American Idol 2014

[My Alter Ego]

The best thing about Idol (and the other shows) is the talent display. The worst part is watching talent getting squandered. There are people on these shows that I think are some of the best I've ever heard, and Candice is certainly one of them. It's too bad we've sort of seen the death of the divas, because her voice fits right in. (although, with Ariana Grande's recent popularity, and Demi's semi popularity.. I'm hoping real singers make a comeback.) Her voice is just exquisite.

It is exquisite, isn't it? She does these glissandos (for lack of a better term) that blow my mind. She did it at the end of LoveSong and shortly into the second verse of You've Changed, when she does an octave jump, that is almost a 90 degree change, but every note in the scale has been touched ever so slightly. She doesn't scoop -- I hate that! -- I struggle to describe it, and I like to think that I know a lot about music (because, actually I do), but I can't really describe what Candice does. It's amazing. She's amazing. The "day of the diva" will return. Hopefully, Candice won't have given up hope by then.

And Usher would be a great mentor for DeAndre! Hopefully with or without The Voice, they will connect. DeAndre deserves that!

[kaypea]

Agreed on Candice.She's a powerhouse.But I was disappointed in her album although I only heard samples but I didn't care for the production sound or how they captured her voice or the songs themselves.I would have liked to hear more of a throwback,vintage sound for her with real strings,horns,etc. because that's what her voice reminds me of.

[My Alter Ego]

Agreed on Candice.She's a powerhouse.But I was disappointed in her album although I only heard samples but I didn't care for the production sound or how they captured her voice or the songs themselves.I would have liked to hear more of a throwback,vintage sound for her with real strings,horns,etc. because that's what her voice reminds me of.

Agree, kaypea. I bought the CD. It doesn't showcase her "exquisite" voice like it should. That's so very disappointing on so many levels.

[mercfan3]

I would always say that I enjoyed Candice's live performances far more than her studios during her run on idol.

Some of that is production. But I think another is that her voice really needs to be heard live to get the full effect of it. (Or at least, through the television.)

[kaypea]

I would always say that I enjoyed Candice's live performances far more than her studios during her run on idol.

Some of that is production. But I think another is that her voice really needs to be heard live to get the full effect of it. (Or at least, through the television.)

That's true.I remember hearing her studio recordings and being disappointed that her sound didn't seem to come across as well-unlike what I remember in Haley's recordings where I was so impressed.

[Swansteel]

I accepted a long time ago that everyone has their own tastes in music and many people will not like what like. All I can say is that I love Jena's voice, with all its idiosyncrasies and quirks and Jena-isms. So there!

[My Alter Ego]

This may not be the right place for this message (Miguel, feel free to move it to a more appropriate place), but the Idol/Interscope "connection" seems to grow even more distant.

Apple Buys Beats For 3 Billion, Jimmy Iovine Leaves UMG

Yes, those days of Jimmy Iovine assessing and mentoring American Idol contestants are long long gone, as he takes an executive position at Apple in the wake of the company buying Beats Entertainment for 3 billion dollars. The company’s other co-founder, Dr. Dre, is also headed to the land of iTunes. Beats sells high priced headphones and a music streaming service. Maybe you’ve seen those cute little pill speakers? That’s Beats.

http://www.mjsbigblog.com/apple-buys-bea...es-umg.htm

[Tom22]

I accepted a long time ago that everyone has their own tastes in music and many people will not like what like. All I can say is that I love Jena's voice, with all its idiosyncrasies and quirks and Jena-isms. So there!

"Me too" on the different tastes but my inquiring mind still try's to dissect "why" and "how" people differ .. assuming I might discover some underlying priorities people with tastes different of my own gravitate to.

I've got to say that my few years of casual inquiry on that haven't yielded much at all.

Most people really don't enjoy taking apart and pointing out what particular things they liked within a given song. On many levels I understand that "just sit back and enjoy" and I do that, but then as I listen to what I really _enjoy_ repeatedly and most particularly, when I sit down at a keyboard to talk about a song I go a step more and figure the "why's" are what discussion is about....

... but, I 100% have come to grips and accept that taking music they like apart like that.. even on a discussion forum , isn't enjoyable to most people ... it doesn't enhance the appreciation of given songs taking them apart.

And that is fine and good because music is to enjoy and if something doesn't make you enjoy it more don't do it ! But my poor inquring mind selfishly feels un-nourished (haha)

Even MAE , who I think takes in quite a bit in a way that actively notices specific things as part of the enjoyment still baffles me from time to time. MAE (hi MAE) does share more specifics than most so I'd think I'd get a picture

MAE and I can appreciate so many of the same things and I do always understand, if not agree with their pertinence, criticisms she might make of things that I might even enjoy.

--- my best stab at MAE vs Me is that MAE reallly finds brilliant execution to be excilleratingly enjoyable for her while I find brilliant flavoring of note color and cadence creating ironic context to be exillerating.

Not to say we don't both appreciate what others see but the absense of professional execution irks MAE and the absence of flairful context irks me ...irking each pretty heavily I think.

It's with that idea that I really really couldn't stomach Candice's performances in that her brilliant arpegios/glissandos (shorthand, not precise terms as MAE said) drive me nuts as I do not hear them connected to an overall flow of the song.. I don't hear her echoing and playing with them via theme and variation, teasing and delivering etc, and I find her ommision of dwelling tonefully on words of wonder in their own right quite disappointing and worse sometimes. (It , MAE did hear what I was looking in a way that fit a "world view" I didn't understand that related to specific elan and connection between her runs

but...

I think I'll split some related thoughts into another post... with some compliments for Candace in 3 performances of her's I found superb even while I couldn't stomach the ones people liked most (remember I also can't stomach Haley's HOTRS ...we had a long discussion about that and I did see one link where I did quite enjoy haley singing it from a take that "i found coherent "

I hear something in Jena Irene that does have some of the attention to theme and variation that I value but it is still in a budding place AND, there is a "world view" thing... a "twitter generation" or something that emphasizes a "cut through the words to the truth" that young people today seem to gravitate around in terms of an artist telling truths about the world.

Haley (and also ZZ Ward and Grace Potter) has repeatedly said things like "she was born in the wrong generation" which I think really could be telling comments that relate to underlying philosophies infused in musical phrasings (and I think the message of the music is not really tied to lyrics necessarily.. a series of guitar solo's within a classic rock song paints time and place and dilemma's and curiosities etc in coherent ways as a song progresses with a great guitar player with a mind of an artist...

So, while I don't think Jena has found her full stride quite yet (meaning she'd go from very good to superb at full-stride) I can see what you or someone might find special in ways that share my priorities but relate to a different message. In other words.. I don't think I'll ever really like to listen to music Jena makes but I would think it could really be superb even if it wasn't my taste.

Candace baffles me more (but more later) yet, I don't need to understand and as you've started, I've come to grips with that.

[lauraliz]

I just watched Slezak's interview with Alex Preston. A little Caley discussion which was really sweet

[mercfan3]

That's interesting Tom22.

When you say Candice's "arpegios/glissandos" aren't connected to the song, do you think she overdoes it? Or do you think that her choices just don't match with the song?

Another thing these shows has done for me, is like you said..sort of help me examine just what it is I like in a voice.

I can tell you what I don't care about. I don't care about pronunciation of words. Music is about sounds to me, and lyrics..unless I find them noticeably bad or cheesy, don't bother me in the least.

Like MAE, execution matters to me a lot. I like singers with a large range who are capable of vocal dynamics that can control their voice. In the early years, I preferred Kimberly Locke and Kelly Clarkson. I think this preference is likely because of what I grew up on, which was Mariah Carey.

Mostly I've found, that voices that are very clearly influenced by the music I like..motown, blues, and jazz (I also love the 60s rock influenced by the blues and broadway..which is somewhat related and unrelated.) are the voices that I have a tendency to prefer. On these shows, you can not throw a female bluesy rock singer out in front of me and have me not jump all over it. (coughBriaKellycough).

But I also have to say, that Haley Reinhart ruined me in a way. Before her, my favorite was consistently the person I thought was the best singer. I may have been wrong (looking back at Diana Degarmo's performances, I can hear pitch issues that I didn't notice when I was younger..although she was quite good for a 16 year old.) Kelly Clarkson, Kimberly Locke, Diana Degarmo, Carrie/Vonzell, Catherine/Elliot/Kellie (although not for the vocals), Jordin/Melinda, Syesha, Adam/Allison, Katie Stevens...and then we hit season 10...and there just isn't going to be a vocalist like Haley. Who, on a technical level, just exceeds everything I could ever prefer in a vocalist..and her musical influences are exactly what my preferences are.

Afterwhich, I found that the vocalists that intrigue me..are the ones with different tones..less technically perfect but more interesting..Jena, Bria Kelly, Jacquie Lee. To a lesser extent, I still love the great vocalists..like DeAndre, Jessica, and Candice..but after Haley, they just don't impress me as much. Or sometimes a voice just "touches me" like MK's did..and that's my preference. Because I'm not longer looking for who I find to be the best.

I also find, that I like voices which remind me of instruments. Haley reminds me of a horn instrument. (Sometimes I want to say saxophone and sometimes I want to say trumpet.) In that "God Bless the Child video" you could probably take samples of her scatting and ask people whether it's a vocalist or a horn and many would guess incorrectly.

I feel the same way about Michelle Chamuel's voice. Her voice sounds like a string instrument to me. From her tone to the airiness in her head voice and the way she sounds raspy when she belts.

Sometimes, singers just sound like vocalists..and you can't make the comparison. Or if you could, it not nearly as close as the two above.