Haley, Mark and Dylan Room5 10.28.2014

[john]

Haley's rendition of Cry Me a River is really unusual. To quote a judge from AI "That song has never been sang like that before." It is amazing that she and Casey were so much in sync in their uptempo version of the song, including the twists and turns they gave it with with their scatting. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but impressive nonetheless and it fit in well with the overall tone of her show (especially on the heels of AATB).

John, it certainly is -- "unusual." This is a song that I usually don't listen to. When sung in the "usual" manner, it's got a "whiney" sound about it, which given the message of the song is understandable, but doesn't make it a song that I even slightly like.

"And then along came 'Caley' " ... I'm a sucker for most, if not everything, with a Latin rhythm, and I can now listen to a song I normally detest. There is a voice in the back of my head -- the "trained musician voice" -- that keeps arguing "but that isn't the intent of the song." Which is true -- but with each listen (of CMAR), that voice grows fainter.

At times Ballas detracts as he draws attention to himself.

I can see why you say that, and on occasion, I've wondered if he's deliberately trying to upstage Haley, but if that were true, why would they continue to seek out gigs where they perform together?

In reading about Julianne and Derek Hough, I've learned a bit about Mark as well, since they all seemed to grow up in the same household. And it seems as though, from a fairly early age, Mark has been performing and learning to be a "showman." I suspect he may not even be aware of the actions that he engages in that you and I (and others) may deem a distraction.

For example, in SMYM when he starts stomping. Could that be viewed as distracting? I think so. Yet, if you look at his focus, he seems really intent on the song, and the stomping does add impact to the beat.

I think Himm's got it right -- Mark's really active.

After watching the videos more my thoughts on Marks activity have changed a bit. At times he is distracting, but on more than one occasion in this show his actions, especially the stomping, got the audience engaged and they were having fun. In a small venue with lots of his fans and friends it worked well.

I watch him signal Dylan a lot and they seem to have developed a shorthand communication style where Mark directs things in various ways. He is very physical, which makes sense for a dancer. He keeps moving. His work also involves being the mentor and the lead; the alpha performer. Here he bumps Haley and then they both ramp things up. (She does something similar in their street rendition of Rock Your Body at one point). Haley seems to draw from his energy and I think that she is benefiting a lot by performing with Mark (and Dylan, too for other reasons) at this point in her career.

A traditional rendition of CMAR would have been like throwing a wet blanket on the show. It can be a rather dreary song. I enjoy the song as they performed it, especially with the interplay between Casey and Haley, but it took me a few listens to let go of my existing notion of how the song should sound. The Caley version is like a totally different song, and for me it works.