A pretty lackluster Grammy Awards tonight, with no big surprises in the awards categories and the performances consisting primarily of four or five medley/hodgepodges where there seemed to be about 20 people on stage at any given time. The only truly magical moment was the “Across the Universe” medley that seemed to consist of every major current performer- it was quite priceless, seeing Stevie Wonder and Norah Jones next to each other. Now there’s a double-bill I’d pay big bucks to see.
Then there’s the double-bill you couldn’t pay me to see- Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez, who dueted on a Spanish song in what was famously (?) their first public appearance together. Now a note on J.Lo.: she’s been known for years for never, ever performing live: she’s never gone on tour, rarely performed live music on television, and done very little else to disprove the notion that she’s a non-talent whose music is only made semi-listenable by studio trickery.
So what does she do to quiet the critics when given the opportunity to perform live on the Grammy Awards? That’s right, she sings in Spanish, where no non-Spanish speaker will know she can’t sing! This reminds me of when Yasser Arafat used to say one thing about the peace process in English, and the exact opposite in Arabic.
Posted by Stephen Silver at February 14, 2005 12:38 AMSteve,
I find it hard to believe that any semi-conscious music listener couldn't figure out whether someone singing in a language other than english could actually sing well. That fact that people wouldn't want to listen to a song in another language is no excuse. If she sings live, and you want to bad mouth her singing, then listen to it and base your criticism on how well her voice stood up, not on what words she said.
Having not seen it, I can't tell you how she was, and not really being a fan of Miss Lopez, I really don't care too much.
But honestly, saying that the reason she sang in Spanish was so that her critics wouldn't understand would be akin to saying that a film critic who doesn't speak French can't comment on any French films.
There is much more to being a good performer than simply what language you use. and a great performance often transcends the artificial barriers of language (ask any opera fan).
Posted by: Dan at February 14, 2005 11:34 AM