Having been subjected to a gazillion performances of Girl On Fire during Alicia Keys' relentless promotional trail, it was great to hear something different from her new album when she took to the stage at the Royal Variety Gala.
Being in Britain, and performing for its royalty, it was a smart move picking the song Brand New Me, as it was co-written with British singer-songwriter Emeli Sande. Whether it was an intentional move or not, only Alicia knows, but it was a fitting song choice. It gave her a chance to showcase some softer vocals, as well as show fans who are worried about the musical direction of Girl On Fire that the new album still has some "classic" Alicia Keys moments on it.
I was really enjoying the performance while Alicia was sat at the piano. Her voice was definitely hoarse, even when the vocal was relaxed, but the extent of it only became clear when it came to the belted notes in the closing half of the song. This is when things took a turn for the worse: with her voice sounding harsh, and her pitch being all over the place. Honestly, it just sounded like she was shouting.
I'm not sure if all the live performances of Girl On Fire- which she herself has said is hard to sing- and all the travelling have just temporarily taken their toll on her voice, or if this is, more worryingly, a sign of permanent changes to Alicia Keys' voice. I suppose we'll have to wait and see.
Thoughts?
For anyone who doesn't know, the Royal Variety Performance is an annual charity event that is attended by at least one Royal family member- usually the Queen. I don't envy her, because this is one seriously drawn-out and tired affair, consisting of anything from magical acts, to musical performance, to comedy routines.
Watching the edited down version is a chore in itself, so I can only imagine how awful it must be to have to attend this event every year and watch a bunch of people you don't know, perform acts you have no interest in. Last years show was total car crash television, running over four hours in length!
she sounded AWFUL!
ReplyDeleteAs a fan of her older albuns I was really worried when I first heard Girl on fire, but I was surprised to see good songs in the album. I don't know why though she insists in belting like that. She's not a belter, It's just hurting her vocal chords.
ReplyDeleteThe song is an improvement over Girl on Fire. with her less is always more song and vocal wise. Vocally I always hear simularities between her and Christina, timbre/ tone wise and awful belting technique. Buts is clear Alecia dosent quite have the range Christina well that she at least once had. I really would love to see her and Christina take some extensive vocal training. I may be along with this opinnion but I do feel vocally Alecia was better her first album, Her timbre was more consistant throughout her range and she could hit her higher notes and belts with less strain, but that was before her voice darkened.
ReplyDeletei don't think that Alicia sings outside her natural pitch. i don't hear her strain like Xtina. Anyway in this performance she sounded a bit awful to me. her belts sounded tired and off
ReplyDeleteI don't hear the same sort of strain in her I hear in Christina, but it is clear to me Alicia was never a "belter" per se so a lot of the belting we've been hearing in the last few efforts isn't quite polished and it can be scrapy at times. Oddly enough, the chest voice she used for the belt on the studio version of "How Come You Don't Call Me", while technically questionable, was one of her best belts to date in my opinion. I think Alicia should stick to her perks and belt less often (like not every song like everyone else is doing). And sure, some training wouldn't hurt.
ReplyDeleteI don't think she strains near the level that Christina does. I think for the most she sings within her ranger and pitch based on her speaking voice, I don't think she uses a bad technique to change her pitch. However from some of the live performances Ive seen over the last 3 years, I noticed her making more attempts at belting, I say attempts because I do agree she is not a belter. Her attempts are kinda harsh on ears and distracting from what could other wise be really good performances, as they are forced, sometimes, out of range and sometimes strained.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, other than the crack on that final note of the bridge, this wasn't half as bad as the comments led to to expect. I agree with the general diagnosis of Alicia's vocal deterioration, but those familiar with the song will recognize that this performance closely mirrors the recorded version, forgiving the normal human imperfections of any live performance (if you're not Beyonce or Adele). This easily tops my lovely dear Leona's live rendition of "Love Bird" where at least 70% of the notes were out of tune, which floored me.
ReplyDeleteI agree, she shouldn't do the whole belt-belt-belt thing. Keep it as a rare treat I'd say for Alicia. Plus it really wears on the voice, even when you do it right. It takes stamina.
ReplyDeleteI find this to be very ahmazing.
ReplyDeleteI expected this performance to be terrible from reading the intro/summary, but I actually thought it went pretty well. I am a pretty strong Alicia fan, so maybe my expectations are just adjusted according to how I've become used to hearing her sound. I can't help but think that the final "I found me-yeahhh" during the bridge section was not supposed to necessarily end in-tune, but that it was supposed to end in spreschtimme. I do wish Alicia (and all popular music singers, for that matter) would take regular voice lessons, though. There's always room for improvement. I have been playing in a pit orchestra for an operetta that features singers from the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and hearing how well some of these older men and women sing is a strong reminder of how far behind even the "greats" of popular music are in vocal ability.
ReplyDelete(As a side note: I actually prefer "Girl On Fire" to this song. As much as I have tried to get into Emeli Sande, she's just not working out for me. This song and "Not Even the King" off Alicia's album both sound firmly like Sande songs, not Keys songs, and I think that is why "101" is the only Sande co-written song that I thoroughly enjoy. I don't know why Alicia seems to have chosen to part ways with Kerry Brothers, but I'm not sure it was a good choice. I preferred her branching out that she did with Linda Perry greatly to most of the music on Girl On Fire, even if Linda Perry encourages singers to sing improperly and put too much value on "imperfections.")
Def should have posted the video of Heather Headly singing "I Will Always Love You" at this same event. THAT was the Diva moment of the night and the best performance. She is a Tony and Grammy winning DIVA and now on London's West End originating a role for the stage based on a role Whitney Houston, THE Diva, originated in the movie with the same name, The Bodyguard. Heather SHOWED Alicia how its done!!!
ReplyDeleteThat was surprisingly an amazing performance O_O I don't know what you guys are talking about, it's not as bad as it seems.
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