Paul Potts - One Chance
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Free Music Notes for One Chance
Free Music Review: Ultra-Extraordinary Talent, hauntingly beautiful voice
Hit: 5 Stars
Well I am a 24-year-old musical theater performer and also a chorus singer in local symphonic chorus, so I have a pretty good ear of hearing how good a singer is and also heard a lot of talented singing in real life, plus I also have heard more than 1000 singers all over the world in many different languages and genres. Technically, Paul Potts has some issues to be a "top singer", e.g. vibrato stability control, breath support not efficient enough, etc. I have also heard a bunch of singers have better technique than he does. But come on, do you expect a person who sell mobile phones and never sung professionally to be perfectly trained? At least I don't expect that, so if somebody say sth like "Paul Potts sucks, Pavarotti is much better" that is ridiculous. You just can't compare Paul Potts to a person who sung professional for 40 years and had the best trainings in the world, plus Pavarotti in fact trained his voice DAMN HARD for 6 years before he sung professionally. Moreover, I think comparing them is like comparing apple and orange, their "interpretation direction" to approach singing songs are totally different. Pavarotti is Pavarotti, Paul Potts is Paul Potts, they are both good. (In fact I heard Paul Potts went to sing in Pavarotti masterclass before, Pavarotti said Paul Potts was good.)
One thing for real, despite the fact his technical flaws and I am also a singer, I really like listening his singing. His voice is hauntingly beautiful, he has a crystally clear lyric tenor tone. And as a mobile phone salesman, singing like that just prove that he is ultra-extraordinary talented. For real, I heard computer programmer sings with better technique before, but I never heard a person with regular daily full-time job singing that gave me goosebumps like he does. But more importantly, when it comes to my ears, his singing has a really strong feeling of "I want to change my life, I want to be significant, and I would struggle for it in all cost" and consists of all his life struggling experiences component, which I normally don't hear from many singers Ive heard, I think this is what makes him special and this is the reason that audiences found his singing extremely moving and passionate.
About the album:
"Nella fantasia" is bloody fantastic, I have heard several versions and truly it is the best Ive ever heard. That song originally talks about the beauty in a "fantasy" (the native american world in the movie "The Mission"), but Paul Potts transfers it to something like "he is going to create a fantasy like that".
"You Raise Me Up" is also one of the best versions Ive ever heard. Trust me, I am a big fan of this song, Ive heard maybe about 20 versions, and I can sing this song pretty good too so I can tell whether the artist is doing good on this song or not. I think in his real life there is somebody/something that really support him thoroughout the hard times and now he thinks he becomes "more than he can be", so this strong feeling comes out when he sings this piece.
"Time to say goodbye" and "Nessun Dorma" are great tribute to Andrea Bocelli/Sarah Brightman and Luciano Pavarotti respectively. I think he really do justice in "Time to say goodbye", it is really beautiful and very uplifting. "Nessun Dorma" shows his side of "I will win!!" strong desire, it is Pavarotti's "signature song" among mass audience (even though I think Domingo or Corelli suit this aria the most), you can see Pavarotti's smile in this cover, and I think even Puccini, the composer of this aria, would be happy to see how Paul Potts makes this aria well known to mass audience in the heaven.
"Everybody Hurts" and "Cavatina" are also haunting beautiful songs, it shows Paul Pott's crystally clear voice and passionate singing. So do the other songs.
P.S. I gave the songs to one of my friends listen, he told me "it is not good, it is DAMN GOOD!!" Btw if somebody is interested in how my singing voice sound, go to www.myspace.com/tinmengbillysinging
(But only "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" and it's french version are recorded in studio mixing with karaoke track, others are just amateur recording by my laptop)
Free Music Review: The Bocelli Effect
Hit: 5 Stars
During the 2007 Britain's Got Talent show I cheered Paul Potts on from here in the U.S. via the Internet, having learned about it and him through Special Report with Brit Hume on Fox News Channel. The rest, as they say, is history.
After he won I decided to take opera singing lessons (having never sang as a soloist before) and after only three months I have nearly perfected 'O Sole Mio and can almost sing Nessun dorma! and Quando le sere as well. This pursuit would never have entered my mind had it not been for Paul Potts' victory.
Opera arias and "operatic pop" are now my music of choice. Thanks to my interest in Paul Potts I now know who Caruso, Gigli, di Stefano, Björling, Corelli (my favorite), del Monaco (my second favorite), Lanza, et. al. are. In fact, all of those tenors were better singers than Paul is (or will ever be). But he wasn't competing against them, and his first performance of Nessun dorma! on the BGT show is, in my opinion, the best PERFORMANCE of that song E-V-E-R! No one in their right mind can witness that performance and not be moved; even Simon Cowell's jaw dropped:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA
Just as Andrea Bocelli brought attention to opera music a decade ago with Con te Partirò, Paul Potts is doing the same thing today--TENS OF MILLIONS OF VIEWS ON YOUTUBE! It is a phenomenon which I never would have thought possible in today's music realm.
Is "Paul Potts--One Chance" perfect? Far from it, and I am particularly disappointed with all the breaths taken in Nessun dorma! But it is a good mix of songs sung in Italiano, Español and English, and he sings from the heart in all of them. Furthermore, I feel compelled to point people first to the aforementioned hi-fi YouTube video of his initial Nessun dorma! performance before recommending this CD. (It should be the other way around: People buy the CD first and are then compelled to look him on the Internet.)
Nevertheless, the bottom line for me is this: PAUL POTTS TOOK A CHANCE AND THE RESULT HAS CHANGED _MY_ LIFE! How often can anyone say this about a celebrity, much less one who had just one an AMATEUR competition viewed from afar via the Internet?!?
The "Paul Potts--One Chance" CD deserves only three stars for the singing, but I give it two more for what it represents. That said, if he doesn't start taking care of his health/voice then his next release may as well be called "No Chance":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBSM0yZGKDk
Paul Potts is a class act, but in the end his singing and performing are what matter most for his career.
Free Music Review: From Obscurity to International Success
Hit: 5 Stars
To fully appreciate your purchase - that is if you do decide to buy this man's album, you have to find out about the circumstances and events that lead up to Paul Potts becoming a household name from being completely unknown. When I read other reviews on amazon.com or any on-line retail facility for that matter, I always search for the emotional hook that will sell me on a particular album. For me that morsel came from the words of American Idol Judge/Guru say-it-like-it-is Simon Cowell. He referred to Mr Potts' voice as simply magical ...and used words like "refreshing" and "good guys do win". Now if you will take the time to investigate the impetus for these sentiments you will discover that Paul Potts' story epitomises the age old dilemma human kind has been contending with with centuries - in this fast paced global society we have become conditioned to esteem the outwardly glamourous and successful and shun the introverted and inconspicuous.
Paul Potts is described as being a humble, unassuming gentlemen who daily trundled off to work to sell mobile phones. Having been the victim of verbal abuse and bullying at school (like many of us have been), he had withdrawn into himself believing that even being a successful phone sales person was beyond his ability (despite being told that he was a natural). But it wasn't his ability to sell telephones that captureed the hearts and minds of millions watching the syndicated "Britain's got Talent" show. What makes this man remarkable, is his emotionally sophisticated and powerful voice. Never before have I heard such honesty expressed in a single melody or phrase. It will not be the technical skill (although he has ample) that will impress you, but rather the unique way he is able to blend is simple humanity with the challenging art of opera. When listening to this tenor sing, you will hear (between the notes) the simple truth about unconditional love that overcomes all hurt and pain no matter how deep the pain or how long you have been suffering.
Paul Potts is a testament to that victory and Simon Cowell is a renaissance man transforming the fickle world of popular music into a showcase for real people with guts, endurance, integrity and raw talent.
Buy this album and perhaps you too will hear one man speaking to another saying - never give up the broken man can heal.
Free Music Review: Technical details be damned!
Hit: 5 Stars
Potts is essentially untrained, unpolished, inexperienced in performance under pressure, obviously somewhat tired and emotionally drained and rushed into a fast recording session to meet marketing demands to get the product out while he's "hot." (A really serious recording session would have taken a couple of weeks, at the least.)
And who cares? I've read both the Brit and US reviews. Most have it right. This is a man with so much HEART it spills over into ours. I, too, had a fifty year singing career professionally. I was good, more than good enough to work steadily. But I don't know that I never touched so many hearts, made so many thrill, caused so many tears to blossom on cheeks as has this young guy in one or two performances. Bravissimo! say's I. And I hope that he gets both a high quality agent and vocal teacher who can lead him into the greatness he deserves and prevent the excesses which happens far too often in the music business aimed only at profit.
Paul Potts is best of us, one who dreams and KNOWS he dreams. This is what greatness is created from. Not only greatness for this individual, bless him, but greatness for the rest of us who watch as a dream came true and are shown that it is POSSIBLE!!! (I'm over 70 and Potts has got me singing again, something I thought I'd left behind!. It feels WONDERFUL!!!)
His performances were nothing less than magic and he drew millions into his dream, showed us that we truly can touch the stars if we hang on to that dream.
As for those critics and detractors who cannot get out of their heads and pick away at unimportant details, the ones who have long ago lost their own ability to dream, I can only feel horrible pity for them. They long ago disconnected from their hearts to hide their own hurts and disappointments.
SING ON, Paul! I look forward to many more heart ringing performances from you. The Queen is going to be blessed when you sing for her. As you are blessed and have blessed all of us.
Free Music Review: Simply outstanding
Hit: 5 Stars
Many seem to want to compare Paul Potts to the great opera tenors past and present and point out that he is not technically as proficient as they are/were. These observations may be true, they may be opinion, they may be irrelevant seeing how most of the songs on One Chance are NOT from operas though sung in an operatic style. I, for one, couldn't care less how he ranks with opera snobs. I'd bet the majority who bought his album don't care either. Paul Potts' claim to fame is that he delivers a song in such a way that it can move people to tears and make the hair on your arms stand up. This is his greatest talent (though I do also consider him a truely gifted vocalist with a long career ahead of him). The underdog story just makes the whole package that much sweeter. Critics must also keep in mind that this album was rushed together in one month. Personally, I think it is incredible and I would have paid anything to get it. Like many I watched the BGT Youtube video dozens of times. His performance of Nessun Dorma truely affected me and on that I bought one chance. I love most of it and am simply overwhelmed by other parts. I could pass on "everybody hurts" and "my way" simply because I think they are cheesy songs. The jewel on this album is "Nella Fantasia". It is simply ......well, I don't know......there don't seem to be adjectives sufficient to express how powerful this song is. It's a great song on it's own, but Paul's delivery takes it to a completely different level. They say he sold two million copies of "one Chance". I honestly believe that if he had sung Nella Fantasia on the BGT Final (as opposed to doing Nessun Dorma again) that he would have sold 4-5 million copies of One Chance. Buy this album.....opera fan or not (90% of the time I listen to hardcore metal like Slayer!!). I can't wait to see what this gifted giant brings us next. The bus is not stopping any time soon, Paul. Enjoy the ride.