Two Great Articles in Support of CÉLINE's Incomparable Talent...

[ANewDay...]

FIRST ARTICLE

 

source: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2008...ent_6563478.htm

 

Celine, Whitney, Barbra ... the verdict is out!

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)

Updated: 2008-03-25 09:51

 

 

A Celine Dion concert is much more rewarding than one by Whitney Houston, but it does not possess the rich texture from a similar outing by Barbra Streisand.

 

 

Of the three divas, Celine has a voice that is closest to the glorious one recorded in studio, while Houston live was a mere shadow of her recording.

 

Unlike Whitney, Celine takes great care of her voice and gives her all on stage.

 

Chinese fans do not like the rendition of a hit song totally unrecognizable or a melodious line chopped into pieces, umm, Whitney-style.

 

But Celine does not deliver slavish copies of her recordings either. She has the right ratio of spontaneity to dazzle audiences in this culture.

 

What I found lacking is a variation of treatment. Many of the songs are orchestrated in such a similar way - with spare instrumentation at the beginning, building to a crescendo and topped with a leap in octaves - that there seems to be too many climaxes along the way.

 

 

Imagine The Power of Love as a second number. Over here, it could well be the one before Titanic theme song.

 

 

The arrangements of the songs have their own logic: The program gives names like "Passion", "Rock" etc. But it does not have a dramatic arc like Streisand's Timeless concert.

 

If only Celine Dion had performed in stage musical productions, she would have gained a sharper sense of on-stage tempo.

 

Likewise, fans like me would love to hear her in such Broadway classic numbers as You'll Never Walk Alone and Climb Every Mountain, where the typical Celine treatment would bring out a new pop sensitivity.

 

When she covers the right songs, like, say, The Power of Love, she puts her imprint on it and makes it her own. People may even forget the original version. With her gusto and vocal gift, she may even be a contender for an ever-soaring Olympic theme song.

 

(China Daily 03/25/2008 page19)

 

 

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SECOND ARTICLE

 

source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556250/2...on_celine.jhtml

 

Apr 4 2007 6:01 AM EDT

 

'Idol' Judges Warn: 'Don't Sing Celine, Whitney, Stevie' — Yet So Many Try ...

Randy Jackson tells contestants to stay clear of certain artists — so why do they keep coming back for more?

By Corey Moss

 

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As the music director on "American Idol," Rickey Minor is well schooled on how to sing a Celine Dion song in a competition.

 

"You don't," Minor said bluntly. "You simply don't. Can you play one-on-one [basketball] with Kobe? No. So don't do it — you're gonna lose. Now, you can play with someone else and have a great game and have fun."

 

If Minor's words sound familiar, it's because he subscribes to the same school of thought as judge Randy Jackson, who has berated contestants over the years for taking on the biggest and best singers of all time.

 

As Jackson repeats nearly every week, some artists are untouchable. Celine and Whitney Houston are at the top of the list, followed by Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and even Christina Aguilera. Randy has also said the same about Stevie Wonder, even though the show had a Wonder-themed week last season.

 

So if one of the judges and the leader of the band are advising the "Idol" hopefuls to avoid these singers, why are their songs among the most sung on the show?

 

Well, the catalogs of artists like Dion and Wonder are so vast that perhaps they are just too difficult to ignore. But the more likely answer is that the contestants just don't agree — or care.

 

"I think if you can sing, you can sing any artist," recently eliminated contestant Stephanie Edwards said. "The only thing is, if you're going to sing somebody's song that they sang very well, don't sing it just like them, because if you sing it just like them, they are going to compare you to that artist. Like with me and the Chaka song ['Sweet Thing']. I didn't sing it like Chaka Khan, but I still was compared to Chaka Khan. So it kind of didn't go like I wanted it to go."

 

"I think you have to know what you can sing and what you can do," added LaKisha Jones, who clinched her way into the finals with Houston's "I Have Nothing." "Before I learned Aretha and before I learned Jennifer Holliday, I've always sung Whitney, so I knew that I could sing a Whitney song. And a lot of people can't because she has a five-octave range, but I like to challenge myself."

 

Another reason so many songs from the so-called untouchables end up on "Idol" is because the singers are constantly being given lists of songs that are available rights-wise, and those by Celine and other untouchables are often included.

 

"That's why I don't agree," season-six semifinalist Jared Cotter said. "What are the songs there for? What are they on the list for? The fact is, what's good about those songs is that nobody is going to do them the same. I'm not going to do it like Stevie did it — I tried, but I'm not Stevie Wonder, you know? I'm me. I put my own different twist to it."

 

Still, Cotter's rendition of Wonder's "If You Really Love Me" got him a disappointing review and sent him home. "As much as [Jackson] said that I didn't have any originality, I really feel like if he did his homework and went and looked at the videotape, that I did," Cotter insisted.

 

Brandon Rogers, who worked as a backup singer for Aguilera before making the "Idol" finals, pointed to this season's youngest contestant, Jordin Sparks, to prove Jackson and Minor wrong.

 

"She sang [Aguilera's] 'Reflection' and blew it out," Rogers said. "That's one of the untouchables and she touched it."

 

Contestant Blake Lewis also disagrees that some singers are untouchable and, not surprisingly, said it's "all about the arrangement." "That and where it lies in your voice," he said. "If you think you can sing a song, go for it."

 

Debra Byrd, the show's vocal coach who often sides with Jackson and Minor, agreed that LaKisha nailed Whitney.

 

"It works when they put their stamp on it," she said.

 

As for "Idol" co-executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, he's not sure he would put too much stock in anything Jackson or any of the other judges say.

 

"If I was a contestant listening to everything that's been said over the last six seasons, I wouldn't know what to do," he said. "They tell you one week you're playing it safe and then the next week they tell you it's dangerous.

 

"You just have to go out there and sing and knock their socks off, end of story," he concluded.

[Terre]

Nice articles! Thanks for sharing!

[Claudette]

Thanks for sharing. It is so nice to read something positive about Celine for a change. And the articles speak the truth. To me Celine really is the best live singer out there... I always thought that Whitney is one of those singers that sounds amazing on an album, but she can't deliver the song live (don't get me wrong, Whitney is amazing, but I always end up a bit dissapointed with her live performances).

[hellmeister]

What a pleasure to read something positive about Miss Dion

thanks!

[valush]

wo0ow !! great articles !! thank you so much for sharing

 

CeliNe Definitely RoCK's!

[I Love You]

Thank you so much for the articles and Celine kicks Butt.

[smw]

I often find myself comparing one singer to another...and I have to step back and stop myself.

 

Whitney Houston could deliver live. Like right here.

[Defyxx]

something nice about celine, thats awesome!!

[ANewDay...]

i fully agree with the content of both of these articles, hence why i posted them in the first place, but the one point i do disagree with, at least partially, is the alleged fact that WHITNEY cannot deliver live...

 

granted, in the present time, her performing days do seem to be over, but who knows? perhaps her voice will recover, at least, again, partially, as it did when when was recording her latest album in the studio which, for the record, is rather great and engaging... lord knows that she has definitely has offered us a multitude of flawless live performances, especially in her "pre-Bobby" years...

 

CÉLINE, on the other hand, seems to shine, shine and SHINE, and i say this, having had the privilege of attending a show of hers in MONTRÉAL supporting her TAKING CHANCES album world tour; she delivers, and is just so damn consistent! a definite force to be reckoned with!

 

peace and love to all CÉLINE supporters and, of course, to CÉLINE!

 

it is a GREAT VOICE (soul, mother, person, singer, etc.) that we are indeed supporting...

 

- ANewDay...

Edited November 2, 2009 at 05:39 AM by ANewDay...

[Lou555]

i fully agree with the content of both of these articles, hence why i posted them in the first place, but the one point i do disagree with, at least partially, is the alleged fact that WHITNEY cannot deliver live...

 

granted, in the present time, her performing days do seem to be over, but who knows? perhaps her voice will recover, at least, again, partially, as it did when when was recording her latest album in the studio which, for the record, is rather great and engaging... lord knows that she has definitely has offered us a multitude of flawless live performances, especially in her "pre-Bobby" years...

 

CÉLINE, on the other hand, seems to shine, shine and SHINE, and i say this, having had the privilege of attending a show of hers in MONTRÉAL supporting her TAKING CHANCES album world tour; she delivers, and is just so damn consistent! a definite force to be reckoned with!

 

peace and love to all CÉLINE supporters and, of course, to CÉLINE!

 

it is a GREAT VOICE (soul, mother, person, singer, etc.) that we are indeed supporting...

 

- ANewDay...

 

Well said!

[ghazal]

thanx nice one

[luciusbright]

Oh, they are talking something right we fans are thinking!

seems there are still someones from media are living in the same world with us~~~~

 

and of course, Chinadaily, oh yes!!!

[CarrieOn]

Yes great articles! Thanks for sharing!

[ANewDay...]

it was my pleasure to share these articles as, well, you know, we fans are so used to reading negativity about CÉLINE when, in actuality, her professional AND personal lives are nothing but POSITIVE.

 

thanks to all who read, and i encourage others out there to read, as these articles do in fact remind us that there are still some journalists out there who make sense...

 

peace!

 

- ANewDay...

[valush]

Great info,Thank u so much 4 Sharing!!!

[Celinefanatic07]

Thanks dude! You know you're a legend when people are saying that your songs are "Untouchable".

[felurial]

Thanks for sharing!

[Costa Santos]

Nice! Thanks!

[ANewDay...]

let us fans continue to read such POSITIVE feedback on such a POSITIVE diva: our CÉLINE...