Kelly Clarkson at halftime in Detriot

[christmasjones]

Originally Posted by Produceher

Call me crazy - but didn't she make it on her live performance?
she's not someone who needs to be fixed to be able to get by.

CLEARLY you weren't watching the halftime show

[tarnationsauce]

I hope the mix on stage was a bit better than what was fed to the TV station. It may as have been acapella.

[PandaFOH]

What is surprising is that folks still expect something "good" to come from any of these halftime gigs.

Agreed. These shows are a technical nightmare where even great singers can be undermined by any number of sound problems. Couple that with live tv where time is working against you and it's a recipe for eventual disaster.

By todays standard, Kelly is arguably, a great singer. Still, the bar of expectations from live performers has been lowered compared to what it once was. Older performers did not have the monitoring younger "artists" currently have nor the ability to fix in post.

The only artist that has blown my mind at at one of these gigs was the Prince half time show ... was pretty much a casual fan until I saw him perform in that downpour and still smoke. Amazing really, considering the weather. Much respect for the guy. No doubt about it: he has IT in abundance. He is definitely an old school performer.

[dbbubba]

Some of you guys seriously need to educate yourself on the human voice as a musical instrument and learn why people sound like they do in situations like Kelly Clarkson's performance at the DALLAS Cowboys halftime show.

Some of you also need geograpy lessons!
The DETROIT Cowboys!

Some of you need to watch some musicians perform if you think that those musicians were playing! It was wet. Why would you plug in? They were pretending to play.
Wait... maybe those were invisible drum mics?
That backline came from Dallas Backup and Steve Babbs and his guys are probebly drying out that B3 and DX7 right now.
There wer no PODS backstage!

First off, there is NO EXCUSE for that performance.
She can sing, but she isn't great.
A "club band" level singer who made it on an idiotic TV show.
She is not gifted. She's "lucky."
That performance was awfull and it was only her fault.
It was BIG gig for here and she wasn't even close to being up to the task.
Then again, after reading a few articles where she calls people like Clive Davis "old guys that don't know music any longer" well.... what can I say?
She's not very career savvy.

SICK?
You don't get sick over night.
If you are sick you go to a doctor in advance.
You rest your voice,
They give you steroids.
This is all common stuff that pros practice.
You voice is your instrument and you take care of your instrument.... period.
(She looked quite healthy throwing a football around with the Cowboys on TV earlier during the week.)

COLD?
It was in the lower '40s and it was raining/sleeting, barely.
You think ahead in this situation.
You don't go from a warm comfy backstage area to the cold stage without aclimating your voice to the temperature change.
This is only an excuse for an in-experienced, lazy or ill-prepared person.

MONITORS?
No excuse here.
An experienced singer knows that you dont push even if you can't hear.
She was singing to a track, so if anything her vocals were too loud.
I doubt that she was straining to hear, but it is always a great excuse.
Besides, she couldn't hit higher notes quite early on in the performance, so it wasn't strain due to singing too hard because that doesn't happen THAT quickly... unless, you are completely un-prepared to walk on stage.

THRUST INTO A DIFFICULT SITUATION?
I am sure that she knew AT LEAST six months ago that she'd be doing the gig.
If you want to sing live, then you make sure that you are ready.

If YOU had one big chance to do a gig like that wouldn't you make DAMN SURE that you were ready? A gig at the DALLAS Cowboys halftime game on Thanksgiving Day is a HUGE opertunity. It is BIG DEAL for her career at this point.
YOU MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T BLOW IT.
You don't book gigs right before it (unless you really need the money.... possible.)
You rest your voice.
YOU MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE HEALTHY.
It is your responsilbilty.
PRO'S do it all the time.

Then again, this is typical of a person who was handed "stardom" and a career on a plate.
In her and her team's eyes' it is probebly all easy.
Well, as you can see... not always.
Preparedness is key and she obviously wasn't even close to being prepared.

She is lucky that she prefers singing rock music because there has been a parade of blown out voices before her that establish a squeaking, raspy shadow of a record's performance. Hey... it's just rock-n-roll ain't it?
It is a shame that she si at that point so early in her career.

My favorite moment was when my thirteen year old daughter asked me, "Why does she sound so scream-y and old?"
Never mind that my wife is a degreed vocalist who actually did sing rock for quite a while. My daughter knows the fifference! This is Kelly's target audience, too (my daughter's age group.)

I will say that I thought that the mix had her voice WAY too far out front and awful dry.
Who knows the politics? Who knows who mixed the show? Her guy?
I do know that pulling her back a bit and adding a TINY BIT of 170 to 242 msec. slap would have helped make her sound more "rock" instead of STARK AND STRAINING HER ASS OFF!

I have "helped" too many singers (I hesitate to say vocalists) in similar situations.
Even with poltical influence to push her voice up front like that you want to try to "help" her a bit.
Even if you went against "orders" and pulled her back in that situation she'd be grateful because I promise you this.... SHE WAS NOT PROUD OF THAT PERFORMANCE.

AT LEAST SHE SANG LIVE...
Well, maybe a better call would have had her sing with a track that included both band and vox because I PROMISE YOU... the source they were playing from had a version with seperate vocal track. It was probebly a CD dumped to a 380 Systems Instant Replay.
Truthfully, she should have know that she wasn't prepared and lip-synced because if she did, our conversation would be limited to the fact that she lip-synced and not that she was awfull. The "cat" would still be in the bag.

That performance was awfull.

[zboy2854]

Live performances at sporting events are almost always a clusterf*ck of some kind. Even with preparation, the amount of time given to get the stage and whole audio system rolled out onto the field and set up is a couple minutes. Add to that the weather conditions, and every other imaginable thing that can go wrong per Murphy's Law, and you have a recipe for mediocrity with just about any act in that situation.

There were obviously some adverse factors going on for Kelly, I saw her mouth the word "Wow" with a disgusted look in between singing at one point , so it wasn't a good "wow". She was clearly struggling, and I have a feeling a lot of it wasn't her fault.

[naked-puritan]

Kelly's not my fave in terms of genre but obviously she's a great singer. Her voice was clearly ragged and her confidence was shaken a bit by this fact. In one of her usually soaring passages in Since You've Been Gone she opted to sing an octave lower. She tried to bring it but she sounded forced and she knew it so, at that point, she went into safe mode.

Add less-than-ideal weather, possibly poor technical conditions and immense amounts of pressure to a compromised voice and you get what you heard. She shouldn't have done the show.

With that said, I rather hear hoarse Kelly Clarkson actually singing than a caterwauling or lip-synching Ashlee Simpson. Over that, I'd rather hear Prince again.

[dbbubba]

WASN'T HER FAULT?

All she had to do was sing THREE SONGS to a perfectly tuned and timed recordings of her "hits" while some monkeys hopped around and pretended to play instruments and dancers danced.

God help us if people can't pull that off!

What if she had to sing with a live band?

Of course, that would give everyone more excuses to use.
It woulkd have been their fault!

Please explain to me what her gig is?
Vocalist?
Whos' ultimate responsibilty is it to be ABLE to perform to a recording of asome songs?
Besides, I am sure that the technical crew has doe more gigs than she ever has!

I know a lot of people in the "biz."
I know people who have performed with mega-stars who have sucked.
It is ALWAYS the fault of the person in the spotlight.

If you even slightly have the idea that you are not up to the task you have the option to lip-sync available.

There were no "forces against her."

She wasn't up to doing a tough gig.
It ultimately proves how much of a pro you are.

By the way.... there are probebly a few of you here that have sung live and YOU KNOW that there are ways to get through a performance when you are having a hard time.

In the end of the second song's 2nd chorus she went for a note that she missed by at least a full step (not a half step... a step...quite a way off.)
If you know your craft (your voice) you know BEFORE YOU WALK ONTO THE STAGE that you can't hit that note. You KNOW the notes that will be difficult. You don't go for it and blow it. You don't just "go for it" and show your ass. The melody can be altered if you know what you are doing. People do it all the time.

They "wow" most likely meant "Wow, I am blowing this."

(There was a point that I detected the "giving up trying" syndrome where you just try to get through the performance.)

But wasn't she cute as a button up there?
Let's blame someone else like God for the cold weather or the Devil running monitors badly or some other horrible person mixing!
At least we can't say the band played bad!

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by dbbubba

WASN'T HER FAULT?

All she had to do was sing THREE SONGS to a perfectly tuned and timed recordings of her "hits" while some monkeys hopped around and pretended to play instruments and dancers danced.

God help us if people can't pull that off!

What if she had to sing with a live band?

Of course, that would give everyone more excuses to use.
It woulkd have been their fault!

Please explain to me what her gig is?
Vocalist?
Whos' ultimate responsibilty is it to be ABLE to perform to a recording of asome songs?
Besides, I am sure that the technical crew has doe more gigs than she ever has!

I know a lot of people in the "biz."
I know people who have performed with mega-stars who have sucked.
It is ALWAYS the fault of the person in the spotlight.

If you even slightly have the idea that you are not up to the task you have the option to lip-sync available.

There were no "forces against her."

She wasn't up to doing a tough gig.
It ultimately proves how much of a pro you are.

By the way.... there are probebly a few of you here that have sung live and YOU KNOW that there are ways to get through a performance when you are having a hard time.

In the end of the second song's 2nd chorus she went for a note that she missed by at least a full step (not a half step... a step...quite a way off.)
If you know your craft (your voice) you know BEFORE YOU WALK ONTO THE STAGE that you can't hit that note. You KNOW the notes that will be difficult. You don't go for it and blow it. You don't just "go for it" and show your ass. The melody can be altered if you know what you are doing. People do it all the time.

They "wow" most likely meant "Wow, I am blowing this."

(There was a point that I detected the "giving up trying" syndrome where you just try to get through the performance.)

But wasn't she cute as a button up there?
Let's blame someone else like God for the cold weather or the Devil running monitors badly or some other horrible person mixing!
At least we can't say the band played bad!

With a post like that, I can state unequivocally that you are not, nor have you ever been a performing vocalist. As a vocalist myself, and one who toured and performed for many years both in the studio and on stage, I can tell you that even with the best of vocalists, how they hear themselves in the monitors (or headphones) makes ALL the difference in how their instrument reacts.

I won't get into the physiological aspects of it, but the fact is it doesn't matter whether her band was playing live or she was singing to a prerecorded track, if she couldn't hear herself properly it would absolutely cause her to strain. The human voice is far more temperamental than any other instrument, and for anyone to pretend otherwise is just plain foolish.

As a fellow vocalist watching her performance, I felt like I had been in her place a thousand times before. Not singing in front of millions, but struggling with adverse conditions and bad monitoring, and adapting on the fly to try and get through it with less than optimal results.

If you want to crucify her for struggling in that particular situation, be my guest. But it just tells me that you don't know the first thing about what it's like to be a vocalist.

[hitmaker]

Please, lets not kid ourselves. As I said before, Kelly has a good voice, she just doesnt know how to use it (in a live environment), due to her poor vocal technique. I also think that quite a few notes in the "Since U Been Gone" chorus are out of her range. She was only able to nail them in the studio (thanks to autotune). If you listen to the studio recording of the song, you'll hear that it's ALL OVER IT. That's not a surprise in pop music, but at the end of the song it really gets brutal. Some of the worst autotune use I've ever heard.

Kelly has been struggling with this song since a long time. Just listen to these two performances, and pay attention to how she's constantly straining her voice, which results in a very unpleasant vocal sound. Her half-time performance was clearly not a blooper. It's all about her vocal technique. She's trying to do way too much, when all she'd have to do is just sing the damn melody. But that's a common problem among singers. They try to do all these little riffs so they can show off their voice, when all it does is actually hurt their performance. Less is more. Just sing the melody the way it was written.

[drakewire]

I am with the above poster... This is terrible... Jesus Christ! Live, I am sure Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Patsy Cline, Maria Callus, and any other Great Diva have had off nights, but for a second here listening I though this was one of those tryout shows for American Idol where they are making fun of the singer...
This song is almost unbearable to listen to... Thats why on my own vocals recording I never use Auto-Tune, mind you I dont always sing right on pitch, at least its my voice and when I do sing live people always say "Hey it sounds just like the CD"
But this is awful, it makes Paris Hilton smerk...

[Sounds Great]

Thanks for posting those. I agree. Very Lame. The vocal, the song, the whole bit. This is what music has come to?

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by zboy2854

If you want to crucify her for struggling in that particular situation, be my guest. But it just tells me that you don't know the first thing about what it's like to be a vocalist.

Umm, no. The "studio" version is equally bad. Actually it might be worse.

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Umm, no. The "studio" version is equally bad. Actually it might be worse.

If you say so.

As has been mentioned by others, if there's a problem for her it's not that she can't sing, it's that the wrong key was picked for the song and puts her out of her comfortable range. I've heard other live performances of hers, and she CAN indeed sing. Even on that song, I've witnessed performances where she nailed it live. I worked the MTV VMA's a few years back in Miami and got to listen to her all the times she ran through it in rehearsal, and she NAILED it.

She may not have the natural born talent or chops of a Mariah or Christina, but don't kid yourself.

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by zboy2854

If you say so.

As has been mentioned by others, if there's a problem for her it's not that she can't sing, it's that the wrong key was picked for the song and puts her out of her comfortable range. I've heard other live performances of hers, and she CAN indeed sing. She may not have the natural born talent or chops of a Mariah or Christina, but don't kid yourself.

Whatever. There are lots of people out there that can sing. A ton of them better than her. Clarkson is being sold by promotion, no different than Miley Cyrus. If you dig it, hey, great. Enjoy.

[drakewire]

natural born talent is good and yes Kelly has it, but not in rock! In fact its laughable to say the least.. First and let me crucify you for posting such hogwash....
Rock singers and the genre is often misunderstood by the pop world.. If you look at acts such as Bob Dylan, tom Waits, Steven Tyler, Janus Joplin, they dont have necessarily great voices, they have great voices for their music... But ask them to sing an Opera and they fall flat.. Kelly should have stuck to singing cute pop songs rather than going into a genre that she was not discovered for. It would be like the beatles doing "Gimme More.. Gimme More.." people would shutter, eyes would close, and the senses would become nauseus...

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Whatever. There are lots of people out there that can sing. A ton of them better than her. Clarkson is being sold by promotion, no different than Miley Cyrus. If you dig it, hey, great. Enjoy.

Yeah, and there are a ton of songwriters better than the ones currently enjoying success, and a ton of guitarists better than the ones out there in the limelight, yadda yadda. But what does that have to do with the price of tea in China?

No one's saying that Kelly is among the very best vocalists out there. But if you think that Kelly as a vocalist is no better than Miley Cyrus, well, then we clearly have VERY different ideas about what constitutes talent.

[DanielSon]

Kelly Clarkson is the reason for tougher gun legislation, and the masses need for antidepressants! I would be depressed also listening to the same damn thing in one puppet form or another. Last time I check cardboard cutouts do not possess any substance or depth.

Some memorable quotes from the musical genius. (Off her website!)

“I'm cute - and God I hate that. Because that's not cool. I'm like your niece, and nobody wants to date their niece. It's the chubby cheeks. The whole reason people voted for me on American Idol is because I'm an everyday, normal girl."

“I have a huge voice, so it's a bit more like a Janis Joplin vibe than a younger rock vibe. And I think that's what throws people because they don't know how to take me. Even critics - they don't know how to swallow me because they're like, 'Well, she came up like a total pop act',

“If I was at home watching, I would have thought the same thing: 'Well, she's good now, but that's 'cause of all the TV and everything,' ”

“It's like shock on their face. Because they're like, 'I cannot believe I enjoyed your concert',”

Sorry, I cannot help myself when I see people accepting really horrible, marketed to death pop noise. There is no music there. A reevaluation of the art form of music is badly needed in that spectrum; no beauty, no harmony, no expressed emotion.

<Um...my rant is like over>

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by DanielSon

Kelly Clarkson is the reason for tougher gun legislation, and the masses need for antidepressants! I would be depressed also listening to the same damn thing in one puppet form or another. Last time I check cardboard cutouts do not possess any substance or depth.

Some memorable quotes from the musical genius. (Off her website!)

“I'm cute - and God I hate that. Because that's not cool. I'm like your niece, and nobody wants to date their niece. It's the chubby cheeks. The whole reason people voted for me on American Idol is because I'm an everyday, normal girl."

“I have a huge voice, so it's a bit more like a Janis Joplin vibe than a younger rock vibe. And I think that's what throws people because they don't know how to take me. Even critics - they don't know how to swallow me because they're like, 'Well, she came up like a total pop act',

“If I was at home watching, I would have thought the same thing: 'Well, she's good now, but that's 'cause of all the TV and everything,' ”

“It's like shock on their face. Because they're like, 'I cannot believe I enjoyed your concert',”

Sorry, I cannot help myself when I see people accepting really horrible, marketed to death pop noise. There is no music there. A reevaluation of the art form of music is badly needed in that spectrum; no beauty, no harmony, no expressed emotion.

<Um...my rant is like over>

No one's saying she's a musical genius or even an important artist, simply that she does have talent as a vocalist. It may not be at the same level as some of the top tier vocalists, but that's beside the point.

Secondly, what makes people buy an album or dig an act is the songs first and foremost. You may not care for the music Kelly Clarkson puts out, but 8.1 million other record buyers did, and the reason was the songs. It's also the reason her latest album stiffed, none of the songs were of the caliber of her last album. If it was just about marketing alone, every album that was ever heavily marketed would be a blockbuster, but we know that to not be the case.

You're certainly entitled to not like her or her music. I'm not even saying I'm a fan per se. I'm just saying that there are many different levels of talent, and I choose to see the positive attributes that exist in each, rather than the constant negativity and tearing down that has become de rigeur around the boards these days...

[drakewire]

"You may not care for the music Kelly Clarkson puts out, but 8.1 million"

Yeah Chubbawamba sold about that too, I dont think they will be singing at the Metropolitan Opera House eiter...

Thing is if its marketed enough, people will buy just about anything... Its the Paris Hilton Marketing Strategy....

[zboy2854]

Originally Posted by drakewire

"You may not care for the music Kelly Clarkson puts out, but 8.1 million"

Yeah Chubbawamba sold about that too, I dont think they will be singing at the Metropolitan Opera House eiter...

You're completely moving the fences in this discussion. Again, why did Chumbawamba sell a boatload of records? Because of the song. Repeat after me, it's about the song, the song and the song. A discussion regarding an act's potential longevity is another discussion entirely, and out of the scope of the purpose of this one.

Thing is if its marketed enough, people will buy just about anything... Its the Paris Hilton Marketing Strategy....

Actually, no. Paris Hilton's record didn't sell squat compared to the hype and marketing that surrounded it. If the marketing alone was all that mattered, why didn't Paris sell 8.1 million records? Hell, why didn't any of the OTHER American Idol winners besides Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Kelly sell that many records? Let's say it again kids. The songs, the songs, and the songs. Rinse and repeat.

[RockDog]

i hate the idol crap but giving credit when its due kelly can sing she was probably having a bad night

[guittarzzan]

I saw it yesterday and it just sounded to me like she came to the gig with a worn out throat to begin with. I just figured that maybe she did too much rehearsal and fried her voice or something because she sounded more like Joan Jett than herself. Every thing sounded like she was straining. Even her vibrato sounded forced and on it's last thread. It was pretty bad and hard to listen to imo.

[not_so_new]

I think it is rather funny that some people who's songs I have never heard and who's musical ability is completely unknown come on to an internet thread with anonymous screen names and cut down an artist who just performed in front of millions of people.

LOL

You know, for all I know the people bashing the performance have never actually played or worked a live show in their lives. And playing in your basement for your sister and her girlfriends doesn't count.

Hands up, who has actually worked on national live touring stages as a performer or FOH / monitor engineer?



People in glass houses and all....

Look I am not saying Kelly is great but she is a known quantity. She WAS singing live, something many acts don't even bother to do anymore and sporting event shows are always difficult under the best of circumstances, this was certainly not the best of circumstances.

You can go on and blame Kelly for the downfall of the industry all you want but give me Kelly Clarkson over Ashlee Simpson any day of the week. I am not saying Kelly is the be all end all, I don't even have one CD of hers. I am saying that she is a performer that at least TRIED to perform.

I saw Sir Paul sound like sh*t at a halftime show as well, like him or not I dare someone to say that he isn't a legitimate performer.

If you have ever stepped foot on a stage you know that any number of things can go wrong at any time..... that's what makes me wonder just how many of you have actually stepped on a stage.

Anywho, seems like a lot of rage from some folks over little "Kelly"..... maybe little inferiority complex someplace?

(just kidding with you guys... just kidding...)

[chetatkinsdiet]

Originally Posted by sahiaman

Little confused. Was Clarkson in Dallas or Detroit? Last I heard, Dallas wasn't cold or snowy, and Detroit Lions play in a dome. I think Goo Goo Dolls played in Detroit.

I live here in Dallas. At halftime, it was raining/snowing/sleeting and low 30s. Texas Stadium has a hole in the roof, so it was pouring on them performing. In true Texas weather form, on Monday, it was 82 degrees. So, we're all half sick today with the rapid temp changes.

To mirror what others have said, Kelly has a fine voice. The mixes for football games are notoriously terrible.

She's definitely struggling right now with her career and such. At least she's really singing.

m