(Daily Mail)

Katherine Jenkins is to follow in the footsteps of Cheryl Cole after landing a six-figure deal to appear as a judge on a new ITV Saturday night talent show. The 29-year-old mezzo-soprano is set to see her profile soar as she advises pop stars how to sing opera.

Miss Jenkins will become the broadcaster’s new face of Saturday night television with the agreement, said to be worth about £100,000. Myleene Klass – who rose to fame in pop band Hear’Say after appearing on ITV1’s Pop Stars – will host the programme, which is yet to be named. Using the now familiar format of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing On Ice, the show will see celebrities learning how to become opera singers.

However, it is expected that those taking part will be existing pop or musical performers, who already have some proven vocal talent. One source said: “Katherine and the panel will advise singers how to take on opera. Each week someone will be voted off. With her classical background, Myleene is probably the ideal host.”

It is expected that there will be another two judges on the panel – at least one of which will be a man. Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts and tenor Russell Watson are tipped as possible contenders. Watson already appeared as a judge on BBC1 talent contest Last Choir Standing, which also featured Miss Klass as host.

An ITV spokesman confirmed the programme was planned for next year but insisted details had yet to be finalised. It is being earmarked for an early evening time slot but will not occupy the 8pm prime slot the X Factor does. Representatives for Miss Klass and Miss Jenkins confirmed they were in discussions with the broadcaster about the project.

Miss Jenkins has been actively widening her appeal beyond the classical world in recent years. She performed at the X Factor final in 2007 with contestant Rhydian Roberts, and toured the UK with Darcey Bussell with musical show Viva La Diva. Her latest album Believe features cover versions of songs such as the Bob Marley classic No Woman, No Cry and gothic rock band Evanescence’s Bring Me To Life.

Miss Jenkins recently appeared at the BBC’s Children In Need Rocks concert, and is set to sing at this year’s Royal Variety Performance next month.

Gänsehaut garaniert, schaut Euch einfach das Video an und der Tag ist gerettet!

Ich bin begeistert über die Krativität mit der an die Ereignisse von vor 20 Jahren gedacht wurde.

Einzigartige Momente im Leipziger Hauptbahnhof: 20 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall singen hunderte Menschen gemeinsam Beethovens “Ode an die Freude”, und Startenor Paul Potts ist auch mit dabei!

Initiator der Aktion ist die Deutsche Telekom, die damit der aktuellen Kampagne “Grenzen gab’s gestern” ihren Höhepunkt verleiht.

Desde o dia 10 de novembro, um comercial da gigante de telecomunicações alemã Telekom está circulando em emissoras de televisão daqui. Achei o cenário bastante familiar na primeira vez que vi o spot na TV. Não matei a charada logo de cara, porque tinha  perdido o começo da propaganda.

Pesquisei na internet e eureka! O comercial foi gravado na estação central de trens de Leipzig um dia antes do aniversário de 20 anos da queda do muro de Berlim.

Vou confessar: moro na cidade e não fiquei sabendo disso. Talvez porque passei o dia 08 de novembro todinho na frente do computador, preparando os posts que iam sair no dia seguinte aqui no Memórias do Muro.

O concerto foi chamado de “Ode an die Freude” ou em uma tradução livre Ode à felicidade. Sob o mote “fronteiras existiam ontem”, a Telekom convidou as pessoas a irem à estação central para fazer parte de uma ação coletiva, até então mantida em segredo.

Paul Potts, o primeiro vencedor do programa Britain’s Got Talent (o mesmo programa que consagrou Susan Boyle) foi a atração surpresa e cantou junto com um coral improvisado naquele momento, formado por mais de mil pessoas que tinham ido à estação de trens para desvendar o que seria essa tal flash mob misteriosa.

Aí vai a propaganda com a Sinfonia 9 de Beethoven cantada por Paul Potts e o “coral sem fronteiras” e regência do maestro americano James Wood. Não deixa de ser uma bela sacada de marketing da empresa. Entenda porque Leipzig é tão importante na queda do muro de Berlim.

Em tempo: não ganhei nada pra escrever esse post e tampouco sou cliente da Telekom.

And this is how it is done. All comments saying that Paul Potts’ version is better than this, shalt be instantly deleted.

The expression at the finale “Vincero!” is worth a million words. This is probably the most emotional performace I’ve ever seen. This is why he is The Pavarotti.

(Daily Mail)

Myleene Klass and Katherine Jenkins are teaming up for a new reality TV series. The Saturday night ITV1 show, which will start filming early next year, will see pop stars turned into opera singers with the help of a panel of professionals.

I understand M&S model and classical musician Myleene, 31, is lined up as the show’s host, while Welsh soprano Katherine, 29, will be one of the judges. “They are looking for a male host to present with Myleene and a male judge to sit on the panel with Katherine,” says an insider. “The producers are very keen on having Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts on the panel. It will be the panel’s job to train pop stars to sing opera – and each week one of the hopefuls will be voted off. There’s a lot of excitement about having Myleene and Katherine on the same show. They are both big names and they can both be divas.”

Der Hammer, oder?

Ja, also der Herr Beethoven ist ein ganz ein ganz ein Großer in der Deutschen Geschichte. Das ist mal Fakt. Wir sind fast geneigt, ihn in einem Atemzug mit Ostseestadionsblog zu nennen. Aber der Text – ist von Schiller . Dem Friedrich .Soviel Zeit muß sein !!!

Wenn sie nichts können, aber klasse Werbung kriegen se hin….

01.  15. Januar 2009 um 11:00 in der Londoner Liverpool-Street-Station

Track List
1. Lulu – Shout
2. Yazz – The Only Way Is Up
3. Pussycat Dolls – Don’t Cha
4. Wiener Waltzer
5. Kool & The Gang
6. Rainbow – Since You’ve Been Gone
7. Millie Small – My Boy Lollipop
8. Contours – Do You Love Me

02.  Am 30. April rief man auf, zum Trafalgar Square zu kommen um dort ein neues virales Video zu erstellen. Es kamen 13.000 Menschen, die dann “Hey Jude” gesungen haben. Mikrofone und eine riesen Karaoke Leinwand standen bereit.

03. Am 08. November, 20 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall singt Paul Potts im Leipziger Hauptbahnhof mit hunderten Menschen Beethovens “Ode an die Freude”. 

Der britische Tenor und TV-Star Paul Potts hat am Sonntagmittag die Menschen in Leipzig mit einem spontanen Auftritt auf dem Hauptbahnhof überrascht.

Spontan? Die Leute standen schon am Samstag da und haben geübt.

via Geschichte: Paul Potts singt mit Leipzigern zum Mauerfall | News | ZEIT ONLINE.

Inspiração, se pensarmos numa lógica para a palavra, seria talvez algo que inspire alguma ação.

Pensando assim trago aqui uma reflexão e espero que possa servir de inspiração.

Pessoas em toda a parte do mundo já ouviram falar de algum tipo de show de talentos.

Desde o show de calouros, até formatos mais POP´s como Ídolos, American Idol ou os infindáveis XXX Got Talent, tipo British Got Talent.

Todos parecem a mesma novela, que buscam acharem protagonistas que muitas vezes são o exemplo perfeito da frase: “as aparências enganam”.

Vimos casos como o da Susan Boyle, Paul Potts  e outros que comprovam isso.

Mas o mais legal é quando alguém talentoso, sai desse formato pré fabricado e mostra que dá pra ser reconhecido com outro tipo de arte.

Que inovar, pode ser um aliado na hora de conquistar o público e fazer sucesso.

Confesso que fiquei surpreso ao ver esta moça se dando bem no Uckrain Got Talent.

Desse caso, tiro a lição de que além de talento, vale a pena explorar formatos fora dos convencionais e garantir uma boa execução, assim como ela fez, com a sincronia dos desenhos criados com o som, tudo no ponto certo.

Fica a dica também do site de outra artista que faz este tipo de arte.

Inspire-se!

(@3ernardo)

Sitting in an empty concert hall, I remember leaning over the polished banister, enthralled by the enormous sound escaping the quaking lips on a bearded chin.  I had the opportunity to attend the dress rehearsal of Puccini’s opera, Turandot, with my fifth grade class, and the memory of hearing “Nessun Dorma” for the first time has remained one of my fondest musical recollections.  The celebrated aria gives me goose bumps each time I hear it – each time my junior year English teacher’s cell phone went off with the sound of Luciano Pavarotti’s resounding “Nessun dorma! Nessun dorma!”

Luciano Pavarotti – Nessun Dorma

I get the same feeling each time my Grandmother plays her favorite recording of Paul Potts’s reverberating performance of the aria at our family’s holiday celebrations.  Potts became famous after his performance of “Nessun Dorma” on the popular TV series Britain’s Got Talent.  The aria’s presence is not that of an unapproachable operatic intellect, but that of a pop song.

Paul Potts – Nessun Dorma

The popularity of the aria, despite its operatic status, is astounding when one considers the cultural pedestal upon which opera is often placed.  As a genre, opera is intimidating to much of the American public.  This fact has a great deal to do with the foreign languages, such as Italian and German, in which many famous operas are written; Puccini’s Turandot among them, which is written in Italian.  To many of today’s music listeners, opera is fundamentally nothing more than classical music – alone, often considered an intimidating European art form – paired with incomprehensible singing and fantastical theatrical sets.  How can the average person discourse on such a topic?  It is, after all, considered “art;” not understood by the masses, but by those who have had the necessary training and who can recognize the genius of the music.  Such individuals are permitted to attend performances in great concert halls with polished banisters; only individuals such as these are expected to be enthralled by the enormous sounds and trembling vibratos that escape the lips of highly trained opera singers.  What one often forgets is the history of the pre-canonized opera.

At the time of such famous composers as Mozart and Wagner, opera was the music of the masses.  Although opera was originally confined to the royal courts of Europe, it soon became the “pop” music of the Baroque era (the late sixteenth century to the early eighteenth century) and beyond.  Opera singers became celebrities and many operatic performances were salted with a flavor of spectacle to entertain common European audience members.  Although Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot was not performed until 1926, it was still considered popular music by musicologists of the time.  In fact, Puccini’s style was often dismissed by musicologists as shallow because of its emphasis on melody for popular appeal.  My Grandmother herself, when playing her recording of “Nessun Dorma,” once told me that although Puccini’s operatic compositions were not considered “mature” – or elitist – operas, she could not help going weak at the knees when listening to Paul Potts.  And indeed, behind the intimidating Italian jargon lie the breathtaking words of a common young man in love:

No one shall sleep!…
No one shall sleep!
Even you, o Princess,
In your cold room,
Watch the stars,
That tremble with love and with hope.
But my secret is hidden within me,
My name no one shall know.
No!…No!…
On your mouth I will speak it when the light shines.
And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!…
No one will know his name and we must, alas, die.
Vanish, o night!
Set, stars! Set, stars!
At dawn, I will conquer! I will conquer! I will conquer!

Lauren Corallo

Het programma Britain’s Got Talent , dat ons Susan Boyle en Paul Potts bracht, heeft internationale versies over heel de wereld lopen. Ook in Oekraïne is er de show Ukraine’s Got Talent.

Daar werd het programma gewonnen door Kseniya Simonova, een experte in het manipuleren van zand. Kijk even naar onderstaande video en je zal zien dat de jury een uitstekende keuze heeft gemaakt.

(Het is trouwens haar interpretatie van de Duitse invasie in Oekraïne, tijdens Wereldoorlog II)

On October 13:

1862 – Mary Kingsley, English writer and explorer, was born.

1884 Greenwich was established as universal time meridian of longitude.

Royal Observatory, Greenwich

1925 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian, was born.

1925 British Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher was born.

1934 – Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician, was born.

1941 –Paul Simon, American singer and musician, was born.

1959 Marie Osmond, American entertainer, was born.

1968 – Carlos Marin, Spanish baritone and member of Il Divo, was born.

1969 Nancy Kerrigan, US figure skater ws born.

1970 Paul Potts, British Opera singer was born.

1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the Andes mountains, in between the borders of Argentina and Chile. The 16 of the 45 on board who lived to be rescued survived by eating the dead.

1975 Dame Whina Cooper led the land march to parliament.

Sourced from NZ History ONline & Wikipedia.

Julian Jarrold

En el blog de Risky Biz Blog, el director Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) está viendo si hace la cinta “One Chance” para el estudio de la Paramount.

Simon Cowell de American Idol junto con Brad Weston van a producir este proyecto que tiene un enlace directo con la estrella Británica Paul Potts. El guión caerá en manos de Justin Zackham (The Bucket List) y Mike Menchel también participará como productor en este proyecto.

Potts se hizo instantáneamente famoso cuando salió en el show de Britain’s Got Talent. La hija de Menchel fué la que descubrió a Potts cuando “sin querer” miró un video de este cantante.

Matthew Vaughn (el que está haciendo la movie de Kick-Ass) también aportará un poco del dinero para que esta cinta se realice.

La Paramount espera comenzar a filmar lo más pronto posible en el 2010, el objetivo es poder filmarla y que coincida con la siguiente temporada de Britain’s Got Talent.

La movie de One Chance comenzará pronto su casting.

Jeg synes det er alt for mange talentkonkurranser på norsk TV. Jeg tror virkelig at det finnes mange flotte talenter i Norge, og en del av dem er så gode at de absolutt bør komme på TV og få platekontrakter, slik at talentet deres kan bli til glede for hele befolkningen – ja, gjerne verden også.

MEN jeg mener veldig bestemt at antallet slike talenter blant de få millioner nordmenn i rett alder, ikke på noen måte kan fylle opp alle de talentkonkurransene som vi nå har rullende på de ulike TV-stasjonene. Skjønner ikke produsentene at vi går lei ? At det har nådd metningspunktet for en god stund siden ? Det begynte med “Kjempesjansen” og “Idol”. Så kom “Norske talenter” og nå “X-factor” og “My Camp Rock” for de minste… Jeg vil nesten etterhvert plassere “Melodi Grand Prix” også i denne rekken, pga måten denne kulturinstitusjonen de senere årene er blitt et sirkus.

Akk, det er utrolig lenge siden Kurt Nilsen vant Idol i Norge – og mot mange odds til og med vant World Idol! Ingen Idol-vinner har siden kunnet nå opp til denne standarden. Noen av Idol-vinnerne årene etter fikk gitt ut skiva si som premie, men siden har vi ikke hørt noe særlig til dem – og det er like greit, for det var ikke så mye å høre på likevel. Men noen av andreplassene og tredjeplassene har derimot blitt dyktige og produktive artister, som vi kommer til å ha glede av i mange år fremover.

Men det jeg EGENTLIG ville si noe om i denne posten, var AUDITIONER. Mye av det som serveres i de ulike konkurransene for tiden, er rett og slett til å grine av. Det er sosial porno og misbruk av unge mennesker som burde beskyttes mot seg selv ! Det er så utrolig kynisk å kringkaste for hele verden ungdommer som så åpenbart IKKE har et talent til å synge (de kan jo ha ANDRE talenter!) og så drite dem ut og si spydige, stygge ting til dem på direkten. Det skal en meget sterk rygg til for å tåle sånt, og leve med det “til evig tid”. For det som kommer på nettet, blir som kjent aldri borte igjen….

I slike frustrerte stunder er det vederkvegende å se og ikke minst HØRE på denne auditionen i Britain´s got talent fra noen år tilbake. Det har aldri vært noen som dette etterpå. Paul Potts. Mobiltelefonselgeren fra Wales. Sangstemmen hans var hans beste venn. Når han ble mobbet fordi han var litt annerledes tok han tilflukt i sangen. Denne filmen er så sterk, ikke bare fordi han overrasket dommerne og hele verden med sin perfekte operastemme. Men fordi han er et prakteksempel på et menneske som får tilbake selvtilliten og gradvis også selvfølelsen, fordi noen trodde på ham.

Paul Potts, a carphone salesman, was a contest on Britain’s Got Talent in 2007. The video of Potts performing “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot has been downloaded over 60 million times on YouTube alone.

The mass appeal to the video was due to the “underdog complex”. A frumpy “every man” surprises the world with a tremendous voice. Potts has cashed in on his appeal with appearances on Operah Winfrey, and performances across the globe.

In May of 2009, The Times tallied Potts financial haul at £5 million.

Echt groot nieuws brengen met deze filmpjes is niet de bedoeling. De meeste zullen deze filmpjes kennen. Toch zet ik even enkele talenten op een rijtje. Elk van hun hebben een uniek verhaal waarom ze met muziek zijn begonnen. Meestal zie je ook (zoals bij Paul Potts en Susan Boyle) dat deze zangers specifieke ervaringen achter de rug hebben. De emotionele ervaringen die ze meedragen zijn duidelijk voelbaar op de manier waarop ze zingen, in hun teksten en songkeuzes. Luister maar!

Paul Potts – Nessun Dorma
Susan Boyle – Les Miserable
Susan Boyle – Wild Horses !

Van samenzang gesproken; Lind, Holm, Fuentes en Kurt Nilsen kunnen er wat van. In vele tijdschriften werd deze versie van Hallelujah omschreven als beste ooit! (Kurt Nilsen werd dan ook World Idol)
Lind, Holm, Fuentes, Nilsen – Hallelujah
Kurt Nilsen – I Live

Niet te vergeten: Dirk De Smet – Another Day die in België X-Factor won! Ik ben zelf naar enkele liveshow’s van hem gaan kijken. Waar ik enorm respect voor heb bij Dirk is dat hij zijn eigen blijft en nuchter blijft tijdens de overrompelende media tijdens X-Factor. Ik had verschillende kilometers moeten rijden om tot bij zijn liveshow te geraken en kreeg dan ook een dankwoordje van Dirk zelf. (lang met hem gepraat over songkeuzes en soorten muziek)De pers, fotografen,.. moesten wachten want hij kwam eerst met zijn grote fans en familie een babbeltje slaan.
www.dirkdesmet.be

Depois da descoberta de Paul Potts  e Susan Boyle, chegou a vez de Danyl Johnson, um professor inglês de 27 anos, que parece querer fazer da música a sua vida.  Para isso, precisou apenas de fazer também uma breve audição no conhecido programa X Factor 2009 para mostrar a voz, a presença em palco e o carisma que o caracterizam.  Com a música “With A Little Help From My Friends”, dos Beatles (na versão de Joe Cocker), público e júri renderam-se a Danyl Johnson e, por momentos, senti nele o potencial de um Robbie Williams ou de um Michael Bublé… ou terá sido exagero meu?

Vejam o vídeo e comentem se quiserem.

“Here’s to the Crazy Ones! The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas & see a work of art? Or, sit in silence & hear a song that’s never been written? Or, gaze at a red planet & see a laboratory on wheels? We make tools for these kinds of people. While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

- Apple Computers Inc.

By Barbara Tovey and Carol Allison

Paul Potts, Soultype 5, was the winner of Britain’s Got Talent in 2007.

New Equations describes the wisdom of Soultype 5 in this way:

The face of Soultype 5 looks calm because of their mental peace. ST 5s carry with them at all times a living map of reality—the ‘big picture.’ Their map, and peace of mind, is their gift to you. They are willing and ready to immediately change their personal beliefs whenever they find new information that makes their map more complete. They are compelled to seek out clarity in all situations, and are just as aware of what they do not know as they are of what they do know. ST 5s know that from the unknown more clarity will always emerge. They bring to you a Buddha-like wisdom that is free of emotional turmoil, confusion, and selfishness. ST 5 wisdom has a unique purity because it comes from personal experience, rather than hearsay.

Throughout the clips, Paul has the ST 5 expression of strength on his face most of the time – there is a sense of mental peace he brings to his performances and to his audience.

The movement center for ST 5 is the top of the head. An example of this is seen at the very beginning of the first video: as he is walking back and forth before going on stage, he tips his head forward and leads his movement from there when he is deep in thought. Through the practices and discoveries of New Equations, ST 5s are in the process of learning to change this habit of dropping their heads. They are learning about the more powerful connection which happens when they connect upwards to the heavens. This can be seen when Paul performs.

While Paul sings, his connection to the Source shows in how he reaches with his body upwards to the heavens: his head moves up and his neck and spine stretch upwards.  As you watch him, lengthen up through your own spine and neck, and reach upwards with the top of your head.  To feel this even more strongly, try standing like Paul, then going up onto your tiptoes, continuing to stretch up with your spine and head as you slowly bring your heels down. This elongates your body. Notice and feel the way in which Paul does this as he performs; it is why his performances are so powerful and moving. Paul physically accesses his soul and brings the energy through his body to the world. This happens when the body and soul are aligned.

The video clips below include all of his performances on Britain’s Got Talent.

Nessum Dorma (Audition)

This is his first performance on the show, plus an introduction piece;  length 3:38

Time To Say Goodbye  (Semi-final)

His second performance on the show, plus an introduction piece; length 5:57

Nessum Dorma (Finals)

His third performance on the show, plus a reflection back on his journey so far; length 7:11

Nessum Dorma  (Results show)

Here he is announced as the winner, speaks with the hosts and judges briefly, then performs one more time; length 6:38. At 1:52 the winner is announced; at 3:57 his  performance begins.

Learn more about Soultype 5 here and here
Soultype 5 Public Figures
Video of ST 5s in their posture of strength, during the soultyping experience

10/09/07
Copyright © 2007 New Equation

This article is part of the “Expression of the Soul” Series and is included in the “Expression of the Soul” Series Library.

Tienen talento. La tele británica tiene un talento de cojones. Si ya lo saben, o les aburre escuchar la cantinela de nuevo, vayan directamente al salto. Porque joder, menudo talento. No voy a ponerme a alabar Dead Set, Screenwipe, Spaced, Brasseye o Phonejacker: sería demasiado fácil. (Y esto es un blog de música, ostias.) Voy a reconocer lo asombrosamente bien hecho que está un programa que no me gusta, y que para colmo pertenece a un tipo de televisión que desgracia la música y la propia televisión: Britain’s Got Talent.

Lo de Britain’s Got Talent huele a fórmula de lejos, pero tan bien parido que sobrecoge al más cínico. Es lo de siempre, pero con un halo de grandeza, de bigger than life, que apabulla. El malo es un malo de verdad, de los que amamos odiar, la tiabuena posa hasta para respirar, y las demostraciones de ese talento que tiene Britain son explosiones, hecatombes sacras de justicia poética. La máxima expresión del perdedor convertido en manifestación divina, del zero to hero. Yo he visto a verdaderos desalmados llorar con el debut de Paul Potts.

Y esa es la clave: tanta honestidad que no puede ser una operación cínica. Hacer ver que, por cojones, se lo tienen que creer. Un loser gordo, feo y apocado sale a enfrentarse a un jurado impávido y despiadado y a un público escéptico. Abre la boca, hace un poco el ridículo, pero cae bien. Es un fracasado entrañable, aunque sus ambiciones suenen desmedidas. Criaturica, nos decimos. Tras someterse al escarnio, arranca la prueba: las grúas mueven las cámaras sobre un público que contiene el aliento, las luces elevan a nuestro protagonista. Comienza el pasmo.

El éxtasis, la epifanía, nos arrebatan. La humildísima figura que había en el escenario se resquebraja como una crisálida para dejar paso a un epatador estallido de talento. El jurado está a un paso del llanto; el público se revienta las manos aplaudiendo. Y nosotros, espectadores, acabamos la pieza sobrecogidos y con una sonrisa boba en los labios. Hemos aprendido una valiosa lección sobre los prejuicios. El mundo es un lugar mejor para vivir.

Reconozco que me emociono con estos videos. Las miradas de asombro y sonrisas tiernas del jurado (¡el jurado!), los hiperbólicos elogios, la modestia de sus protagonistas… Mientras aquí nos tenemos que conformar con villanos de opereta y revelaciones de medio pelo, en el Reino Unido todo es explosivo, abrumador. Cogen el lenguaje televisivo y usan cada mínimo elemento para empaquetar unas píldoras de épica concentradísimas. Ni siquiera hace falta conocer el programa: todo empieza y acaba en cinco minutos, la frustración y el éxito.

Tras Potts y Boyles, la rueda devoradora de talentos-sorpresa sigue girando. Esta vez no se trata de épica de lírica y gran opera (esa opera que tanto empeño tiene Simon Cowell, el villano de la función, en poner a criar con el pop más facilón: sí, este tío está detrás de Il Divo), esta vez no se trata del feo y tímido superdotado. Sabían que no podían repetir la misma jugada en tres ocasiones, así que en X Factor nos colocan al colega suelto y simpaticón que canta bien y que todo el mundo se llevaría de cañas: Danyl Johnston es más mundano y buenrollista, y quizá por eso Cowell tiene que rizar el rizo de la hipérbole para convencernos de que su actuación es algo fuera de lo común. Tal vez esta vez la jugada no funcione, vayan a saber.

¿Que queda cuando el dominio del lenguaje es tan absoluto que se puede manipular al espectador sin despeinarse? Como siempre, la parodia. Con sus bolas británicas sobre la mesa, el humorista Peter Kay entendió que el concurso musical sólo se podía parodiar haciendo una gala que fuera casi, casi idéntica al modelo. Vamos, que se ridiculizara solo. Britain’s Got the Pop Factor and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice, además de lucir un interminable título, se parece tanto, tanto al original que aún no he conseguido asegurarme de que realmente sea una broma. El propio Kay interpreta a Geraldine, una transexual trasunto de los Potts y Boyles que tiene a su público (ficticio) enamorado.

La sátira me parece acertadísima, inmejorable, pero dejenme contarles un secreto: todo está tan bien hecho que a veces tengo que refrenar mi emoción también con Geraldine. La oronda transexual de horrible voz no está ganando nada, me digo, aunque quizá tampoco lo hayan hecho Potts y compañía. Qué importa, la factoría seguirá empaquetando épicas. Preparen sus klínex.

V the Wanderer

]]> http://monkeyblogmonkeydo.com/2009/09/03/juswondering-do-i-have-a-heart-surprisingly-yes/ Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:55:24 +0000 sgottahurt http://monkeyblogmonkeydo.com/2009/09/03/juswondering-do-i-have-a-heart-surprisingly-yes/

I was at my mom’s house today for some free grub, and she was was watching a rerun of Oprah.  It was a compilation of old segments that wowed and moved her (Oprah, not my ma, as far as I know), and I was regarding it without being wowed and/or moved.  Sure, Criss Angel and David Blaine can be interesting, and Terry Fator and Paul Potts’ stories are inspiring, but otherwise, meh…

Then Faith appeared (this is not the actual show footage, but you’ll get the gist of it):

Instant tears.  Let me say this: there is no amount of free food that makes my sudden outpouring of emotion worth it.  Almost no amount of food (a pepperoni pizza with Cajun crust and double cheese is a good start).

(SIDENOTE: In regard to Opie & Anthony, the third segment of the above video – I didn’t know assholes could walk on two legs.)

On the lighter side of doggy’s overcoming obstacles: