[Mike_Young]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

already 14million views

[David Stamm]

Mike, I saw this and was genuinely moved. I was speechless.

[Dan Herrmann]

There are so many good lessons here for each and every one of us. 

[Scott Warren]

Hands up if you expected her to stink the place up?

Wow! Fitting song, too.

[Dean Stokes]

Quite brilliant. I wonder where she's a member

[Brian_Ewen]

..... sigh ........ 

[Joe Hancock]

There are so many good lessons here for each and every one of us. 

I'll start with lesson #1:

"It's a good idea to be supremely talented at something if you're not particularly handsome"

This is something I need to continue to work on, BTW.

 

[Brent Hutto]

I think Joe H got it about right.

Isn't this just this year's version of the Welshman who sang opera so beautifully?

An interesting experiment would be to show someone who hasn't seen the clip a video of just the performance without the lead-in or the reaction shots. I'll bet most people would be less gobsmacked by just the singing than by the slickly-produced version.

Tagentially related to the whole question of why we put up with "quirks" while on golf holiday in the UK that we would consider wholly unacceptable at our club back home. Context is everything, c.f. the famous Eisenstein demonstration they do in film school with the crying baby and so forth.

[John Kirk]

I dunno.

I just listened to it again.  The girl can really sing.  I just hope she can handle the combination of fame and attention, with the subtle condescension she will inevitably face.

So triumphant!   Like watching Hoosiers.  I hope she can sing other songs as well.

Carpe diem.

[Mike Hendren]

This Hillbilly teared up.

Bogey

[Joe Hancock]

Don't get me wrong...I thoroughly enjoyed her performance, and the reactions of the people. It's justified.

Put lesson #1 in the most positive spin you can...that's all I'm sayin'....

[Bill_McBride]

Tears in my eyes I guess.  Thanks, Mike.

[Tim Bert]

A friend forwarded this to me and we got into a pretty heated debate about the reaction.

He was touched, as many of you mentioned here.

I viewed this as a sad commentary on human nature.  To me the story was the following:  Rude judges and audience judge woman based on quirky personality and unattractive physical features.  Crowd and judges warm up to her simply because she has a nice singing voice (which was quite nice but not phenomenal; no better than a lot of what you see on those shows.)  Basically, I'm supposed to be "moved" because an audience comes around and shows that they will embrace you once they determine you are "good" at something or have redeeming qualities in their eyes - primarily because their expectations were very low based on their pre-disposed opinions?

Bravo to her for having the courage and the skill to execute, but the broader story is all bad not good in my mind.

I'm clearly in the minority on this one.  Not looking to pick a fight; just trying to offer a different perspective.

[Bill_McBride]

A friend forwarded this to me and we got into a pretty heated debate about the reaction.

He was touched, as many of you mentioned here.

I viewed this as a sad commentary on human nature.  To me the story was the following:  Rude judges and audience judge woman based on quirky personality and unattractive physical features.  Crowd and judges warm up to her simply because she has a nice singing voice (which was quite nice but not phenomenal; no better than a lot of what you see on those shows.)  Basically, I'm supposed to be "moved" because an audience comes around and shows that they will embrace you once they determine you are "good" at something or have redeeming qualities in their eyes - primarily because their expectations were very low based on their pre-disposed opinions?

Bravo to her for having the courage and the skill to execute, but the broader story is all bad not good in my mind.

I'm clearly in the minority on this one.  Not looking to pick a fight; just trying to offer a different perspective.

You probably laughed when the hunter shot Bambi's mom, right? 

[Brent Hutto]

I'm clearly in the minority on this one.  Not looking to pick a fight; just trying to offer a different perspective.

Tim, my take is as yours. We are a minority, of course, and a fairly small one at that apparently.

The fact that this clip (like the opera-singing Welshman last year) has gone "viral" is a demonstration of why so-called reality television and in particular the American Idol and its ilk have become such a gold mine for advertisers and broadcasters. It costs next to nothing to produce, there is an unlimited supply of people wanting their moment in the sun (such as the very talented lady in this clip) and by the right combination of petty cruelty and mawkishness you can literally move millions of people to getting choked up over a performance they wouldn't hesitate to surf past if they encountered it on their FM radio.

[Mike_Young]

Tim and Brent,
I don't disagree with the logic in your view...the realism is that it does sell.....and this lady got a huge break and I'm think it is great.....
Don't you think the same thing happens with us passing up a lot of good golf courses because we don't know the architect......or even worse....some don't lke a course until they find it is an architect they like...what do you say ?

[Doug Ralston]

I'd have to go with Tim on this one, too. While she clearly has an exceptional voice, it is not 'World Class'. It IS great to see low expectations so dramatically exceeded though ...... and sad that they exist as such.

OTOH, they do occasionally, on these cheap 'reality' TV talent shows, hit gold. Last year's 'America's Got Talent' did get a winner of, IMHO, absolute World Class singing talent. He was not fueled by low expectations, but his voice was pure and rich. Anyone remember his name, because I do not. Really bad at that.

Doug

[Brent Hutto]

The "Singing Welchman" was named Paul Potts.

[Tim Bert]

Tim and Brent,
I don't disagree with the logic in your view...the realism is that it does sell.....and this lady got a huge break and I'm think it is great.....
Don't you think the same thing happens with us passing up a lot of good golf courses because we don't know the architect......or even worse....some don't lke a course until they find it is an architect they like...what do you say ?

Hi Mike - I think it was a nice moment for her, and as I mentioned in my original post kudos to her.  Not trying to be critical of her in any way.  It is the surrounding circumstances that bothered me more in that particular situation.

[Tony_Muldoon]

As the foxy and switched on Holden comments, the whole audience had the same reaction as the judges. Perhaps those who are not won over are sensing that guilt is leading people to over praise her?

It's very dangerous to pronounce on a singers quality based on one or two performances.  Check out the other example of her singing on You Tube, still the same singer but less polished. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to find the song was picked for her (the backing track was very professional) and it certainly showed off her talents- did they coach her?  But what is extraordinary in both songs is her DICTION, the way she articulates every single word, it's that quality that allows certain singers to really resonate with their audience.  She's a natural talent (listen to how she handles the awkward word "plebeian" in Cry me a River with total ease) and with the Cowell machine behind her it's certainly not the last we'll hear of her.

[Brent Hutto]

She's a natural talent (listen to how she handles the awkward word "plebeian" in Cry me a River with total ease) and with the Cowell machine behind her it's certainly not the last we'll hear of her.

On neither point is there much doubt.

I'm not qualified to judge her ability (beyond acknowledging in broad strokes her obvious ability to sing well) as that genre of music leaves me completely cold. But the "Cowell machine" as you put it is the element which guarantees the sort of large-scale reaction that has been demonstrated. Everyone seems to love an Ugly Duckling story but even the canniest merchandiser is most successful with a quality product. In this case she represents the perfect storm of looks, personality and singing ability that the "machine" is always ready to turn into the pop-culture sensation of the day.

So does anyone know what Paul Potts is up to these days?

[Marty Bonnar]

Okay, as the resident Scottish muso (Cole's really English! ) around here it is (be)holden - see what I did there, Tony?? - upon me to comment, isn't it.

First, I need to point out that the lady comes from the next village along to the birthplace of two mega-stars, i.e., ME and one Leon Jackson who was last year's winner of Cowell's other talent thing on UK TV.

Leon, rather like me, has failed to live up to his initial hype and despite, quite like me, his obvious talent, is currently, also again incredibly like me, wallowing somewhere around the lower reaches of international stardom.

That, I fear, is the ultimate destiny of most of these folks. What the great British public likes to do most, is to build up some mediocrely-talented nobody to the point where they're just about presentable and can have at least a brief flurry of minor stardom before they are cast aside for the next big thing. What the great British public seems to forget is that the music business works pretty well without these unwelcome intrusions from wannabe-celebrity TV.

Filling TV time with cheap Karaoke contests is no way for civilised society to behave.

FBD.

Oh and PS: This should REALLY be marked as an OT Thread, shouldn't it.

[John Kirk]

I agree with David Cronan.  I highly prefer the intelligible style of singing.

[Michael Whitaker]

As I watched the video I thought of this 47 year old lady who obviously has natural talent, but was never provided the opportunity to pursue it as a child or young women. What kind of life could she have had if her family had recognized and/or encouraged her talent. It is sad tale on many levels.

There are way too many others out there who have suffered the same fate.

It makes my heart smile that she will finally be able to chase her dream.

[Jack_Marr]

I'd be kind of with you and Brent. Take away the production and it might be less inspiring.

And the faux emotion and playing up to the camera by Holden was off-putting, but over all it was a very nice story. I hope she does very well for herself.

I wouldn't be surprised if the media tried to find out something bad about the lady now. Maybe she's cruel to cats or doesn't recycle.

A friend forwarded this to me and we got into a pretty heated debate about the reaction.

He was touched, as many of you mentioned here.

I viewed this as a sad commentary on human nature.  To me the story was the following:  Rude judges and audience judge woman based on quirky personality and unattractive physical features.  Crowd and judges warm up to her simply because she has a nice singing voice (which was quite nice but not phenomenal; no better than a lot of what you see on those shows.)  Basically, I'm supposed to be "moved" because an audience comes around and shows that they will embrace you once they determine you are "good" at something or have redeeming qualities in their eyes - primarily because their expectations were very low based on their pre-disposed opinions?

Bravo to her for having the courage and the skill to execute, but the broader story is all bad not good in my mind.

I'm clearly in the minority on this one.  Not looking to pick a fight; just trying to offer a different perspective.

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