Paul Potts - Brittain Has Talent

On June 14th, Yahoo posted a link to a video clip of Paul Potts, the winner of "Britain Has Talent." Out of curiosity (and because I like classical music in general), I checked out the clip, and wow. Here was this unassuming 36 year old who looked very much out of his element, until he sang the first note to Nessun Dorma. His short performance made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He sang from the heart, and I felt it. The judges did as well. I loved Simon Cowell's look of unbelief as he listened to the song. I forwarded the Youtube link to family members, and their reaction was pretty much on par with mine. Music's ability to touch the soul is one of life's wonders.

The response to Paul Potts' performance was overwhelming; he touched a lot of folks with his singing. Last time I checked, one of his clips on Youtube had over 5 million views with mostly positive reactions! But as usual, the detractors climbed out from under their rocks. Snobby opera afficionados, Morons, and ne'er do-wellers all chimed in with negative comments. I am not placing them all in the same category, believe me. But most of the "hating" towards the Paul Potts phenomenon was clearly silly.

He sings nice, but he's no Pavarotti.

Who is? Pavarotti is a legend, and only a handful of individuals have that quality of voice. Does that take away from Mr. Pott's performance?

He has had classical training, he attended a couple of master classes with Pavarotti.

And the point is? Master classes are a good way to get insight from a professional, but they do not make you a better singer. There's no short formula, there's no magic wand--you still have to have the voice and the self-discipline to evolve your talent and craft.

Paul Potts will never be a professional singer, Carusso is much better!

Sad but true, there are morons who have nothing better to do than to fill comment sections with this type of drivel. And we wonder why a lot of kids hate going into classical music. Aspiring classical musicians will feel this sort of unwarranted criticism througout their careers. Even established artists get slammed by talentless critics. Kissin sucks, Horowitz was much better, etc. Insane.

Well, aside from the recording contract and money that Mr. Potts won, there was something else that happened: people started listening to opera! Even people who aren't into the genre. All of a sudden, we saw not only Pott's Youtube clips gain an increase in views, but also clips by great tenors like Domingo, Pavarotti, and other heavyweights. This humble man accomplished in a span of several weeks what thousands of artists haven't accomplished in a lifetime. Brilliantly done, Mr. Potts!

Life is Short Folks...

A co-worker called this morning, informing me that she would be late to work. She was distraught as 3 of her nieces died in a car crash early this morning. She started breaking down in between sentences--this was tragic.

Her sister-in-law was driving from Arizona, along with her 4 daughters and 1 niece. They were making the trip to California to attend a wedding near Modesto this coming weekend. It was early in the morning when at 65 mph, the right side of their Chevy Tahoe rammed into the back of a stationary big rig parked along the shoulder of the highway. The right side of the Tahoe litterally ripped appart from the car, ejecting 2 daughters and pinning the other girl amidst a tangle of metal. I hope they all passed away instantly.

I told my co-worker to take the day off--she sounded in no condition to come in to work--but she felt that she didn't have enough PTO available, and she would have to take a day off for the funeral. So she made it in to work. Life's a bitch, isn't it?

She e-mailed me the article, which happens to be on-line, and I was overcome with emotion. I gave her my condolences and choked up a bit. What can you say to someone after such a tragedy happens? Can you imagine the parents?

You just lost 3 out of 4 kids, sorry about that.

She told me that her Dad had been unable to tell her Brother. The father of the girls didn't know until he made it out here to California. His wife had to give him the knews. Something like this is enough to crumple anyone to the ground. It is a stab in the heart, a wrenching of the proverbial serrated sword in the gut.

Life is short, Folks. We can be here one second, and gone the next.

Gone in the blink of an eye.

Tell your loved ones that you love them. Settle your scores. Forgive those who have offended you. Three little girls lost their lives in an instant and a beautiful family from Arizona was broken forever. This can happen to anyone at any time. To paraphrase the Good Book: No one knows the day or the hour...