Re: General Glee Discussion Thread--Part 5

[Glorfindel]

Another song of Lea's album: Louder.

Now that 3 of her songs are out I can say that Lea's voice just doesn't do anything for me.
She has killer vocals and skills, and her songs are not badly written/produced (although not what I personally like in a pop song), but I don't think I'm interested enough to follow Lea's career outside of Glee, unless she would make a Broadway album.

Even though she's not using the more OTT Rachel tricks (thankfully), her singing is still too dramatic with the sighs and inhales for my taste, and there are not enough layers in her performance to keep me engaged in songs that I didn't already knew and liked from the original artists.

Just not my cup of tea, I guess. But good luck to her and her pop career anyway.

[Ranwing]

I still don't get the point of basically releasing every song on the album before the album is officially released. Seems pretty counter-productive to me, and I don't see it generating all that much buzz. Hopefully for Lea her marketing team has a real strategy in mind because basically giving the entire album away before it drops makes absolutely no sense to me.

Pop music like this just doesn't do anything for me. Lea doesn't sound bad, per say. But it's not particularly interesting and I don't see anything about her songs thus far that really seperates them from all the other female pop singers out there. There's no real "hook" or edge to the songs.

I don't think I'm interested enough to follow Lea's career outside of Glee, unless she would make a Broadway album.

Her voice is just too big for this kind of music. I'm sorry that Lea decided to follow this track for her first album because I've never found any of her pop performances on Glee at all interesting. IMO, they've tended to be her weakest performances. And the lyrics are so generic that I just don't see anything that really links the songs to Lea in particular. If we weren't already so familar with her emotional backstory (i.e. Cory's death), there's really nothing here telling me anything about what's going on in Lea's head. These are songs that could be sung by just about anyone and have as much (or as little) meaning.

[coxfire]

Another song of Lea's album: Louder.

Now that 3 of her songs are out I can say that Lea's voice just doesn't do anything for me.
She has killer vocals and skills, and her songs are not badly written/produced (although not what I personally like in a pop song), but I don't think I'm interested enough to follow Lea's career outside of Glee, unless she would make a Broadway album.

Even though she's not using the more OTT Rachel tricks (thankfully), her singing is still too dramatic with the sighs and inhales for my taste, and there are not enough layers in her performance to keep me engaged in songs that I didn't already knew and liked from the original artists.

Just not my cup of tea, I guess. But good luck to her and her pop career anyway.

I listened to all 3 tunes, and I'm unable to judge it, since I really, really don't like these kind of songs. It is not Lea, it is the general style that I don't like, so I guess I can't evaluate if, in this particular style, the song is good or not.

I wish her the best, however.

[brisallie]

For me the song is catchy and I kinda liked it, but still I think is not for Lea. Is been said her voice is not for pop songs or generic songs, but I was thinking what about a ballad pop? Could that work better?

[Ranwing]

Is been said her voice is not for pop songs or generic songs, but I was thinking what about a ballad pop? Could that work better?

A major component of Lea's voice is it's power. She can belt like crazy, which is critical when you're performing in a theater and need to reach the cheap seat. Lea need material that caters to that trait. Glorifindel had suggested something along the lines of Celine Dion's material - big dramatic numbers that take advantage of her vocal abilities and highlight her strengths.

I think my biggest problem with a lot of modern pop in general (and Lea's songs are no exception) is that they come across as one dimentional. There's little build up, climax and resolution. No rise and fall in the emotional tempo of the song. It's just there. There's nothing here that really engages me as a listener.

That's not to say that people with theater trained voices can't put out good pop music. Adam Lambert is certainly proof of that. It's just that the pop that Lea choice to do is so generic that the traits that tend to make her voice so special become redundent.

[angelnessa]

Is been said her voice is not for pop songs or generic songs, but I was thinking what about a ballad pop? Could that work better?

A major component of Lea's voice is it's power. She can belt like crazy, which is critical when you're performing in a theater and need to reach the cheap seat. Lea need material that caters to that trait. Glorifindel had suggested something along the lines of Celine Dion's material - big dramatic numbers that take advantage of her vocal abilities and highlight her strengths.

I think my biggest problem with a lot of modern pop in general (and Lea's songs are no exception) is that they come across as one dimentional. There's little build up, climax and resolution. No rise and fall in the emotional tempo of the song. It's just there. There's nothing here that really engages me as a listener.

That's not to say that people with theater trained voices can't put out good pop music. Adam Lambert is certainly proof of that. It's just that the pop that Lea choice to do is so generic that the traits that tend to make her voice so special become redundent.

She needs Jim Steinman writing songs for her, not Sia   .

[brisallie]

@Ranwing, I also remember that Marie mentioned that Lea could have done pop similar to the one that Celine Dion does, but as was discussed weeks ago, she probably wanted to go for something more generic, for something that GA likes more. But she could follow Adam's steps, who also was criticized for being too theatrical, but he was able to combine both his theatrical background with pop music.

@Angelnessa, Although I think Sia is a talented songwriter, one of my fav songs is Titanium, I personally believe some singers want to work with her because she's the 'songwriter' of the moment.

[Buenos]

At a time when even established pop stars struggle to "maintain" their relevance, it's very tough to break into pop stardom or even pop middle tier where you can support yourself by touring with a loyal fanbase going to your concerts.

Jared Leto put acting on hold for 5-6 years to really try to get his Band on another level of rock credibility including putting the blood/sweat and tears into touring. Other than the rare Beyoncé /Justin stratosphere, it's hard to juggle several things as well. And even Justin put music on hold for acting for years to establish cred there.

So the odds for Lea aren't good even in the best of circumstances. Most "lucky" pop acts get a successful album and then the pattern is diminishing returns subsequent.( Look at someone such as Ciara whose first album was a big success) I wouldn't say that this is her only chance but just that it's a tough road to hoe, not just for her, but for the other Glee pop wanabees including Naya.

Even Robin Thicke has been plugging at it for 10-15 years and Blurred lines is his first big hit, though he's had a R/B following for years.

[fantastica]

the song is not available from marie's link. anybody has another link?

[Buenos]

Try this link:

http://pamelansbury.tumblr.com/post/73178153301/lea-michele-louder

[fantastica]

thank you dear. that works.

[Glorfindel]

She needs Jim Steinman writing songs for her, not Sia   .

Ha, exactly. Or Queen. She needs some dramatic rock opera in her songs.   


   Lol:

[Glorfindel]

OMG, an older version of 'Seasons of Love' has surfaced, from the graduates of season 3: link.
(Lea Michele, Dianna Agron, Naya Rivera, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteit)

Amber sings the high note at te end this time, and there's no solo line for Chris in this version.
Cory sings the line "the way that she died".  


Today exactly half a year ago we lost Cory.....
I don’t know who released this song now, but it’s a lovely way to give tribute.

[Jellyrolls]

Wow. I wonder where that came from. I like the version for Cory better. I may just need to listen to it through headphones instead of my crappy laptop speakers, but something sounds wrong about it to me (and I know this song very well--heard it sung love over 50 times on Broadway, and listened to the cast recordings of this a million times).

[Glorfindel]

^I also like the Quarterback version better, because it was somehow more intimate and clear. This version has too much of a jumble of voices imo.
But I think this is just a raw recording version, not a processed and produced end result, and that's the main reason it doesn't really come together.

Still, whoever released this version had impeccable timing, and did his Cory tribute with style: quietly, without making a big show out of it.

[Buenos]

I like both versions but NGL, I'm biased with the Quarterback version because Chris is more prominent throughout. Plus i think Amber's vocals killed in the second version which was aired.

[brisallie]

I had no idea they have recorded Seasons of love before, why it wasn't released at that time? I've mixing feelings about this, by one side I feel emotional for listening to Cory's voice in this version, but I still prefer the one in 'The Quaterback'.

On a side note, is only me or you can hear Chris's voice clearly in the chorus?

[Glorfindel]

^Yes, I can hear Chris' voice in the chorus too.   


Beautiful youtube video of the song (dang, they're fast), with pics of Cory with the rest of the cast:



download

 

[brisallie]

Thanks for the video Marie. And I recognized Chris's voice clearly in 'You got to remember' or sth like that.

And gosh, sometimes I can't with this fandom, some people are claiming why this version was released now and not previously. I personally see it as nice way to remember Cory. Yes is sad, but beautiful at the same time.

[Buenos]

Sigh already six months since we lost Cory?  

I miss him so much still...

[Buenos]

AWKWARD.......  

[Glorfindel]

AWKWARD.......  

Wow, of that little group of 7 probably 5 of them have been basically fired the same day.
Indeed:

[Glorfindel]

If someone wants to have the graduates version of 'Seasons of Love' without the irritating ticks counting the beat at the beginning: PM me.  

[Buenos]

Lea's latest song climbed to # 3 in itunes, yes I realized it isn't going to last but it's fun while it does.   

[ColferInspired]

Lea's latest song climbed to # 3 in itunes, yes I realized it isn't going to last but it's fun while it does.    

But her album is number 1 in 11 countries.

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