"Britain's Got Talent" Opera Guy

[LeslieDEN]

!!! Chills ... and I don't even like opera. Or "American Idol"-ish talent shows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA&mode=related&search=

He won. Here he is singing that Bellagio fountain song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDB9zwlXrB8

Chills, really.

[scottr0829]

I saw this guy on the Today show a couple months ago and his story just makes his singing that much better.

He had a really ROUGH childhood with other kids always making fun of him and beating him up and he turned to music to basically survive.

Although I am not an opera fan at all, his voice is AWESOME! As they said in the video, those 'reality' talent shows were created for people like him - ordinary guy with an ordinary job with and extraordinary talent. Although it does not seem like it will, hopefully he doesn't get a 'holier than thou' complex. He seems pretty down to earth and grateful about what is happening though.

<rant>
Now, if only American Idol would get someone with actual talent. :rolleyes: It seems that the person that the teeny boppers love most (usually looks or sob story) is the one that wins - not the one with the best talent. Plus, the rules say that the producers have the final say on the voting and can dictate a different person wins (if it is better for the show), thus your votes really doesn't matter in the end - it's the person the producers want to win. Why do you think Sanjaya was finally 'voted' off? I think he actually had more votes than anyone thanks to Stern and sites like http://www.votefortheworst.com asking people to vote for Sanjaya to show AI for what it really is - a farce where people think they have a say but the producers can do what they want if they feel it is better for the show.
</rant>

[Lynda]

He has certainly got talent!!! He appears to be a very nice guy too. I really enjoyed watching him win:)

[WillFlyToDisney]

<rant>
Now, if only American Idol would get someone with actual talent. :rolleyes: It seems that the person that the teeny boppers love most (usually looks or sob story) is the one that wins - not the one with the best talent. Plus, the rules say that the producers have the final say on the voting and can dictate a different person wins (if it is better for the show), thus your votes really doesn't matter in the end - it's the person the producers want to win. Why do you think Sanjaya was finally 'voted' off? I think he actually had more votes than anyone thanks to Stern and sites like http://www.votefortheworst.com asking people to vote for Sanjaya to show AI for what it really is - a farce where people think they have a say but the producers can do what they want if they feel it is better for the show.
</rant>

Scott - I have worked in the Music Industry for years. AI is a joke to the real movers and shakers as far as considering the winners truly "talented" but the free publicity and marketing that comes with being associated with the AI name is money in the bank so the labels do end up signing most of the finalists purely because it is that much less work they have to do to "sell" that artist to the masses. If William Hung can sell albums... :rolleyes:

The artists that went the "paying their dues" route resent the h*ll out of the AI people who seem to breeze in and have everything handed to them. Look at the Carrie Underwood/Faith Hill drama from last year's CMA awards and the comments made by other Country artists like LeeAnn Rimes about Carrie's win.

I watched a few episodes of AI the first season and haven't watched it since.

Kelley

[kari]

I thought that Carrie Underwood had already opened for Asleep at the Wheel or some such (rubbish :angel:) when she was about 10 or something? I have no doubt that AI is one big fix and publicity machine.

As for LeAnn Rimes, if bursting onto the scene and being marvelled over from age 13 counts as paying one's dues then I don't know what to say to that.

[spiffyone]

Wow. I don't think I've ever seen Simon Cowell with his mouth hanging open. I did get chills watching this...and the guy's story is very appealing, and he has such an unassuming presence. The audition clip is my favorite, just watching people's expressions as he sang.
I can totally see both sides of what you're saying, though. My husband is a classical musician and we have several friends who are tenors who are on par with this guy (based on the 2 things I've heard him sing). But so much of success in classical music is being expert at reading music, at getting experience singing many different operas, and being able to show up with one night's rehearsal with an orchestra and other singers you've never met before and perform well with them. My friends have (I think) much more formal training and experience than this guy, and even though his voice is extremely pleasant to listen to, you need those things in order to have a viable career.
I doubt it would be as sexy as giving a recording contract, but I almost wish the 'prize' at the end of these contests was a chance to pursue formal training - you know, for this guy, an all-expense scholarship to an accelerated program at New England Conservatory or someplace comparable.
I doubt that would fly in America, though. So much of the culture is based on this idea that you shouldn't have to work hard or study hard if you're 'talented.'
Oh well...I will probably buy this guy's CD since I like his voice so much, but I would like to hear him sing some other stuff. Good for him.

[EyesSkyward]

That's the thing about the arts, be it singing, acting, whatever. Talent is not a prerequisite for success, nor is success in any way guaranteed by talent.

(Assuming that you're defining "success" as getting a record contract/movie deal/broadway play/whatever, and becoming well-known to the general populace. Personally, I think that's a bit of a narrow view.)

Anyway, it's the music business, after all. It's about selling a product--as much of it as possible--and there are many factors that go into a consumer's decision-making process. Talent is only one of them, and not even the most important one.

- Jeff

[LeslieDEN]

I ordered his CD. Those little YouTube videos aren't enough Paul Potts for me and I'm eager to hear more of him.

I Googled him a little, and wow, Scott, you're right, his story is really something. It's not too over the top or dramatic, but that's probably what makes it so poignant. (Let's hope his new handlers don't try to infuse it with melodrama; I've already seen him referred to as a "cancer survivor" when all he had was a benign tumor.)

I don't know where the contestants on AI come from -- I can't bear to watch it -- but he did have experience (albeit not professional) and some formal training before BGT. He had performed in amateur productions and he won a good amount of money in a contest, money he used to train in Italy. But illness and a biking accident set him back financially, destroying any hopes he might've had for a career in opera, and he didn't perform for four years.

I like how he describes it here: "I was actually paying to sing at the time and then I didn't have the resources to actually continue, so I made the decision that I was going to stop singing and get on with trying to earn enough money to start paying of the debts. The only thing that really got me back into singing was when I was working in February of this year, I came across the 'Britain's Got Talent' website and picked up the application form from it and filled it out. But I thought, 'Well, do I have enough talent? Am I too old or am I what they are looking for?' I couldn't decide whether to press submit or cancel. I got a ten cents piece out of my pocket and thought that if it lands on heads, then I'll submit the application. If it lands on tails, then I'll cancel it and leave it at that. So I tossed the coin and fortunately for me, it landed on heads."

(Full interview here (http://music.aol.com/popeater/2007/10/05/paul-potts-goes-from-opera-to-oprah/).)