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Post by Jeff on Jan 4, 2016 17:59:23 GMT
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Post by Jeff on Feb 1, 2016 18:01:57 GMT
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Post by Jeff on Oct 1, 2016 11:37:35 GMT
Camilla has posted a couple of new songs on Dan Wootton's Facebook page which she has written herself and reveals her "brand new sound.": I have to say I don't care much for this "new sound." A year or so ago she asked fans for song suggestions for her next album but that seems to have been abandoned. I think it's a pity she has left Classical Crossover behind (another singer who uses classical to become known then does what she wanted to all along i.e. pop?). She is no longer with Gary Barlow and to be honest it shows. I'm not an expert on this kind of music but to me she now sounds like a lot of other women of her age-group who sing pop, in fact I just heard something very similar in the supermarket ! She mentions girl power but didn't the Spice Girls do all that 20 years ago ? I thought her debut album was superb but if the rest of the new album is like this I won't be buying it ! Very average I'm afraid !  |
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Post by cloudbusting.heights on Oct 2, 2016 1:15:05 GMT
I like her new sound! I think it fits her voice very well. Looking forward to the new album  |
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Post by Richard on Oct 2, 2016 6:37:35 GMT
Camilla's new sound is hardly original, but she could do quite well with it.  Jeff, I embedded the Facebook video in your post.  Richard  |
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Post by Libby on Oct 2, 2016 22:49:27 GMT
I can't judge how much better or not this style is for her voice since I've probably only listened to her once... I did find her In the Bleak Midwinter very lovely, but I've heard better... But I did have a brief listen to this clip. Yeah, nice, but a little blase, and the song itself sounded boring to me. I just don't get why these singers seem to think going pop will ever work for them. I know of no instances where it turns out well for them. First CC, and Jackie Evancho has recently tried that. I'm sure she still has lots of fans due the talent show, but I was not very impressed with her attempt at it when I saw her on a TV show not too long ago. Might have been Live with Kelly. Of course she's not going down CC's route exactly, still staying the nice young lady she is for now, but it was also boring, and I'd say Jackie's voice would be less-suited to pop than what I heard from Camilla. Now, Chloe Agnew's sound isn't especially original, but it's definitely "heaps" better than any of the girls just mentioned. She has much better power and emotion in her voice. And I like her song choices better. Now, she did sing some pop in CW, but I think CW qualifies as classical in most people's minds (not for any classical charts, of course). |
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Post by martindn on Oct 3, 2016 10:15:42 GMT
Yes, I agree, I didn't find anything about it particularly special that would make be sit up and take notice. I didn't dislike it, it just did nothing for me. I much preferred Camilla as a classical artist. And if I'm honest Libby, I feel much the same way about Jackie, a sweet girl but not one who grabs me like say Katie Marshall. And I agree with you about Chloe..
Martin D
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Post by Libby on Oct 4, 2016 4:34:00 GMT
In general, I just think most classical singers should stick with classical crossover, and just add pop tunes for variety, which is why it's called crossover. I've yet to see it turn out well for one of them. Again, Chloe is one great exception, since her voice now suits pop extremely well. Ever since her voice developed, I always had a feeling she would leave CW eventually. Hayley might be another exception, since she also has developed an incredibly beautiful voice capable of great power and emotion, as well. Now, there's a singer who has a sound that makes you take notice. And of course, she also writes incredible songs; unfortunately, Camilla's song did not sound incredible. They should just stick to crossover, because that allows you some amount of freedom to explore different genres, which also helps warm the "masses" to classical music. If all the average person hears is a dull Rachmaninov concerto (which I've never warmed to, because I've heard them for years in skating and they just never get more exciting), or a warbley opera song, of course they're not going to think classical music is very interesting. But that doesn't mean one needs to abandon the genre completely, simply because the average person isn't used to anything other than pop, classic/alternative rock, hip-hop, etc. That's the reason the artists that try out for talent shows all sing the same songs since they're the only ones recognizable to the average person, if at all. So that's why classical crossover is such a wonderful genre.
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Post by Richard on Oct 4, 2016 6:47:06 GMT
Hello Libby!  Yes, I'm sick of Rachmaninoff's piano concertos too. I prefer him as a Russian snooker player - Inoff the Red!  Richard  |
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Post by Jeff on Oct 4, 2016 10:10:08 GMT
I agree with that totally Libby !
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Post by martindn on Oct 4, 2016 11:05:31 GMT
Well, I quite like Rachmaninoff's piano concertos - much more than I did when I was younger actually...
But you are right. Perhaps the reason I lost interest in pop music after the heady innovative days of the sixties is just that. There is no real innovation, it is all derivative. I was at a football match on Sunday, and before the game they play music - hardly any of it less than 40 years old. What dos that say about modern pop music. I would venture to suggest that these days we hear more sixties (and seventies) pop music than we did in the sixties! You know, the stuff my parents told be wouldn't last, unlike the music of the twenties and thirties.
It seems to me that a lot of people listen to music for the wrong reasons. TV talent shows are as much about a visual spectacle as they are about the music. I would venture to suggest that music talent shows should be on radio only, so that people don't get distracted by what the artists look like.
And Libby, why should a song meed to be recognised to be enjoyed? I think some of my finest moments of musical enjoyment came the first time I heard a particular piece. That's certainly true of the first time I heard Hayley. Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt, that's what some of you seem to be saying about Rachmaninoff anyway.
Martin D
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Post by Libby on Oct 4, 2016 23:00:19 GMT
Well, I quite like Rachmaninoff's piano concertos - much more than I did when I was younger actually... But you are right. Perhaps the reason I lost interest in pop music after the heady innovative days of the sixties is just that. There is no real innovation, it is all derivative. I was at a football match on Sunday, and before the game they play music - hardly any of it less than 40 years old. What dos that say about modern pop music. I would venture to suggest that these days we hear more sixties (and seventies) pop music than we did in the sixties! You know, the stuff my parents told be wouldn't last, unlike the music of the twenties and thirties. It seems to me that a lot of people listen to music for the wrong reasons. TV talent shows are as much about a visual spectacle as they are about the music. I would venture to suggest that music talent shows should be on radio only, so that people don't get distracted by what the artists look like. And Libby, why should a song meed to be recognized to be enjoyed? I think some of my finest moments of musical enjoyment came the first time I heard a particular piece. That's certainly true of the first time I heard Hayley. Perhaps familiarity breeds contempt, that's what some of you seem to be saying about Rachmaninoff anyway. Martin D Martin, ask the producers of the talent shows that. You can bet the producers have an influence on song choices. Now, I'm not saying all the viewers recognize O Mio Babbion Caro or Time to Say Goodbye, but you can bet they know Ave Maria, and a large portion would know Pie Jesu, the most popular song performed by very young sopranos and boy sopranos. Of course, then there's the fact that talent show viewers are likely return viewers, so if they heard someone sing Nessun Dorma last year, they'll recognize it when someone else sings it the next time. Forte Tenors made a point of singing songs that were popular pop songs and turned them into classical pop, including singing Unchained Melody in Spanish. My Heart Will Go On in Italian was nothing new, since Sarah did it first, but most people are only familiar with the Celine Dion version in English. Anyway, they did this sort of thing purposely to win viewers to their genre, and I'm positive they had the right idea. Not a unique idea in the crossover world, but to the viewers who are somewhat unfamiliar with that genre, it would sound unique. And they won't be bored to tears, either, unless they just don't like classical voices. Sharon Osbourne once told a male crossover contestant years ago that his sort of voice was very boring to her (granted, he was no Bocelli or Groban). Martin, they already have that sort of talent show you describe... The Voice! It's not on the radio, but they do listen to the people's voices before they get to see them, at least for the audition. I don't think people would like never being able to see the people. And the contestants on a radio show would still be found in media shots. Rachmaninoff isn't boring because it's familiar, but because it's just plain... booorrringgg! It's too boring to even sleep to! LOL Every time I see that a skater's program is to that or even some Tchaicovsky concertos, I prepare to be bored stiff. There's just no way a skater can interpret that music emotionally. Well, Patrick Chan of Canada has been known to make some great attempts at that, and I appreciated his efforts, but I'm afraid it did not help much. I used those pieces as examples of why the average person might consider classical music to be dull because those are among the most dull classical pieces I've ever heard. I've heard some by Debussy that don't do much for me, either. Claire de Lune is pretty, for some reason I find it sad and depressing. I know a lot of people do like that one, though, but I just don't care for it. Oh, and I do not like Gerswhin. I guess when you watch skating and certain pieces are used too many times, you get tired of it. Even the music doesn't have to be boring itself, but the over-use of the songs in skating makes it tiresome nonetheless. I love Phantom of the Opera, for example, but it's way overused in skating. Oh, but the most overused of all is Carmen, and I'd be happy if it was permanently banned by the ISU. LOL Actually there was one Rachmaninoff piece that Michelle Kwan skated to a long time ago that had a very lovely portion in it, and she skated to it beautifully, and some skaters still use it today, but the majority of the tune is still rather unexciting. |
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Post by martindn on Oct 5, 2016 9:19:54 GMT
Well, Libby, we are drifting way off topic but I AM emotionally moved by Rachmaninoff, especially his 2nd Piano Concerto. It is consistently in the top 5 in Classic FM's hall of fame, voted for by the listeners each year. Tchaikovsky is probably my favourite composer. For something boring, which was memorably skated to, try Ravel's Bolero, the same thing over and over again for what seems like hours.
ISTR that on The Voice, although the judges get a blind audition the viewers usually don't. They always get to see the performer and part at least of the performance. After all, an uninterrupted picture of the back of the judges chairs for 2 minutes would be pretty boring.
I have been doing a lot of Beatles recently, a couple of weeks ago a saw the premiere of their new film, "Eight Days a Week" and last Friday I saw a Beatles tribute band perform (they were very good). But it occurs to me that it was when they gave up performing live that the really innovative stuff began. Before then, their music had to be capable of being performed live, so they could use all those weird sounds and studio effects that were so innovative. So perhaps that too, puts a limit on what can be done on these talent shows.
Martin D
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