American Idol Review – Asia’h Epperson and How To Sing With Power
Posted on 28. Feb, 2008 by Per Bristow in American Idol, Performance, Singing
A very common tendency among up-and-coming female singers is to have little strength in the low registers and then overcompensate and force the voice in the high range. We see this a lot in this year’s American Idol too – wavering and weak singing in the verses (that tend to be in the low range) compensated by screaming like crazy in the high range – the so-called power notes. Here’s an example….
Asia’h Epperson has been one of my favorite singers. However, in yesterday’s rendition of All By Myself she got lost. The judges talked about the song being too big for her. I’m not so sure. I think she could pull off the song wonderfully. The problem was that she felt the song needed to be big and therefore worked so incredibly hard to live up to it.
She was working every word and every phrase with force and physical strain. This actually compresses and restricts the sound in addition to hindering true passion.
When the singer discovers that one can sing with far greater power with less effort, not only do you get the desired power, but you are now free to also express truthfully. The proverbial “less is more” applies here too.
Apparently she had been sick, so it is understandable that the lack of strength made her compensate and force more. However, as brilliant as I think she is, this is a tendency she has had even in the past. As a coach this tendency to force is a concern, not only because it hinders true expression and charisma, but also for vocal health reasons.
Asia’ Epperson is far from alone. Many of the female singers have this tendency. It’s understandable since the judges are constantly encouraging the power notes. The question is how to achieve them so they indeed become powerful, soaring notes that send chills through our spines.
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One Response to “American Idol Review – Asia’h Epperson and How To Sing With Power”
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ka
21. Apr, 2008
And what’s the answer??
