[Listen] Lea Michele Teams Up With Sia Furler On "Battlefields"

Is it wrong that I can't hear Lea Michele's voice without my mind immediately concocting some Glee scenario- starring her character Rachel- to accompany it? For instance, listening to new song Battlefield, I immediately pictured the Diva in the Glee music room, facing her classmates, singing it with moist eyes, gesticulating arms and planted legs, while the camera circled slowly around her (something kinda like this).  Just me then?

Anyway, Battlefields is actually sitting right with me on first listen, with its simplicity working greatly in its favor. Lea doesn't need a full on production to rouse, or elicit an emotional response from this listener - perhaps due to her clear annunciation and acting chops- so its nice to not have too much distraction going on in the track. The wailing Sia backing vocals- she wrote the track- that ghost the song, but really comes in at 3.30, were also doing good things to me.

(Mental note: must do that pesky Sia vocal profile!!)

[Duelling Divas] Which Diva Sang Les Misérables' "I Dreamed A Dream" Best?

This "Duelling Divas" seemed a timely one considering a feature film of the stage show, from which the song sprung, is currently winning awards and putting bums on seats in cinemas around the world. What could I possibly be talking about? I Dreamed A Dream from the musical Les Misérables, of course! (I'm sure the post title and it's accompanying image didn't give that away...)

Let's see what Wiki has to tell us about this iconic number;

"I Dreamed a Dream" is a song from the musical Les Misérables.[1] It is a solo that is sung by the character Fantine during the first act. The music is by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with orchestrations by John Cameron. The English lyrics are by Herbert Kretzmer, based on the original French libretto by Alain Boublil from the original French production.

The song is a lament, sung by the anguished, dying Fantine, who has just been fired from her job at the factory and thrown onto the streets. She thinks back to happier days and wonders at all that has gone wrong in her life.

In the original Musical, the song occurs after Fantine has been fired, and before Lovely Ladies. In the film adaptation, these two musical numbers were swapped around, to place dramatic emphasis on Fantine's depressing descent into prostitution.

Being from such a famous musical, it's unsurprising that I Dreamed A Dream has been covered by a number of Divas. But what makes this a change to other Duelling Diva posts is that this one contains singers that many won't be familiar with. But that shouldn't stop you getting involved; it's always good to try new things and discover new singers!

So let's get to it and watch some Divas sing!

Lea Michele (Rachel from Glee) - Vocal Profile/ Range

Lea Michele

Vocal Type:Soprano

Vocal Range:2 Octaves 1 notes and a semitone F#3-A5

Vocal Pluses:Technical singer with a good grasp of her voice as a whole, thus the sound it produces is always supported well. Her chest voice is crystal clear and has great dynamics, with the higher belted notes being reached through the aid of mixing with the head voice. Her intonation and delivery is also brilliant meaning her voice can effectively communicate a song's emotion and sentiment without sacrificing the audibility of the lyrics.

Vocal Negatives:Her vocal styling means that the vast majority of her performances have a theatrical feel to them, suggesting a limitation to the genres she can sing. Also her chest register can sometimes sound overbearingly strong/piercing, especially when the notes aren't softened with vibrato.