What with the way that time has affected some of our most famous Diva's voices, you'd think a steep decline in vocal ability was as an inevitable as wrinkles and reading glasses as one ages. However, veteran Divas Barbra Streisand and Shirley Bassey showed us, at the 2013 Oscars, how this isn't necessarily the fate of all singers.
Check out both performances, as well as my two pennies, below:
Sure, Babs has lost some of the dexterity, flexibility and power of her instrument, but her amazing phrasing and smooth, warm tone was still present and accounted for in her performance of The Way We Were at the 2013 Academy Awards.
Classy, elegant and emotive, this veteran continues to demonstrate why dedication to a song's meaning and melody can be far more powerful than a showy vocal. A philosophy that might go some way to explain newbie Adele's recent (incredible) success.
Shirley Bassey is in a category of her own when it comes to vocal preservation. Singing Bond theme Goldfinger the Welsh wonder sounded as good as ever when she hit the stage. That's not to say she sounds exactly as she did when she was younger- for one, she now sounds noticeably more androgynous- but the power and control that made her voice so impressive in the past, still makes it so today.
But are these two amazing singers just exceptions to the rule that your voice worsens as you age; or has their technique and respect for their instrument actually been the reason their talent has endured into their seventh decade on this planet? (Seriously, can you believe Bassey is 76!)
Thoughts
I loved Dame Shirley Bassey though for the first time I didn't like babs'
ReplyDeleteBoth these Divas showed why they are in a class of their own,
ReplyDeleteand why this generation is greatly lacking in comparison to what the past has presented.
Barbra's voice has become a bit coarse, but age will do that, still wonderful regardless.
I thought they were awesome! Demonstrating to the backtracking, lipsyncing wannabee divas how it's really done.
ReplyDeleteBassey still belting her heart out Live and Streisand, known as just about the Original Perfectionist, how it's done with class.
Opting as she did for Live singing when, I am sure, she is aware her voice is not as perfect anymore as it once was. Showing respect for the moment as well, in choosing to pay tribute to a composer and friend for real rather than faking her vocals in any way. ( take a lesson Beyonce!)
For me both ladies showed none of today's best known ''divas'' are in their league really.
With the possible exceptions of Pink and Kelly. But then again, neither of those are really '''divas'' and for both still too early to tell for sure.
And DD, I personally absolutely believe that is in very large part the reason for Adele's success.
ReplyDeleteMakes Adele look like an amateur joke. Hah.
ReplyDeleteExcellent singers that I am unable to enjoy due to my tastes.
ReplyDeleteStill way, way, waaaaay better than Adele in my book, however.
Both were simply outstanding and I totally agree with the sentiments of showing the younger lot how its done! Particularly the tone-deaf auto-tune addicts out there...I must say, it was a rather divalicious night indeed!
ReplyDeleteLol I like that Stuey ''divalicious''
ReplyDeleteBabs is 70! 70!!!!! There's no way a woman is supposed to sound that good at that age. Holy moly! Bassey's even older! Icons, both of them.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing they could have done to make their performance better was to bring an autotune box out with them and stomp on it.
ReplyDeleteLoL
ReplyDeleteadele is younger than rihanna...
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Erm, I thought that autotune was a plugin...
ReplyDeleteEinsteins theory of relativity was wrong.. No 70+ year old women should be able to sing this well...Their voices still sound dynamic and well rounded..... This is just raw greatness..... I love them so much....especially Barbra Streisand and her very warm voice.....
ReplyDeleteDude, that makes no sense at all. Not even as a joke. Your science teacher failed you miserably. :-(
ReplyDeleteWell you managed to tangle my meaning a bit but I let my grandmother listen to these performances because she was a little girl when these two women were popular and it brought her to tears. She really enjoyed them both.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother really takes aspirations from Barbra Streisand and to this day still looks up to her vocal prowess.... Personally, I can't stop watching the performances....These two women still have amazing voices.
Lol your grandmother and mother must have been pretty young when they had children. And don't blame me for your tangling.
ReplyDeleteJust because I'm the one pointing it out. ;-)
Well, my grandmother is 57 and my mom is 35. Also, I don't control what my Grammy listens to ( I'm not sure If that is what you were inferring). She doesn't know how to use the internet too well so I let her see the performances when I went over her house. I always knew my grandmother was a fan of Barbra Streisand so I wanted to show her this. I'm glad it touched her.
ReplyDeleteThat, again was you doing the ''infering'' by literally stating ''I let my grandmother listen''.
ReplyDeleteSorry if I misunderstood.
Just found the time to listen to this, and found that i like this version- with the huskier voice- to the original with the smooth one. IDK why XD
ReplyDeleteTbh the song itself never was one of my favorite Streisand tunes. Husky or smooth.
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