Posted on 06/15/2007 9:10:31 PM PDT by doug from upland
(No, he is not Pol Pot. It is Paul Potts. If you have not heard his name, you will indeed be hearing it.)
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If you have not heard this, you need to hear it. Yeah, I know, opera sucks. Well, it doesn't suck, I guess. I just never had any interest in it. But this is going to amaze you. What a Cinderella story. You will be moved and cannot help but to root for this guy, a guy Simon Cowell probably looked at as a total loser.
DO NOT MISS THIS PERFORMANCE ON YOUTUBE!
At 36, Potts is overweight, has not the best teeth, and lacks confidence. He was bullied as a kid.
Most human beings lead lives of quiet desperation. They never really feel that they have accomplished that which they think they could have accomplished.
Here is a guy with an amazing voice who has spent his time working for a mobile phone company to earn a living and pay the bills. At a You've Got Talent contest in Great Britain, he was discovered.
Some have expressed chagrin that he was a professional brought onto the show as a set up. It is true that Potts has had training. He insists, however, that he has never been paid for his singing. This really is a regular guy with a regular job who had a dream. After the exposure, that dream is going to come true.
Paul Potts participates on this mobile phone forum. A friend of his posted this thread to give his workmate encouragement.
Onecompare
Joined: Thursday, June 01, 2006
Total Posts: 154
Post for Pottsy!
Posted: Friday, June 15, 2007 @ 09:39
In case you've missed it our very own Pottsy12, better known as Paul Potts from ITV's Britain's got Talent has been amazing the country with his fantastic opera performances.
We've posted this thread for everyone to add a quick note of support and let him know that you will be voting for him in the final on Sunday 17th June.
So get to it - Post for Pottsy!
Doug,
You, and many others, are emotionally involved with Mr. Potts. Because of this, your judgement is clouded, and you are projecting a level of skill onto him that he simply does not possess. This is exactly what liberals do when they argue issues - no rational argument can take hold because they emotionally “know” what is right, and they derive smug satisfaction from their sense of righteousness. Logical arguments from those whom they view are morally inferior will not register.
To see just how delusional Potts fans are, check out the comments on this Pavarotti “Nessun Dorma”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VATmgtmR5o4
For the last few days, Potts fans have been made several hundred comments claiming that Potts is superior to Pavarotti. It is a ridiculous comparison. That is why I pointed out that 1) his voice is small; 2) his voice is wobbly; and 3) he cracks the high B at the end. Potts is somewhere between talented amateur and semi-pro. And sorry to pull rank on you, but I am an expert, and you are not.
Still, nice story. And on these karaoke contests, where not a single person has any real ability or training, I’m sure he sticks out quite well. He is light years ahead of Sanjaya. Just don’t go around claiming he’s the next Caruso. He ain’t.
He has obviously worked very hard with limited resources to develop his voice to the greatest degree possible. That's a quiet heroism all too rare these days.
In a way, he reminds me of Django Reinhardt. Django suffered burns to hit fretting hand when he was young that left two fingers permanently fused. Despite these physical limitations, he developed a fluid style of amazing dexterity and technique. He is justly listed among the very greatest of jazz guitarists.
Are there guitarists who can play with greater precision and speed? Absolutely. There are thousands. I know a few guitarists personally who are technically better. But none of them plays with the matchless heart and impeccable phrasing of of the hand-crippled Django.
When I heard this clip, I was moved in a way I have only been moved by a piece of music only two or three other times. There was a spirit animating his performance that placed it far above and beyond the mere notes that he sung.
Paul Potts may never become a world class recording star. But he has a fine, wonderful voice, and a story that shames "greater" and more self-important musicians. He has made his mark in the history of opera even if he never sings another note.
He’s a strong tenor for an amateur. Not close to the same league with the Big Three, or Andrea Bocelli. At 36, already with some formal training, it’s unlikely he’ll get that much better — I don’t see an opera career in his future except as a novelty act based on his TV fame.
All that said, his range and pitch are in the 99th percentile of pop singers. If he switches from arias to ballads (and even the Three Tenors and Bocelli record a lot of ballads), he could make a fortune. I might buy his Cole Porter album.
I feel sorry for you.
He has a great voice....too bad you can’t hear it through all the vibrato.
“You have perfect pitch but a tin ear.
I feel sorry for you.”
JCEccles,
Ahh - throwing out the moral indignation card. How generous of you! You’re not worth my time, so I’ll just cut and paste what I typed earlier - it fits you to a tee:
“You, and many others, are emotionally involved with Mr. Potts. Because of this, your judgement is clouded, and you are projecting a level of skill onto him that he simply does not possess. This is exactly what liberals do when they argue issues - no rational argument can take hold because they emotionally “know” what is right, and they derive smug satisfaction from their sense of righteousness. Logical arguments from those whom they view are morally inferior will not register.”
Congrats for thinking, and feeling, like a lib! Doesn’t it feel good? Keep at it, and you’ll be a KOSsack in no time!
Okay, I liked you for moment. Now you are bringing back a political analogy. I am projecting no level of skill onto him as you contend. He has a great voice. That is a fair assessment. Whether it is a great voice for opera, I have no idea. I have admitted knowing nothing about opera and have not compared him to anyone else who sings opera. Make that case about someone else, but it is not logical to direct it at me.
My judgement is not clouded. Neither is my judgment.
“””My favorite singer ever is Kirsten Flagstad. She peaked in the 1930s, so when listening to her recordings, you still have to imagine just exactly how it sounded. Not until the 1950s did recording techniques improve to the point that big operatic voices were approximated well.””’
Maybe it’s just me but I have no trouble hearing what is there irrespective of the bandwidth or fidelity or lack thereof. I have a studio and record singers and prepare tracks for mastering, so I have a little history. But even back in my teens, long before i got into recording or writing I could tell from that Caruso wax cylinder that a HELL of a voice produced it. In the modern era I think young Pav. was pretty impressive. A lot of that ‘silver’.
“””””p.s. In this thread, I for the first time disclosed that I am a musician. Since I am responding to you, I might as well throw in the fact that, while in high school, I was the Houston chess champion. Strangely enough, this rather impressive accomplishment never helped me score chicks, so I rarely bring it up””””
Shoulda’ told them you played guitar, dude!
Not so. I love watching my nephew play little league baseball. He has soft hands, an accurate throw and some pop in his bat. But I don't think he's A-Rod.
When I first started formally studying music, I worried that analyzing it too much would rob it of its magic. Quite the contrary. I didn't lose my ability to enjoy good or mediocre music, but I gained an appreciation for great, even transcendent music.
A good comparison is to wine. I know very little about wine, and I have friends who are much more expert than I. They enjoy a really great bottle in ways I cannot -- but they also join me in enjoying a cheap table wine or a Bud at a ball game. Gaining expertise in music or wine or food or art does not necessarily make someone a snobbish asshat, though some folks are inclined that way.
I hope Paul Potts derives a great joy from his singing, and that he shares that joy with the folks listening. In studying, analyzing and critiquing music (like wine, food and art, or movies, or sports, or anything else), never forget to enjoy it. That's what it's for. Being able to enjoy the subtle shades in flavor of a fine steak need not prevent you from enjoying a burger.
My mother was not a world-class musician by any stretch, but I will never hear a voice more beautiful than hers was when I was a child. That is what music means. That is why it is important.
But to elevate Potts based on the emotion generated by the roaring crowd, to put him on a par with Pavarotti, Domingo and Bocelli, is to denigrate those men's exceptionally rare gifts and skills. The great is not an enemy of the merely good, and it does no violence to either to be able to tell the difference.
That's opera. I don't know if it's always been this way or it's a recent (on the scale of centuries) phenomenon, but I've always felt opera singing was marked by excessive vibrato.
Your Nuts he was an inspiration and if you are a singer or a wantabe your just jealous!
I think they missed the point, the panel said he was a lump of coal who potential to become a diamond!
Paul is young and those in the profession such as Domingo able to polish Paul for a magnificent career in the world of Opera!
These sour notes freepers lack vision for this young man!
Django Reinhardt is not revered as a jazz guitarist because of his backstory. Most Django fans don’t learn about his injury until they’ve already been hooked by his music. The music speaks for itself. The same way it is easy and natural to recognize Ray Charles as one of the greats without even knowing he was blind.
Reality TV is shot and edited to create drama and to cast people as characters, and that’s what it did here. If you played an audio clip of Potts’ performance without the build-up, the audience reaction and the judges’ comments, it would get a big Meh. He’s good, better than me, but not great.
Now if — like Django and Ray — he finds his own voice, rather than trying to meet the formal strictures and structure of opera, he might find a truly unique voice. He could be a standout in jazz, standards and pop ballads. For God’s sake, there are people who can’t wait to buy the next Michael Bolton album, so obviously the bar isn’t all that high.
Congrats for thinking, and feeling, like a lib! Doesn’t it feel good? Keep at it, and you’ll be a KOSsack in no time!
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This thread was not intended to be political. I appreciate your superiority and expertise in the field of music. Hijacking this thread to turn it into a political discussion was not appreciated. We are all very political on this forum. That is why we are here. But not everything needs to have political commentary. This thread would have been better without it.
Okay, I’m waiting for someone to turn this into a border enforcement thread or a stop Hillary thread.
You people who think that Paul Potts is a great singer are out of your minds. You are thinking emotionally just like those in the Los Angeles Times who want to see all the poor people from Mexico flood into our country. We would be better off without cheap karaoke acts such as Paul Potts just as we would be better off without all the illegal aliens overruning our country. How’s that?
This thread needs a comment on Hillary Clinton. If there was more funding for the arts as she and the liberals want, people like Paul Potts would have gotten the proper training they deserved and we all would have been richer for it.
That need likely gave birth to the "style".
Traditionally speaking, Beethoven is the line: music before him is to be sung without vibrato (excluding Mozart, for some bizarre reason), music after him is usually sung with it. Beethoven's work, itself is usually sung with vibrato but there are conductors who will perform it without.
The funny part Music is emotion and this is a time and place for it!
When someone inspires you in a good way.
What Paul did was show that most of the world longs for good things from the ether to fill their souls!
Good Music can elevate the being and they recognized a higher realm!
Fans of the cult indie movie Napoleon Dynamite will note some strong production parallels to the election speech dance scene: the apparent loser with bad hair and unfortunate teeth stands before a hostile audience posed to witness what everyone seems to sense will be the nadir of his shame and humiliation; the venue fittingly becomes quiet as a tomb; the sound technician presses a button on a tape machine; the first notes of fine music break the darkness, the apparent loser presses forward in complete faith beyond the point of no return. And he is transformed before their eyes into a preternaturally accomplished artist. The audience, dumbfounded, jumps to its feet and gives the apparent loser, now clearly a winner, a standing ovation.
What director Jared Hess tried accomplish in a light-hearted fictional sense in Napoleon Dynamite was in the case of Paul Potts accomplished in a real sense.
It's a great, timeless story.
THIS IS A FOOLISH YOUTUBE COMMENT -—
WhoIsRamsey (4 minutes ago) Marked as spam
Pavarotti’s version of Nessun Dorma is very good but Paul takes it to an even higher level. It’s not easy beating the master at this own game but in my opinion Paul did it with this song. Paul puts a lot more emotion in it in my opinion.
(Reply) (Spam)
THIS IS AN APPROPRIATE COMMENT WITHOUT GETTING INTO A LIB V CONSERVATIVE BATTLE. THIS IS NOT ABOUT THAT BATTLE -
THIS is what FREEDOM is all about! THIS is what LIBERTY brings us! In some cultures this brilliant talent would be silenced, this precious soul killed. GOD BLESS the land of the FREE!!!
BWAHAHAHAHAHA. Someone made a comment in Arabic. I wonder if it is a threat to behead him.
Well he didn’t inspire me, so your observation is subjective, and as to my aspirations, qualifications, or feelings you are, quite frankly, pissing in the dark....:-)
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