Jackie Evancho

[Simba]

Lol the only time I didn't like Hayley's version was my heart will go on XD I loved walking in the air too XD. But I don't think I'd want to hear her perform Dark waltz again. I simply think that angelic quality was well perfected with her young, "emotion in voice alone" self. But it's amazing how she does songs like "I dreamed a dream", "My heart belongs to you" again, so much more power and emotion!

And there, I'm at my best, going off-topic XD....

[martindn]

Libby,

I always think of Dark Waltz as a wedding song. It's a celebration. It shouldn't be dark!

And I absolutely agree the song is more about light than darkness. More like "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never put it out".

Martin D

[cuivre]

"Dark" refers to the timbre/tonality of how JE sings it- not the lyrics which are the same for both singers.

I really would hate to see fans of Hayley, which were renowned to be very supportive, classy, non-selfish, and not sour-grapes types, sink to the level of Susan Boyle's fans. I'm not positive, but I do not think Hayley would approve of the Jackie-bashing that is starting to happen on her website. Fan support is NOT a zero sum game folks! Just sayin...

[rjstf]

Jackie did sing Danny Boy, but it was only available as a digital download together with DWM ordered through her website. There are now several versions up on YouTube. Jackie also did Dark Waltz both on her pre-AGT debut album Prelude to a Dream and in her Dream With Me in Concert DVD done at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, Florida. That was done with Conrad Tao on violin and David Foster at the piano.

[Libby]

Who's Jackie bashing? No, it's not me.

My being unhappy about Jackie's song choice and not being a big fan of her voice is not "bashing". If you do mean me, then you're taking things the wrong way. I was negative, yes, but I have nothing against Jackie whatsoever, and I will not have anyone accusing me of bashing, when I did no such thing. Not being happy about her song choice doesn't mean I dislike Jackie herself, because that is not the case. I'm just not crazy about her enough to buy her CDs, that's all.
To tell you the truth, if she had recorded an album back when she didn't sound quite as operatic, before she was on AGT, then I probably would have become a fan. But I don't like opera voices very much, so for me, it's a disappointment. A 10-12 yr. old with an adult sounding opera voice just doesn't appeal to me. Her voice was much prettier when she sang more naturally.
This is all just my opinion, it is not intended to be bashing, and it isn't. Thank you.

[dj]

re: Jackie's - Dark Waltz

To clarify my early post on Jackie singing Dark Waltz w/Darker tone. I meant that Jackie's tone can have a dark tone on some of her songs. She of course as many songs that she sings brighter and lighter. What is becoming a signature song, 'To Believe' is sung in a light and bright tone.

Jackie is gifted with a HUGE range and she will sing the same song differently. A great example is when she sings 'O Mio Babbino Caro'. She has sung this song differently so many times. She makes octave leaps during this song. There is a YouTube video from Oct 2010 LV with David Foster taken from the crowd that you can hear the crowd gasp and then go silent as she starts in a low key and on a dime makes an octave leap and you hear someone near the camcorder say "OMG thats incredible" (or something to that effect) after she completes the octave leap.

Jackie being so small and very young is still working out different ways to sing the same song. How she does all this at such a young age is mind-blowing. Another song she has changed how she sings it is 'All I Ask of You'. She sings both the male and female part, changing her key depending on the part she is singing. Last year (Mar 11) she added a bit of an English accent to this song during the Ali Fight Night charity event. Her mom ask Jackie why she sang it that way and Jackie told her mom that it sounds romantic that way.

David Foster was right when he questioned Jackie, "what is going on in that brain?". Jackie is without question, a huge talent. I am very interested what she will be like after she goes through puberty and has full sized lungs.

But the best part of Jackie and Hayley is that they are both sweethearts.

[martindn]

Hi Libby,

No, I don't think you are Jackie bashing, just saying what you think, as we all do. We know you are not over keen on that type of voice - you said the same about Katherine Jenkins.
What concerns me more is that there are people that would accuse you of that. Everyone's opinion is there own, and I will support their right to express it. But I get the feeling that expressing any negative thoughts about Jackie is akin to blasphemy in some quarters.
Not that I have any such thoughts myself you understand. But we have had to contend with people who don't like Hayley too, and difficult to understand as that is, we don't take offence so long as they don't actually insult her.
I probably am more of a Jackie fan than you are. But I absolutely support your right to say what you think, whatever anyone else tries to accuse you of, and whatever unpleasant soundbite expressions they comeup with.
Oh, and in my opinion Hayley "Danny Boy" blows Jackie out of the water. But Jackie has youth on her side, and we can expect to see her develop and improve as the years go by. Just as Hayley did, and those who still maintain that her best work was Pure are missing a lot. She is a much much better singer at 25 than she was at 15. And we can expect that jackie too will get better as she matures. I look forward to it.

Martin D

[cuivre]

People do have every opportunity to say whatever goes through their mind- that is where a thing called "tact" comes into play. I've become a big fan of Hayleys only after being intrigued by CC after hearing Jackie sing and explain what this genre is. I have at least 6 HW CDs, that many Brightman CDs, Sissel, Jenkins, Bocelli, etc. Each artist has their own style and way of singing-that should be celebrated! I don't make a point of how Brightman "owns" Nella Fantasia, MacLachlan "owns" Angel, or any number of other singers define the song. I realize that would make me look parochial, tribal and petty. Not a good thing for such a small genre that is fighting to become more than a blip on the music scene radar and be respected for the beautiful music it is. I repeat- it is not a zero sum game, so what good does saying "I don't like ..." (or words to that effect) do for the genre? Uplift it? Or make it sound like it is has a bunch of people that glom onto one specific singer to the exclusion of all others like they are a football team and then commence to play play the "us versus them" game? Just think about what the perception is-that's all I'm asking. No need to get defensive.

[dj]

I am a fan of Hayley, KJ, Jackie, Yulia and other CC singers. All bring something different to the table. All are not perfect (no singer is perfect as they are only human) and all can improve. Cuivre is right, it is not a zero sum game. This is a small genre and gets beaten up in the media enough. Here in the USA, CC is almost non-exsistant. Jackie may have sold 2+ million CD's in the USA, but she is still not known by the vast majority of people in the USA. All us CC fans must stick together and support all in this genre. Many great singers in this genre around the world. Lets support them all.

Martin D - I agree that Hayley is a better singer at 25 than at 15. She has grown in her interpretation of songs and is technically better as well, but with that said, my favorite album is 'Pure'. I'm one of those that listen to 'Pure' more than
any other of her albums, although, I don't have every song on every album added to my mp3 files yet. But have heard 90 percent of all her songs. I feel top to bottom 'Pure' is her best album to date. I love her fresh and pure
sound and tone at 15. When I listen to music (vocal or instrumental), I don't listen with ruler in hand. I listen with my heart and my soul, as I prefer not to measure the marigolds. And my soul and heart is touched more by 'Pure' than her other albums. I know other's will disagree with me and that is fine, just one person's opinion.

Have a great day!

[dj]

re: Dark Waltz

The meaning of Dark Waltz?

To me Dark Waltz is the waltz (journey) to heaven. A sad and happy song.
Sad = low haunting notes equating to the sadness of a lover dying.
Happy = bright/light, higher note equating to the beautiful journey to heaven and the thought that the two lovers will meet again in the after life.

[stevemacdonald]

I think it's perfectly okay to assign ownership of certain songs if the singer has made a convincing case. In my opinion Jackie has truly taken over as the true owner of "Pie Jesu" - which had previously been in the possession of Charlotte Church aftert she took it from Sarah Brightman. Jackie has made it her own and now it's the definitive version. Case closed.

I suspect Jackie will someday be the unchallenged owner of "Habanera" and "Exsultate. Jubilate" in tha same way that Pavarotti fully owned "Nessun Dorma."

If you're squeamish about this ownership deal, remember it's all just temporary until someone else lays claim in every case. It's more a pop music thing to begin with and everybody generally agrees with the designation, like when we say that Frank Sinatra owned "New York, New York" even though he wasn't the first to sing it. It's just common sense that he owned it. Jackie took "Pie Jesu" to new heights and made it gorgeous again. She owns it fair and square.

It will be hard to dislodge Hayley from her possession of "Dark Waltz" no matter who tries. She put it so far out of reach the way Streisand did the song "People" — I defy anyone to find a better rendition. I wish Jackie all the luck but I'm not betting on her catching Hayley. I do know that she's in for numerous trophies and many, many definitive renditions down the road. But Hayley has "Dark Waltz" all to herself and there's no changing that.

[martindn]

Interesting post Steve. I think Hayley can claim "ownership" of some songs that nobody you would think has any right to own - like "Pokarekare Ana" and perhaps even "Amazing Grace".

It is in the nature of pop music I think that artists "own" songs that they have had hits with. In classical music, the songs are owned by the composers, not the performers. So crossover falls somewhere in between, and we get this concept of "temporary ownmership".

Film music is even stranger. I'm sure many people would say that Celine Dion owns "My Heart Will Go On" rather than James Horner - yet I feel that the songs on Paradiso are owned by Ennio Morricone rather than Hayley - even those where Hayley contributed lyrics (Here's to You might be the exception - it does rather feel like Joan Baez's song).

I'm sure Jackie will come to "own" many songs during her career though - assuming she stays in crossover and doesn't get involved in opera.

Martin D

[Libby]

Thanks for your support, Martin.

Okay, so maybe it isn't "tactful" for me to express my displeasure that Jackie sang Dark Waltz, when I wanted Hayley to do it. I believe I already admitted that I over-reacted a little, and that I've gotten over it a little. It's just that, like Steve, I feel that nobody could ever sing the song better than Hayley, and that I would have wished that people could hear it by Hayley first, if they hadn't heard it before. But, we can't always have our way, and I've accepted that for now. I am still clinging to the hope that Hayley will have her turn to sing on classical week on DWTS.

I do appreciate what Jackie has done for CC in the US, however small it is. And it is small. I also appreciate her talent, even if I don't buy her albums. Don't accuse me of not appreciating her talent, because I've already said that I did. Don't make me repeat it again. And, although I'm not crazy about Katherine's voice, either, I still appreciate that she has talent. Don't you find it interesting that I don't care for her voice, yet I am still very interested in seeing how she does on DWTS? Does that not sound like someone who appreciates the CC genre, and is interested to see what it does for the CC genre, or at the very least, KJ's career?

I have great interest and respect for the CC genre. It doesn't mean I have to be a fan of every CC artist there is does it? I have heard of lots of new young singers, but yet I generally don't take the time to listen, if I see that they sing mostly the same songs as Hayley. I love Hayley's versions, and I think they're the best, so why do I need to have another CD with another version of the song? I'm sure they all have nice voices, and it's great that they're singing CC. I'm kind of weird when it comes to artists I like. I will hear singers, and think, yeah, they're pretty good, but if they don't stand out to me, I probably won't buy their stuff. I admit, I can be hard to please. I love music, yet I tend to settle on a select few artists that really impress me. It's not that I'm not open to those artists I've heard of, but haven't listened to yet. It's not that I'm not interested. For example, I keep thinking I'm going to try out Laura Wright or Mary Jess, who I keep hearing about, just to see what the fuss is about, but I just keep forgetting. It's not that I'm narrow-minded about other CC artists, I just forget. And when I feel I've already found the perfect artist for me, why do I need to? Hayley is the ultimate female soprano voice for me. I've heard lots of pretty soprano voices, but Hayley's is the one that really blows me away.

[martindn]

Hi libby,

Couldn't agree more. At todays FA Cup final there were performances before the game by both Mary Jess, who sang "Abide with me", www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSKlNobo-Ck and Laura Wright, who sang our national anthem www.youtube.com/watch?v=LturIYS8qEg. They both did well, fine performances, but neither gets anywhere near Hayley's performances of those same songs for me. I remember Hayley's performance of "Abide with me" at Nottingham, on her Battle of Britain tour. I made a video of that one. www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzYCW3bhSLw&list=UUbw8JnrNuB0LxNTxt4EGY1g&index=10&feature=plcp I remember "God Save the queen" at the Royal Variety performance. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIp4pY7kx_s Both made my spine tingle and raised the hairs in the back of my neck. Those other singers just don't.
I have heard Laura live, but not Mary Jess. Laura is a talented singer, I have no doubt, but she is nowhere near Hayley for me. It just shows how good Hayley really is.

Sorry mods, this is off topic, and nothing to do with Jackie. But you have to say what you think. And since i have never heard Jackie live, I don't think I can really compare her with singers that I have heard live. The same goes for Mary Jess of course.

Martin D

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

In an attempt to keep this thread on topic (Jackie Evancho), I have moved two posts to Memorial Day concert - Washington DC - 29 May '11.

Richard