David Archuleta Playing "A Thousand Miles"
2 Comments Ryan Welton on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 10:29 PM.
To illustrate my point from last night regarding good accompanyment, watch this video from American Idol Top 24 contestant David Archuleta.
That's right. We have our Top 24 now, and Archuleta was a slam dunk to get in. And, I would rate him as among my favorites on the show this season thus far, even though I typically do not root for the young ones.
However, this kid is really good, and he can play the piano decently well -- but I'm going to pick on him to make a point. This is a video of him playing and singing Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" that I found on YouTube.
Great song, and he nails the intro.
On the verse, it's perfect. He sticks with chording, and I think his phrasings are a tad better than the actual song. However, the focus is on his voice, which when delivering a song is the important part.
Fast forward to :42, and watch his eyes. When he gets to the chorus of the song, he looks down at his fingers to make sure they're in the right position, and he spends way too much time making sure he's playing the right notes.
Watch the video:
In the bands and duos and groups I've played in, I could never stand to play with that guy who insisted on playing each cover exactly the way the original artist did it. Hate that because it's just not important.
Furthermore, it takes away from the individuality of the performance. And in David's case, it takes away from his terrific voice. If I were his "piano coach," I would have told him to dumb down the chorus. Play some big chords in the mid-to-lower part of the piano.
With his high voice, it would give his performance some much-needed bass. And for goodness' sake, forget about playing it just like Vanessa Carlton. Individual arrangements are what makes the world go 'round, and besides ... nobody is there to watch you play the piano.
That you can says something, but the performer should just tell the song's story in a way that meshes with his or her individuality.
Labels: American Idol, david archuleta, video, YouTube
I agree. I think David is the best American Idol has ever seen. He has recovered from vocal paralysis and sings very well. He was only 16 when he auditioned (and now is 17) and in that case, he is amazing. He is dong a great job playing the piano and singing with it. He didn't mess up and is very mature and confident for his age.
I honestly think he will win this season and definitely deserves to. In his audition, he sang "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer and the judges were very impressed. In his second audition in the Hollywood Round, he sang "Waiting on the World to Change" again but this time, with a keyboard. In this third audition, he sang "Heaven" by Bryan Adams which truly is one of the greatest songs today. This was confirmed by Kenya Hathaway (one of the very talented back-up vocalists), who teared up during David's performance.
Let's all hope for the best for David and he will definitely go far!
I agree. I think David is the best American Idol has ever seen. He has recovered from vocal paralysis and sings very well. He was only 16 when he auditioned (and now is 17) and in that case, he is amazing. He is dong a great job playing the piano and singing with it. He didn't mess up and is very mature and confident for his age.
I honestly think he will win this season and definitely deserves to. In his audition, he sang "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer and the judges were very impressed. In his second audition in the Hollywood Round, he sang "Waiting on the World to Change" again but this time, with a keyboard. In this third audition, he sang "Heaven" by Bryan Adams which truly is one of the greatest songs today. This was confirmed by Kenya Hathaway (one of the very talented back-up vocalists), who teared up during David's performance.
Let's all hope for the best for David and he will definitely go far!