March 20, 2013 
By: Rosanne Simunovic
I am back with my weekly Vocal Masterclass articles. Let the master classing begin!
On Wednesday night, the singers performed the music from the Lennon-McCartney catalogue – a revolutionary era in music history that introduced classical elements into the genres of pop and rock.
My main focus rested on the singer’s ability to phrase the signature Lennon-McCartney melodic component in a fluid yet creative manner.
Also, I was looking for a singer who could narrate the lyrics in a meaningful manner, particularly in the ballads.
So, let us move forward to my Vocal Masterclass evaluations and I welcome your commentary and suggestions after the read!
Here are my evaluations and, remember, I am reviewing each singer in (first name) alphabetical order. Your comments are always welcome. To quickly access individual singers, simply click on the singer’s link below.
Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller, Burnell Taylor, Candice Glover
Devin Velez, Janelle Arthur, Kree Harrison, Lazaro Arbos, Paul Jolley
Strengths:Amber – you exuded a lovely charisma when you performed your number this week. I was thoroughly relaxed watching you – your confidence and charm were lovely to see and you possess a beautifully honed vocal gift.
Additionally, you established a warm and intimate mood, thus forming a strong bond with your audience. This song calls for just this effect so kudos for you for internalizing the emotion in such a believable fashion.
Your phrased the melodic line creatively and musically. This is what I was looking for and you nailed this key element extremely well.
Your voice is so crystal clear; it rings like a precious bell. Gorgeous. That head voice was a thankful presence throughout this strong showcase.
Congratulations Amber. Standing O here!
Critique: Amber – it is very hard to nitpick at this exquisite performance.
However, I would like to caution you to maintain a circular position when sustaining those vowels. This will lend additional security to your voice and allow you to transcend to greater heights when you sing. Use that diaphragm to guide your voice and relax that jaw and watch the magic happen.
Excellent performance though, Amber. Brava!
Strengths:. Angela – you could not have selected a more beautiful song for your voice. Your vocal timbre has an ethereal quality which is so important for the expressive coherence of this song.
The classical timbre of your voice just draws me in. The only other singer who sang with this style was Season 5 Top 2 Finalist, Katharine McPhee.
You perfectly internalized the sense of longing signified in the lyrics, thus communicating the core emotion of the song so exquisitely to your listeners.
You honestly – and I cannot emphasize this word enough – feel your music and, as a result, the nuances in your voice are just wonderful. You tell a story!
Technically, your voice is beautifully grounded. All the key elements are there – the round mouth, the open and relaxed facial features, the loose jaw. As a result, you easily resonate your voice in your vocal masque ( facial features) and your vocal range has a seamless quality from top to bottom.
And the phrasing was impeccable. Just beautiful. You went to places that other singes can only dream of.
What a special, heartfelt and memorable performance. I will never forget this. It was on another dimension or planet!
Standing O, m’lady! Congratulations!
Critique: Angela – no critique. It was flawless. Kudos! Now, bring on the rock star performance next week!
Strengths: Burnell – I loved your song selection. You do select songs that inspire listeners – this is your gift.
You are such an old soul and it is so refreshing to see and hear this level of sensitivity in a young artist.
Expressively, your performance resonated strongly with the listener. You do take the time to articulate and express your words and I so appreciate this in any singer.
Your voice, although young, is very distinctive. That is a quality that you should never lose as you continue to receive the proper vocal training. Training is important to ensure longevity and security in your vocal performance, so do not neglect this.
That being said – never lose sight of your natural gift to communicate in a meaningful way because that is what makes you such a special young artist. The subtle nuances in your voice, the expressive manner in which you bend your phrases, your genuine charisma – all of these elements distinguish you as an artist.
Bravo Burnell! This was an exceptionally moving performance.
Critique: Burnell – now we need to see you loosen up a bit. You love your ballads and I appreciate the manner in which you delve into the emotion of your songs.
However, it is important to diversify during your tenure on American Idol. There is a sameness to your performances and now we need to see that you have a different dimension or two stuffed in your back pocket.
Therefore, my advice would be to go with an uptempo number next week. Uptempo numbers encourage any singer to connect with the audience on a different level – to entertain and engage the listeners.
Also, relax that throat – at times there was some discernible tension in your throat, especially in the upper range when you sang the word “be”. Keep,the mouth round at all times and let the diaphragm guide your voice. Keep your throat out of the process.
All in all, this was a beautiful and inspiring performance. Effortless!
Strengths: Candice – you are truly a vocal wonder. Truly! What a beautiful vocal gift you have and, yet, I know you have worked enormously hard to hone your craft as a vocal artist.
The technique, the confidence, the charisma – you have all of this in spades. You make the art of singing look so easy but we all know it is not. Not at your level of vocal artistry.
Take note everyone: this is what it takes when you work hard and believe in your talent.
No one can phrase a song in the Top 10 like you, Candice. Your voice is seamless and pure from top to bottom.
And you can take on any style of music, as was evidenced in this week’s performance. We saw another side of you – the rocker chick! And I was loving it!
I loved how you teased that lower range – what note was that? It was great! No phenomenal. The whole performance was Phe.No.Me.Nal! Enough said!
Brava Candy girl, as Nikki would say. And, by the way, I thought your facial expression was fantastic. Sorry Nikki!
Critique: Candice – I have not one word to say to you this week. Perhaps, as Randy said, you could have teased that upper range a bit more but, it just goes to show that the energy and passion drives a song to soaring heights. Not all the high notes.
So thanks for bringing the rockin’ swag to this number, Candice! Exceptional work!
DEVIN VELEZ: “The Long And Winding Road”
Strengths: Devin – so you snagged my favorite song from the Lennon – McCartney catalogue. Good. For. You! And, hey, it is Keith Urban’s as well. Cool! This is such a gorgeous number – the sentiment, the melodic line, the lyrics, the harmony – pure bliss.
What is there not love about this song – or your performance? This was a very sensitive showcase, Devin. You are such a caring artist and you bare your young soul so generously each week. You leave it all on the stage.
And, with a classic number such as “The Long And Winding Road”, feeling is integral or the song lands on deaf ears. Your rendition was poignant and heartfelt. Very, very expressive.
You have a young voice that is still developing. The texture will become more rich and robust with time and training.
However, you use your voice wisely and never force the vocal sound to move in a way that is, for now, too broad in its present developmental stage. Your voice will grow with you as long as you continue to nurture it wisely.
Your stage presence was relaxed and genuine. You exude a lovely charisma when you perform and one cannot teach that.
Additionally your riffs were fluid and perfectly centred. You are extremely musical and you deserve to be in this competition for a long time.
Exceptional work, Devin.
Critique: Devin – keep working on honing your technical skills.
Particularly, you need to alleviate the tension in your throat. I think that the diaphragmatic muscles are not working at optimum level and the throat is being over-taxed as a result.
As a result, your voice lacks a ringing,clairvoyant quality because of the lack of head voice In your vocal mix. Presently you sing with too much chest voice throughout your vocal range and this lends sort of a garbled quality to your vocal timbre.
Also, you need to maintain a circular mouth position on all the vowels not just the ones that naturally adopt a circular position such as the “ah” and the “oh” vowels.
However, all in all, this was a very solid and sensitive performance. Congratulations Devin!
Strengths: Janelle – I loved your song choice this week. Your voice seemed well suited to the key and style of this number, so good call on your part.
And this song choice was so different from previous ones, adding greater dimension to your singing style. This was a very sensitive and poignant performance. I fell in love with it!
You have a lovely ringing timbre to your voice – just beautiful. Tons of head voice in your vocal mix.
I am happy that Jimmy made you work on your breathing. This is the key to singing beautifully long phrases. And, yes, your phrases enjoyed a beautiful forward momentum. They just flowed.
You also were very technically grounded – your mouth position was circular on all the vowels, allowing your voice to soar to soprano heights.
There was an evenness to your sound and yet, it was exciting at the same time. And, guess what? Like Angie, you didn’t have to shout to get your point across and I was loving every minute of it. Shouting is so passé, isn’t it?
Brava Janelle! I loved this performance so much.
Critique: Janelle – I have nothing to critique. You were exceptional. Took me by surprise, young lady!
KREE HARRISON: “With A Little Help From My Friends”
Strengths: Kree – I really appreciated your attempt to diversify your singing style this week. I was a little concerned that you were going to be stuck in neutral and sing the same style – a ballad – every week.
This song still highlighted the sensitive nature of your artistry while maintaining a slightly quicker tempo than what we have been accustomed to hearing from you.
Generally, your phrasing was very good – nice and fluid – and your words were articulated with conviction.
Now, truth be told, this is not my favorite number from Lennon – McCartney but still, all in all, you gave a very solid performance.
I was also very happy to see you move around the stage. When you started in front of the microphone stand I thought: “Please move around. Pretty please”! And you did. And I know this helped to liberate your sound – the walking alone energized your vocal production.
For me, this was your strongest performance to date and I believe we are starting to see the true depth of your artistry. Every week is a revelation.
Congratulations Kree. Good work!
Critique: Kree – you need to work on the expressive quality in your face, particularly your eyes. I find that there is a bit of a disconnect between what you are singing about and what we are seeing in your face.
Now, it may be that nerves are a factor here but you do need to work on this aspect.
Also, your technique needs work. Your vocal range is uneven and, at times, I hear unsteadiness when you sustain your melodic line. Presently, there is too much chest voice in your vocal mix, particularly when you move into the louder dynamics.
And, try not to raise your head when you move through your upper range. That just creates more tension in your vocal sound.
I see that your mouth is round on some of your vowels but you need to maintain this circular position on the “ee” vowel. This will add depth to this very bright vowel and make the vocal focus more consistent from vowel to vowel.
However, as I said above, this was a more confident performance than what I have seen in past weeks.
Strengths: Lazaro – you selected a great song from the Lennon – McCartney catalogue. This song requires an introspective approach. The singer needs to get lost in the song and, to a certain extent, you achieved this.
You told the story very well and I could see how meaningful this song was to you. However, I think the song needed a more sophisticated approach, one that, perhaps, was beyond your scope at the moment.
Good work nonetheless, Lazaro.
Critique: Lazaro – you need to really work hard on the development of your technical skills.
Presently, I hear a nasal quality in your voice which signals a low soft palate. This needs to be addressed and the best way I know of to raise the soft palate is to maintain a bend in your knees when you sing through your upper range.
However, your diaphragm needs to reinforce the focus and direction of your voice. In this song, you had problems centring your pitch in the lower end of this song and proper support would have helped you in this respect.
Also, I would like to know why you had to change this song at the last minute? Not nice and I am glad you told part of the story. C’mon American Idol! Let’s play fair!
I was going to comment on the key selection but now I realize that they just threw this key and song at you at the last minute.
Considering all this, it is amazing you remembered all the lyrics. So good for you, Lazaro.
Strengths: Paul – this was a great song choice for you. How did you snag this one? Bonus!
You had a wonderful presence on stage and looked totally in your element.
I loved hearing your head voice at the beginning and ending of this song. This takes courage.
It also shows that you have dimension to your voice and are not afraid to access this important element in your vocal range.
You phrased this song very well and the passionate dynamics at the end of this song added a level of excitement to this number.
I also felt that you were very connected and committed to the lyrics and you reinforced my thoughts when you mentioned that you chose this song based on the lyrics. This was a very intelligent approach. Good for you. I am impressed.
This is what I was looking for as many singers get hooked on a melody with little attention to the lyrical content.
This was an excellent showcase! Great work, Paul. Kudos!
Critique: Paul – you need to work on some technical problems.
First of all, you tend to raise your head when you sing and this is such a “no-no”. All this does is cause unnecessary and unwanted tension in your throat plus you lose valuable eye contact with your audience.
Think over those upper notes – never reach for them. Let the diaphragm support and direct your voice to the vocal masque.
Secondly, keep your jaw relaxed, again letting the diaphragm do the work. By doing this, the unsteadiness and breathiness I heard in your voice from time to time would disappear.
Never lose faith on the strength of your diaphragmatic support. It is there to guide you and give you added confidence.
Good work, Paul!
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I would say that Burnell is my favorite and he does that “tension” thing you describe on purpose. I don’t know anything technical about singing but I don’t think he’s over singing or anything… I think that’s exactly what he wants his tone to sound like at those moments- tense. Whatever it is, I like it better than screeching/screaming from other singers.
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Thanks for doing this so quickly, MCL. You seem to be so busy–I hope you’re taking good care of yourself because we wouldn’t want you to have any more health scares!!! 🙂
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Louise – thank you for being so thoughtful. I am feeling fine but it is always good to be reminded that I need to pace myself.
I have four very busy days ahead – I provide live piano accompaniment for ballet students and the exams are on Sunday. Lots of rehearsals though starting today.
Will be home for the Results Show tonight. Lazaro should be eliminated but, as you said, I don’t think he will be. I just hope and pray it isn’t Devin
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I also hope that Devin isn’t eliminated.
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IMO, the participoants last year were stronger and had better camera presence. And I have REFRAINED from watching AI this year!
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James – in many ways you are right. We tend to forget these singers from year to year. But the diversity last year was more exciting. DeAndre, Jessica Sanchez, Hollie, Elise, Jacob (although he screamed way too much for my liking) and, of course, winner Phillip Phillips.
I enjoy the show when there is a balance between female and male singers. I think they threw many excellent male singers under a bus in the earlier stages of this competition in order to accentuate the female singers in this Top 10 – all of whom are excellent.
My personal favorites right now are Candice, Angie, Amber and Janelle.
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Hi MCL. Quick post because I am also crazy insanely busy right now. But just listened to Candice’s performance from last night along with the judge critiques. Unless someone really advanced themselves from last week’s performance, I personally don’t think there is anyone else in the competition. Now please take into account that I’m biased – Candice is a local girl (lives about 1 hour away from me). But I just absolutely LOVE her. Just hope she’s stays healthy. She seems SO down to earth. But I will check out the others. Thanks again!!
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My favorite performances were Angie’s, Candice’s, and Janelle’s. I think Janelle’s was my favorite she’s ever done. I’m so glad Candace did an uptempo song. She did a fabulous job! Angie’s voice was soo gorgeous last night, but I agreed with Keith that at times it sounded rather forced. She needed to be a bit more relaxed. Angie singing Yesterday, reminded me of when Syesha sang it, so I listened to Syesha’s performance again today. She sounds just as amazing to me now, as she did 5 years ago! STELLAR, RELAXED, AND SO BEAUTIFUL!
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I didn’t feel much connection with the contestants last night. Kree,I think, was sick, and that probably affected her energy. As stellar as Candace is, I didn’t feel a connection with her, and I think part of that is she didn’t know how to interact with the band. Really the song was set up as a rock group number. She tentatively walked over towards the background singers, but that was about it. Usually these two are something special. Something beyond technically proficient. You have to be inside the music to project it outward. The figure skater Michelle Kwan embodied that. You never felt that she had to think about dance steps, jumps, positions, etc. They just oozed through her from the essence of the music as if she were just part of the artistic medium.
The artists on American Idol who did that for me consistently (David Cook’s season and on) were Allison Iraheta, Angie, Adam Lambert, David Cook, Kris Allen, Crystal Bowersox, Haley Reinhart, Siobhan Magnus, Scotty McCreery, Elise Testone, Lauren Alaina, Colton Dixon, Joshua Ledet, Skylar Laine, and Phillip Phillips.
Sometimes, the pure vocalists like Jessica Sanchez, Pia Toscano, Thia Meghia, Hollie Cavanaugh, etc., seem not to inhabit the music, but are merely performing it. Not always. Sometimes they connected. Perhaps the ones that don’t have a songwriting background or don’t play an instrument haven’t developed an underlying “oneness” with the melody and rhythm. The country vocalists seem to do this best, but perhaps that’s because country and western is integral part of their culture growing up–how they dress, sing in the car, decorate their rooms, etc. The vocalists, like Joshua Ledet, who sing from their soul find a grounding in the music through their culture (African American in this case) and church, also have undeniable connection.
A soloist like Pia or Jessica or Amber might have to did a little harder or maybe just experience more of life? I don’t know … but this is just my perspective.
PS- I’m Jessica T of old. WordPress is signing me in now off of my blog.
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I think Devin did a very good job with The Long And Winding Road, but to me, he totally lacked emotion. David A. can sings runs like Devin can, but David connects with the emotion of each song he sings, better than almost anyone I can think of. Also, sometimes a song sounds even more wonderful by just holding out the notes, than singing a bunch of runs. I think Devin’s performance would have sounded even better with a couple less runs.
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Jessica – welcome back. And you raised some interesting points. I have worked with singers most of my life and am always amazed how so many cannot connect with the lyrics. They perform beautifully but it is all about the voice and little emotion. They are expressive but not naturally so. And this becomes extremely evident when they are faced with a ballad – where a singer must bare his or her soul.
That being said, I did not sense any of this from Angie. However, I think many viewers – off the bat – took a dislike to her for various reasons and that has jaded their perspective of her. Happens to me too so I have to force myself to be objective when writing my Masterclass articles. Haha
I think that your observation that singers who are also instrumentalists fare better is very insightful. They embody the full complement of all that music and lyrics have to offer and are more at one with the song they are performing.
However, one huge exception comes to mind – Barbra Streisand. I learned so much from watching and listening to this artist. She is a singular vocalist with little musical background. Just born with the gift. There must be others out there. Just can’t think right now….
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I loved Amber and Janelle. I think Amber has this gorgeous tone in her voice and did so well with a lesser known Beatles song. This was such a difficult song to pull off, but she did it with poise and ease! I just love her voice.
Janelle wowed me by reworking an early Beatles song that is one of my favorites. She did it in her own country style and made it work. Not any easy thing to do! Brave and fearless and true to herself. Well done.
I liked Kree but have some reservations. I heard the chest voice that MCL mentioned in her review. I also know that she was sick. I believe she has real talent, but I need to hear more.
Keep in mind, that this is the first time I have watched these contestants this season. I wasn’t sure if I was going to bother watching. I think the girls are head and shoulder above the guys and, from what I have been reading, this was by design on the part of the producers. Burrell has a good voice, but my first reaction to his version the iconic song “Let It Be”, was that he had no idea what the words meant and what the song was all about. I want someone to tell me a story with their voice. He seemed more focused on getting the technical aspects right and the hand gestures. But this song has a powerful message and he did not get it.
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Very interesting comments, Rosanne! I gave all my votes to Janelle this week. I love her sweet nature and her interpretation of the song. Candice still rocks above all others. I can actually picture hearing her voice on the radio. Should she decide to lose weight is her own decision. I think theTOP 3 will be all girls. Which ones? I’m not sure at this point!
With the Motown musc, I hope we see some uptempo songs. There are way too many ballads on the show this year!
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MCL– Thanks for your thoughtful response. I would add Adele to the short list of vocalists, but she is a songwriter, too. I think she plays guitar and piano functionally, if not for performance.
And speaking of Adele, Candace is not that overweight, she just needs to be realistic about her body type, like Adele. She is tall, but short waisted with big bosom. Wearing stretchy, shiny pants that come up to her ribcage with a short or tucked in shirt? Blech. She needs to stop pretending she is 18 with a stick figure, that’s all. She needs to wear better bras (Le Mystere t-shirt bra) and knee-length or tea-length dresses with an A-line (fit and flare) or ,a href=”http://www.bluefly.com/Robert-Rodriguez-black-sequin-shift-dress/p/214035600/detail.fly”>short and straight. I think she should go with a retro vibe. Here are some ideas:
Adele in belted dress with sheer accents.
Adele singing Skyfall in sparkly dress at the Oscars.
Cherry 40’s style
Rusching
Gorgeous red dress.
With some kick-ass Jimmy Choo sparkly heels and a fascinator? Bam.
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Jessica – your comment was held in moderation because of a couple of words you used plus all the links. I have taken the liberty to either change or delete these words. The links are fine though.
Since you are a valued reader and commenter here, I didn’t want to offend you by deleting your entire comment because you raised some valid points.
Just be careful of some the descriptive words in the future. Haha. Hope you understand and are not offended. I rarely do this but felt that it was in keeping with the kind of blog I am trying to run here.
Thank you so much.
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No, MCL, not at all. I understand. I hope there wasn’t anything more offensive then the “arse” reference.
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MCL,
I enjoy this space because I know nothing technically about singing, so from a technical standpoint it becomes difficult for me to explain why someone performed well or didn’t. This space fills in some of the blanks.
Regarding your comment about singers and connections to lyrics, I am reminded of a comment by Linda Eder at one of her concerts. (I like Eder more than Streisand.) She was talking about a bluesy song and said when she was at the age of the AI performers she was singing what she thought was the blues, but in reality she didn’t have the life experience to really connect with those lyrics and bring the meaning home to people. She couldn’t make the connection emotionally (although obviously she had a way through her presentation and voice to bridge the gap). There is no way for Burnell or Amber or Angie or Devin to make that connection in the songs they sang given their short life experiences. Candice and Kree sang “rhythm” songs. The connection is in the rhythm of the song alone. There is no emotional add-on. (Watch for the difference on Motown week and see how it affects you.)
I’ll add one more thing for consideration. Everyone hears things differently. Literally. It’s a DNA thing. I hear the contestants different than do other people. What you hear is the source of appeal. I always tell people to look away from the screen when they are listening to an AI performance and just listen. The performance drives so much of the perception, it frequently overwhelms the hearing. When people do that they will frequently say to me, “You know, I really like so and so and I never thought I did.”
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Hi Don B…I enjoyed your post!!! 🙂
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Vonnie,
Thanks! You can see why I was confused when Mr. Iovine said Angie Miller overdramatized or she needs to get out of her beauty queen mode. Well, she probably did in a performance capacity (arguable), but if I listen to the studio version of Yestersday, I don’t get overdramatization. So it is still unclear to me if it is the performance or the singing that Mr. Iovine thinks is being overdramatized. If it is the singing, where and how does he pick that up?
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Don B,
I totally get what you are saying…I had the same problem when he told Paul he was being too theatrical…oversinging notes and runs on this show is a staple! AND, if she were robotic, he would call her out on that!!!
While Angie is not one of my absolute favorites, I still like her!
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