Caio> then you say Bocelli, who has an impairment, sells because of that
> impairment.
Richard> Partially, yes. I stand by it. He is a novelty act; as I said, a
record executive likely saw him as having the varied marketable traits of
Feliciano, Ricky Martin, and the Three Tenors rolled into one act.
What exactly does he have of Martin?
Richard:>I don't think so. At least in this country, I think he is very much
marketed as "the blind tenor". That may not be what they put in huge neon
letters on his album covers, but why else make sure that virtually every
image of his out there shows him with his eyes closed?
But those are HIS eyes! And, as I said here before, the impression I got
from him moving his eyelids as he sang was desperating to me. I don't see
how that could be seen as something positive. I think his image would be
much more easily assimilated if he wore sunglasses.
Richard:>You miss my point, and it's probably my fault, so I'll rephrase: if
she were a full-grown woman at the same level of training and with the same
set of vocal problems she has, I doubt anybody would lavish the same
attention on her.
But she wouldn't have the same timbre, the same angelical voice. That's her
great "product", I think. We have a teenage singer here in Brazil with the
same delicate, angelical timbre and that's what makes her so popular here
she has a duo with her brother, Sandy & Júnior, and they're their recording
company's most popular teen artists in the world. They're about to launch
their CD in English, so the US may be invaded by some more Latin singers
pretty soon! hehe )
Caio> Take the 3 Tenors, for example: don't you think that many people
bought
> their CDs ALSO influenced by what they heard and read about them being the
> best tenors alive, although they could not say what made them different
from
> any other tenors?
Richard:>Apples and oranges. Domingo and Pavarotti had been household names
since the 1970s. It also helped that they debuted as "the Three Tenors" at a
world-famous sporting event. Not only that, Domingo was a "crossover" artist
long before Peter Gelb ever ran Sony Classical - e.g., "Perhaps Love".<
C'mon, Richard, what's all that but marketing?!
Caio> But that still doesn't explain Church's and Brightman's successful
careers
> worldwide.
Richard>Church we've discussed thoroughly. Not sure why you need to bring
her up here.
>Brightman is a different case, since she's been pretty close to a household
name since the late '80s.
We're discussing what makes pseudo-opera singers so popular. You said it's
because they're Latin, and I gave you two examples of popular non-Latin
pseudo-opera singers that are not Latin.
Richard:>It's an issue of being a whole package. Assuming that a potential
customer doesn't care about classical music one way or the other, Boccelli
has at least four marketable traits: 1) He's foreign-looking (and thus
"exotic" and "interesting"), 2) He's blind, 3) he's good looking, and 4) he
has an unusually well-trained voice for a pop singer. I'll restate the idea
of the traits of Jose Feliciano, the Three Tenors, and Ricky Martin in one
act.
But remember that his foreign look is foreign only for Americans. Europeans
are used to that and he would be unnoticed in most Latin countries. So all
we've got to explain his WORLDWIDE success are reasons 2, 3 and 4. As I
said, I don't consider 2 very meaningful ( the same people who buy his
records by the 3 Tenors, Church and Brightman ), I don't understand how but
I have to admit women agree with 3 and, finally, 4, which seems to be true
for most people ( but not to me. I think that semi-operatic singing is
inappropriate for pop music. That's too cheesy to my taste, like Brightman
singing pop ).
>I'm just arguing that a) he is no way an "opera singer", it's just that
there are people making money off of selling him as an "opera singer" (which
is what I have a problem with)<
I understand that, but, you see, if I were not a member of Vocalist I
wouldn't know there's a difference. Before I started reading the posts here
I would define an opera singer as a singer who sings operatic repertoire, as
we generally define a rock singer, an R&B singer, etc, etc. EXoterically
saying, he's being sold under the expected label.
Best wishes,
Caio
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