Grammy Performance.

[giddygeek]

I see a lot more disappointed commentary than I had expected. People talking about them being off, and the rhythms not working, etc. Initially, my only criticism was that Chris needed more energy during his solo. I'm generally very picky about live performances because after years and years of vocal training, being a vocal coach, showchoir, etc, I know how much work goes into them. I generally know when people are slacking/unskilled/whatever. However, bearing other people's comments in mind, I've gone back and listened again.

My impressions: Justin and Joey are having a blast all through this medley, you can tell. And the look on Lance's face seems to be pure enjoyment. He's looking around, smiling, and I don't think I've seen him enjoy a live performance that much in a while. JC and Chris are working hard, and seem a little less comfortable. I would say the medley is Chris and JC dominated.

I would also say that any problems the medley has are theirs, although probably I'm going to get my ass kicked later for saying so. Hee.

JC is off in the very beginning, shockingly enough. We can generally count on him for perfect pitch. It affects the balance but they recover well--they never really falter, IMO. My ear isn't the most accurate in existance, but it sounds to me that JC is really only flat on syllables from three words. 'Sunshine', 'brightened', 'way'. The vowel sounds in those words are practically designed to drag your pitch down. JC is skilled enough, and experienced enough, that he shouldn't have had trouble.

'Lonely Days, Lonely Nights,' (title? i'm young enough and lazy enough not to know/look it up *G*) has a striking sound. Their harmonies are pretty tight. Chris' part sounds perfect there.

"and let me live again," that line is sung so tenderly, it's really beautiful. Well done.

'How Deep Is Your Love'--Lance is most certainly present throughout this medley. His part is a very stable platform for the other parts to be built on. It might not jump out to your ear, but he's there and he's fine. Chris' voice is truly lovely when he sings this song, particularly the line he takes in Lance's place. We know Lance is not a comfortable soloist although he's certainly a very good singer. It's not a surprise to me that he didn't solo there.

Chris needed to be more energetic than he was when he began 'Stayin Alive'. That's really my only complaint. His voice was a little harsh, but I really think that was a product of--he was holding back for some reason. If he had let it go all the way the tone would have smoothed out. Also, we all talk about him having a freakish high voice but the truth is that what seems to be his most natural range is a very pleasant middle tenor. He can go into the falsetto pretty easily, more easily than any of the other guys excluding Joey, who doesn't have the same quality of tone that Chris has in that range. But it isn't his natural sound. He's done it better. I think a little less reserve would have fixed it entirely.

I've listened so many times now, and I've read all the posts on my friends list often enough to doubt my own impressions. But that's what I've got and I'm going with it. A fine performance, done acapella and done extremely well. And I wish they could come back and do it again and again. ;-)

Comments

[nyn.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was incredibly interesting. I really enjoyed reading this. I have very little musical training myself, so stuff like this helps me a lot.

[evilprettykitty.livejournal.com]

You make some really good points and you shouldn't doubt your impression. SO many people were expecting perfection and the medly they were familar with hearing. I've also seen a dozen "why is Justin beatboxing?" comments when he's ALWAYS beatboxed on it. People are just looking for things to complain about. Was it perfect? No. Was is it good? Yes. Would the crowd have given them a standing ovation had it sucked? I don't think so.

It gave me tingles and made me happy. End of story for me.

[dreamtrance.livejournal.com]

You've made some great comments and I must say I agree with everything you've said.

I think people need to just chill out and enjoy it.

[snacky]

Heavens! And me, who still can't tell the difference between JC and Chris (I'm trying!), I thought it sounded great. I was very impressed with the acapella (as was my bro, musician and extremely harsh critic).

[lain7.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I also thought most people heard a different medley than I did. It confused me a great deal when I kept reading "they were out of sync!" "Chris was off-key!" "You can't hear Lance!" "JC and Justin were flat!"

Of course it wasn't perfect. I've yet to hear one *NSYNC live performance that's perfect in pitch, tone, everything. It was still pretty damn good.

"and let me live again," that line is sung so tenderly, it's really beautiful.

Word. Also, their voices practically blended into one there. How much better can harmonies get?