Don't get me wrong, I like "Just Stand Up", but if there was ever evidence that getting 15 female pop stars together to perform can be a hot mess, this was it.
The 15 women came together (replacing Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge was Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls) to perform the cancer charity song for both tonight's "Stand Up 2 Cancer" and the Fashion Rocks special. Now, anyone who has seen group performances with primarily female singers (the VH1 Divas concerts are good examples) knows that with all the vocal acrobatics that all of them will try to do, it could ugly.
Well...
It was pretty good, so to speak. The chorus actually sounded good, although I suspect some people weren't singing. The solos were the real problem for some. Miley, Nicole (why was she there?), and Fergie sounded bad, mostly because they aren't strong singers.When you put mediocrity side-by-side with superiority, the gap appears much larger. Natasha Bedingfield sounded good, but her attempt at a power note came off awkward. Mary J. Blige and Leona Lewis were easily the best, although Leona just stuck to her part with an embellishments. Keyshia Cole and Carrie Underwood sounded okay. Mariah was practically sleeping during the performance. Again, I love her, but she looked and sounded bored and uninspired. It was cringeworthy. Just like in the song, Ciara and Ashanti showed why they were unnecessary in the group, which is a shame (how does Miley get a bigger part than a chart-topping, Grammy-winning Ashanti?).
The performance did its job, but I doubt we will ever see it again. It's always good to see our favorite pop divas come together for a good cause, so for that reason alone, I deem it a success.
Sort of.
Rating: B-
1 comment:
I totally agree with your assessment about tonight's performance. For me Miley Cyrus and Fergie did the most to destroy their sections of the song, and all the singers looked a little stiff singing/standing in a line like that. As you mentioned, you don't see too many instances where so many current stars of Top 40 radio join for a cause, so it was still worth a watch and listen.
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