At the City of Refuge church in Gardena, California, a remembrance service was held for Grammy award winner Etta James who died on the 20th of January. Christina Aguilera took to the stage, at the request of Etta James' family, to pay homage to the singer. Before her performance of the classic At last, one which garnered a standing ovation from the congregation, the singer said these few words about her vocal hero, Etta James;
"Out of all the singers that I’ve ever heard, she was the one that cut right to my soul and spoke to me".Rip Etta james.
I know she was emotional and all but I really did wish she would lay off the runs a bit in this song. I mean if I didn't know the song by heart I wouldn't have known what she was singing. Overall it was a good performance but she still needs a lot more work on her voice.
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on the vocal?
ReplyDeleteYeah, she usually goes over the top with the runs and melisma, but hell, can you blame her? She's amazing and very emotional, she really makes you feel the song. Pure soul. When I hear Etta's songs I feel kinda confused, because people are always complaining about Xtina sounding like she's roaring in high notes but Etta sounded exactly the same, or even more.
ReplyDeletei think she overdid it once again
ReplyDeleteidk if its just her instinct to overuse her runs and unlike other people i didnt find it at all emotional when xtina gets on stage the only thing she comes off across as is overbearing - shes always trying to show off her chops
it was a funeral and i think she sang the song incorrectly by going over the top with the runs idk if she can ever just sing a song anymore
Sorry, but comment means nothing when Etta James herself said over and over tha she loved how Xtina performed her songs and the family was the one who asked her to perform this song. Also, if you ever listen to an Etta James song, you should know that's the way Etta performed too. A little over the top, but that's the way soul is.. The same with Aretha. Again, sorry but your comment has no importance at all...
ReplyDeleteas far as the use of melisma goes, that wasn't really a popular thing until whitney houston came into prominence. so no, etta and aretha did not really do that as much as lots of pop singers today do. not that they didn't deviate from the melody, improvise or belt. certainly they did. and they had soul. and christina has a wonderful voice. you can see how much she loved etta and this song. i think this rendition worked, considering the occasion.in most cases though, i think christina sounds best when she lightens up on melisma; when you can hear her voice and the lyrics. sometimes her really breaking it down is emotive and effective, and sometimes it just seems empty. her studio recordings tend to have more of an effect on me than her live performances, because she uses melisma less. i.e. hurt, the voice within.
ReplyDelete