' discussion area on their Pages, including the Lauri's List Page. Please use these forums on the main site for discussion.
Please feel free to use them, really! We want to hear from you!
Diction training workshops
Coaching with Ryvkin
Arts Tune-up 9/11
Music Academy of the West accepting applications
VOGA on Sundays
|
|
Tote that score, lift that latte...
Take a peek at our Cafe Press store to (as always!) get what you need.
Build new Listers to earn transferable subscription credits
|
 | Click the header to view our news feed online, or to subscribe with your favorite RSS reader.
|
|
|
|
 Evancho emerges as Mini Diva of the Moment
Since the August 10 airing of America's Got Talent, the media and blogosphere are all abuzz with a young lady heralded as the 'new Susan Boyle': she's a 10-year-old cutie named Jackie Evancho, who sang Puccini's 'O mio babbino caro' surprisingly well. In fact, she sounds mature and polished enough that many have suggested that she was lip-synching, a cynical and unlikely accusation challenged with a ten-million-dollar bounty from billionaire and family friend Bill Gates. But even with detractors racing to tear her down, this adorable blonde has logged millions of hits on YouTube, and millions more across a multitude of websites and news channels lauding her beautiful singing. Without a doubt, she is the latest international singing sensation.
If only it were just so simple. When Susan Boyle made her debut on British television, I was genuinely moved and excited by the prospect of a middle-aged woman with talent and passion getting a chance to live her dream. Her plucky personality and guilelessness brought truth to a performance that was far more powerful than the likes of professional polish or a performer's usual charms. Evancho's performance, however, elicits entirely different emotions: concern, frustration, even fear for this child's future. This isn't a grown woman coming out with a great voice. It's an undeveloped child working in a genre designed for fully-developed instruments. That simple fact makes her debut a little more than disturbing.
Watching Evancho's performance raises serious questions about organic sound production, as Jackie clearly mimics more mature singers in her movement and interpretation, and doesn't seem to connect with the song. She's play-acting. This is, of course, understandable, if not acceptable, in one so young. The counterproductive (and very distracting) movements of her head and neck are likely an extension of this mimicry, but the general tension in her body belies that bad habits have already set in. None of this is unusual in a young performer, and this is not an attempt to pick on an obviously gifted little girl. But most kids (those living relatively normal lives) have a chance to grow out of the tics and crutches, as their performances aren't as result-oriented as Jackie's are bound to be in the next several years. Moreover, her performance simply looks too much like work, not that of a kid who loves music. My fear is that she isn't a strong enough singer for what lies ahead. All of this is worrisome.
Here I must admit some bias, as in my years of studio teaching I have re-taught too many very young singers whose voices had been ruined by their mariachi-loving families. They'd been encouraged to sing loudly because they could, and were then praised for their 'mature' sound, while their range dwindled and their voices were rubbed raw. I fear that rather than touting Evancho as the new Boyle, a more apt comparison would be with Charlotte Church, another talented young woman who made a big splash, enjoyed astonishing success for a while, but burned out fast, with the strain on her voice quite obvious by the time she reached the tender age of 16. Church, now 24, has since taken a hiatus, had babies, and separated from her husband, and is just now returning to the recording studio with a new sound much closer to pop (and probably better suited to her natural gift). Such examples have stood for decades, as young talent has been embraced, chewed up and spat out once hormones and overuse start changing the instrument and the package. Fox News, in typical fashion, is already amping up an apples-and-oranges comparison between Boyle and Evancho with an oh-so-helpful infotainment poll. As Jackie's YouTube video is posted and reposted across the globe, the standards are already sky high and impossibly manic, just as they've been many times before.
More astonishing are the results of a quick Google search, which raise even more than the usual questions about parental motivation, and prove that Evancho is obviously not the unknown quantity the show would have us believe. This child, spoken of as if she'd never left her kitchen, already has an "official site", with profiles on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube, Reverb Nation, AND Jango. Her Wikipedia page was created in November 2009. Her bio pointedly notes that 'Jackie's young career has already seen her on stage (whatever that means) with the legendary David Foster', and that she is booked to appear at Carnegie Hall in December. Her CD is sold out online, and she has already racked up public appearances and corporate gigs around her hometown of Pittsburgh. This is clearly a planned and carefully-executed career path, driven by at least one stage parent (her father, Mike, is the contact listed on her website) and a grassroots PR machine ready-made for a label contract and world domination.
I started this editorial as a simple blog post, along the lines of 'oh, look, another talented kid: here's hoping..." There is no doubt this little girl has great talent. She's also beautiful, which means the media will be (and already is) all over her. The ensuing research, however, paints a much more cynical picture: other 'sensations" aren't 10 years old with a complete PR package in place when they launch, and that difference is hard to ignore, no matter how talented this girl may be.
I do harbor high hopes for Jackie, and if the duality of my opinions makes this sound disingenuous or like a backhanded compliment, please forgive me. Hopefully, Evancho will be the exception. She's tailor-made for fame, and clearly loves the spotlight. With careful guidance and smart management, she may well have a viable and even a fantastic career. As she grows, she may yet be able to uncover a genuine voice to match her natural musicality. In the end, with or without historical precedent, here's wishing all the best for a very young girl stepping into a very big world. Go get 'em, Jackie. Don't forget to play along the way!
To view video of last week's
performance, click here.
|
|
|
|
|
In accordance with FTC guidelines, any other paid placement and/or advertisements, as well as reviews or recommendations initiated by the receipt of free goods or services, will be clearly identified as such.
Some items linked here will lead to purchase sites on Amazon or Cafe Press, where we are registered as affiliate members. LaurisList.com does receive some compensation for sales made via these links.
You are receiving this newsletter because you are listed as a full member or registered user at www.LaurisList.com, or because you have requested a subscription. Links shown may require a valid login in order to access the pages referenced. Use of this email and of the site is subject to our Terms and Conditions. As always, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@laurislist.com if you have any questions, problems or feedback. As always, thank you for being part of our community!
Lauri D. Goldenhersh, Founder and Editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
