MASTERCLASSLADY.COM

As September is shaping up to be an enormously busy month for me, I will not be submitting articles for the Final 3 and 2 singers. I wish the singers and the eventual winner great success in his or her musical career. It will be interesting to see how all of these young artists fare over the course of time.

It has been a pleasure to write these articles and I look forward to sharing more with you once the 7th season of American Idol resumes in January 2008.

Please come back often to read more commentary about the entertainment scene. Thank you to the fans who have taken the time to drop by and pay a visit. Your comments have been most appreciated.

by Rosanne Simunovic

Kudos to Paul Anka! He was a wonderfully supportive mentor this week and it was so good to see him work in such a positive way with these young singers. Brian Melo, I am sure speaking for all four singers, readily thanked him on stage for his valuable and informative coaching, saying that Paul Anka’s suggestions really assisted him to perform these songs with respect and artistic confidence.

This week, our Top 4 were challenged to perform two songs apiece in the company of a stellar group of musicians lead by the incomparable Orin Isaacs. It was an interesting evening of performances and, in all cases, one song fared better than the other.

Let’s have a look see, as we await the final results this evening. (more…)

by Rosanne Simunovic

I bet you didn’t think that I would write an article for the Top 5 performances, did you? Well, neither did I but I finally had a moment to myself and this is the result!

However, before you start the read, I have to say that I absolutely adored Kelly Clarkson’s input and interaction with the Top 5 singers. She is such a genuine and real person and I am sure that her experience as an American Idol must have been very beneficial to the mentoring process for the remaining five singers: Brian, Carly Rae, Dwight, Jaydee and Matt.

So kudos to Kelly! What a doll! (more…)

Who here was not enchanted by Kelly Clarkson’s mentoring strategy with our remaining five singers: Brian, Carly Rae, Dwight, Jaydee and Matt? She was a positive, yet constructive vocal coach and her youthful, genuine personality was instrumental to the successful performances of all the singers this week.

This was a great show. All the singers did extremely well, I thought, and their true potential as artists was a revelatory process this week.

I am running a little behind once again this week, as I am busy organizing my teaching schedule for the Fall season. Additionally, I have been enjoying my babysitting duties with my 20-month-old granddaughter. Little children truly are a full time job but it is sure a positive and life altering experience.

Please feel free to post your comments. I appreciate your patience.

by Rosanne Simunovic

I am a little late posting the Vocal Masterclass article this week, so I will dispense with the pre-Vocal Masterclass yada yada! As I said in the Top 6 discussion post, I thought this was a great show and I stand behind my first impression. So, throw oranges and apples and whatever at the computer screen if you don’t agree. Or you can leave a comment at the end of the article, but be nice! (more…)

I have been having a busy week, considering it’s only Monday. I will try to post a Vocal Masterclass article for the Top Six singers as soon as time permits.

Once again, I invite your sincere and honest feedback as we move precariously toward the end of this year’s season. It’s been one rocky road, hasn’t it? This is not the season that I envisioned.

I knew I should not have read the Canadian Idol Eastern Canada Spoiler thread on the Canadian Idol Message Board. This was an oustanding show and these singers are fighting like tigers and tigresses toward a strong finale.

Kudos to the Top 6. I thoroughly enjoyed the show tonight.

The Masterclass article will go up in the next couple of days.

by Rosanne Simunovic

The music of the legendary rock group, Queen, was showcased this week and I wondered how well our young singers would fare with this very difficult, extremely intense and distinctly theatrical music.

This is serious music, my fellow readers, and it separates the true artist from the karaoke singer. Individuality and creativity is the name of the game and, unless you are Freddie Mercury’s incarnate, you better come up with something truly exciting and inspiring.

Queen band members, Roger Taylor and Brian May, gave timely and inspiring advice to our Top 7 and appeared to be a wonderfully supportive and gifted team of mentors.

Let’s have a Masterclass peek or two at the Queen love fest shall we? (more…)

Let the pyrotechnics begin. I am sure there will be a ton of glitz and glamour during tonight’s show. Given the theatrically driven music that encompasses Queen’s unique and passionate vocal style, no expense will be spared by CTV and the Canadian Idol franchise.

I hope and pray these singers have done their homework, because nothing less than spectacular will be acceptable after tonight’s performance. You can’t “sort of” perform Queen, you must live and experience it.

Good luck to all the singers and please share your comments. The Vocal Masterclass article will be online as soon as possible -either Tuesday or Wednesday.

by Rosanne Simunovic

I had a great vacation last week and feel extremely rested. I am ready to resume additional Vocal Masterclass articles for this year’s Top 8 singers on Canadian Idol.

It was a pleasure to see Enrique’s mentoring system with our Group of Eight. He was an excellent resource for them, although I would have enjoyed watching him lend his expertise to a Latin –themed Top 8 performance. Personally, I feel that his special talents were poorly utilized for this show, but, perhaps, he was the only artist that identified with this more intimate kind of performance.

The cozy atmosphere of this week’s show blatantly highlighted the true vocalists of this competition. Additionally, it exposed the genuine emotional artistry of each singer, with some surprising and some not surprising results.

Very few of the Top 8 performers rose to the high level of expectation that I perceived when last season’s “Unplugged” show aired to brilliant acclaim. It signaled the fact that there was one unplugged instrument –the voice - that has been severely neglected in the selection process of this year’s crop of performers.

But, that’s another article. For now, let’s “masterclass” the Top 8 shall we? Have a good read everybody! (more…)