The Billboard Awards have taken place, and you know what that means: live performances!! Without a doubt one of my favourites of the night belonged to Kelly Clarkson, who sang the amazing Darkside which is taken from her latest album Stronger.
Looking elegant (and noticeably thinner) in a simple red dress, Kelly Clarkson channelled the performance style of Mariah Carey and delivered the song entirely static, behind the microphone. It was no less a spirited rendition of the rock/pop track for it.
I was worried on the middle eight that she was going to dodge the big notes, as she kept changing up the higher notes in the melody for lower ones, but I needn't have as Kelly Clarkson delivered when it mattered, hitting the top belted notes effortlessly.
Definitely one of this generations best singers.
Who do you think did a better job at singing "I Will Always Love You," Jordin Sparks or Jennifer Hudson?
ReplyDeleteI think she was the standout of the night.
ReplyDeleteShe looked gorgeous for starters, I don't care about weight as she isn't a model she's a singer, it's all about her voice not her looks , but she looks great a bit thinner.
I also thought she was going to dodge the high notes, I was a bit nervous but she hit them none the less! She sounded a bit raspier than usual but I happen to like rasp so it was a plus for me, but that most likely stems from the fact that she has been working her tail off since she released "Stronger".
All in all great performance, so glad you reviewed it :D
DD!!! I love you!!!! That is all....
ReplyDeleteAre you going to review Dark Side?
ReplyDeleteOverall I'd say Jordin, Jordin had some off key moments and moments where she ran out of breath, but overall was solid in the belts and her transitioning and she did a good job sticking to the original melody. Jennifer's tone fit the song more so than Jordins as it has a bit of a husky quality in the lower mid-range, but she was lowering her larnyx a bit in the verses and her placement for her belts was a bit odd when the second chorus hit.
ReplyDeleteI know this was directed at Diva, but another insight never hurt anyone.
Personally I think Jen did a better job, the song itself just seemed to come more naturally to her. Don't get me wrong Jordin did a pretty admiral job but it was almost as if she was trying to sound vocally identical to Whitney, I thought while Jennifers was more raw - it was also more her....
ReplyDeleteIf DD allows me the priviledge, if so I am gonna wait for the vid to drop, then I will hit both. Although I guess there is no reason I couldn't throw some words together in regards to the song itself.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I am thinking the vid is gonna be like a mirror of Christina's Beautiful, but thats just a hunch at this point!
Oh, this question was for anyone! Thanks for your opinion!
ReplyDeleteI think nobody did it better than Dolly herself but I thought amongst the "belters"...Hudson did an awesome job at the Grammies but Jordin did it with more feeling.
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with you Stuey, on this Kelly being an awesome singer and I probably WILL like her other work. ( which I didn't get to yet)
ReplyDeleteBut the song...awfully generic isn't it? That's why I got turned off from singers like today's divas originally. Great voices and singing but the material...not just the lyrics but also the instrumentation. Very boring.
Hmmmm, I thought Hudson did it with more feeling...anyway, thanks for your opinion!
ReplyDeleteI felt Hudson was showing a lot of feeling as a person for the occasion more than for the words of the song. If that makes any sense?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe generally I just tend to read less feeling, the more belting is going on. ;D
I felt, as opposed to Stuey, that Hudson is way more imitating Whitney than Jordin was.( as a tribute, the mix of Hudson and a lot of Whitney was well done imo)
And I hated the stylings of Whitney exactly because I never felt any genuine emotion from her for whatever song she was singing.
Which is not saying anything against the quality of Whitney's voice or technique but is saying a lot about how her ego( when singing) came across to me.
That makes perfect sense! She performed it only the day after Whitney died, so I think you have a valid point there. I actually agree with you about that.
ReplyDeleteAnd your not alone on that either. I've never really felt any emotion from Whitney, however, I haven't heard nearly enough of her music to really say that.
Always nice to hear one is not alone in an opinion. ;)
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard all that much of Whitney. I mean, never listened to a whole album. But I am of an age that I have heard her every hit go by and I listened to her doing imo appalling versions of the US national anthem and worse ( considering if ever a song was not intended to be about the singer ) Amazing Grace.
I love it! Probably more because its a slightly different sound and avenue for Clarkson to go down, not often does she sway into a vulnerable place lyricially, but its a testament to her talent that she manages it with such gusto.
ReplyDeleteProduction wise, It's not quite the freshest sound out there but she tinkers with it slightly giving it that Mariahesque music box feel with some balls lol I will say that so far I prefer the studio version than the live ones that I have heard so far.
That would be amazing, and would help reduce my surfing times ;) Thanks a million!
ReplyDeleteHey, if I can convert someone to Alison ( and her band. Which happens to feature the God of the Dobro Jerry Douglas. Check out his contributions on New Favorite or Graceland! ) I'm pleased. Here's the link to my channel. I'm sure you can find the playlist and uploads from there. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/user/reddragonready?feature=mhee
Many thanks. I subscribed too ;) you should set up a chatango account for the little chat box on this site! That way when you and the rest of us guys are here we can chat in time.
ReplyDeleteThanks I saw you did and subscribed to you too. I thought about that chatango but when I was checking it, it was mostly some, frankly, inane conversation between two anons about whether they like to watch girls.
ReplyDeleteKELLY CLARKSON IS THE ONLY TRUE AMERICAN IDOL!
ReplyDeletenone of the other winners or any of the upcoming winners will ever come close
her rendition of "up to mountain" is spectacular
ReplyDeleteCarrie Underwood?
ReplyDeletewait so you dont like whitney?
ReplyDeletei agree with the emotional aspect but i think whitney is a great singer
carrie is good but personally i dont think shes as good as kelly
ReplyDeleteand im not a big fan of country music - i was raised listening to it but ive never connected with country music
Wow your good! While you're at it..can you tell me next month's winning lottery numbers? ;D
ReplyDeleteWhich country music? Alt, classic, outlaw,Nashville sound, bluegrass, new grass, western swing, honky tonk
ReplyDeleteI don't no. The subject was thoroughly discussed under the article about the new Whitney material btw. but "the emotional aspect" is to me an essential part of being a "great singer". More essential in fact than perfect technique or even great voice. Ultimately singing is about sharing a story and emotions with the listener through music imo.
ReplyDeleteclassic and nashville sound
ReplyDeleteand my dad used to play bluegrass around the house all the time
i like old country like johnny cash and willy nelson but the new nashville sound that carrie is classified under i dont like it
Right there with you :)
ReplyDeleteCool! I got some great stuff on my youtube channel. Playlist but also some uploads. If you want I can give you the link there.
ReplyDeleteAhhh beautiful, probably one of my favourite live performances of hers! I have been hunting out some Alison! Really enjoying her voice, its never a chore to listen to! :)
ReplyDeleteHeard her sing Up To The Mountain" last night and thought there she was excellent as well. ( Now THAT is a great song imo). Didn't yet manage to check out more of her work.
ReplyDelete