Hear them sing! Songs and voices on Glee

[MizStaken]

Having heard Darren live, I think he is a much better performer than people seem to think. He's not the greatest but no worse than Katy Perry or Kesha to name a few. Definitely better than Justin or any of the boy banders.

[Sara2009]

Some of the boy bands like N'SYNC have suprisingly good vocalists(ie. as good as Matt and Kevin), but I think most of the cast are better than Katy and KESHA.

I don't think Darren is a very good live performer, but that's just my opinion.

[KatWay]

Darren has some energy and charisma at least, though his voice is hit or miss at live performances. His wild faces look a bit weird on the show sometimes, but they work live IMO. He's like the opposite of Ariana Grande (not Glee, I know) for me, who has great vocals but no stage presence whatsoever and just kind of looks like she just randomly walked in there. And only has one facial expression.

 

I grew up in a family full of classically trained musicians and have been in choir all my life, but I still tend to prefer some of the untrained voices to the more trained ones - Lea is good but I only listen to her songs when I like the songs, never just to listen to her. I dislike almost all of Chris' ballads, his faster stuff is usually pleasant to listen to. I love Cory's voice and Dianna's (unless they don't fit the songs at all), even though they're among the least trained of the bunch. I think Amber is madly talented and probably the best of the bunch in terms of range and versatility but I don't like her on every song. Like, I would have preferred Dog Days Are Over as a Jenna solo.

 

I also subjectively like Becca's and Melissa's voices equally, despite the fact that Melissa is clearly much more trained (she's a really good singer IMO, even if Marley sucked the life out of every scene she was in).

[jaytee1812]

 

I also subjectively like Becca's and Melissa's voices equally, despite the fact that Melissa is clearly much more trained (she's a really good singer IMO, even if Marley sucked the life out of every scene she was in).

I like Melissa's voice but christ they gave her some dreary ballads to sing. I love her on Blow Me One Last Kiss (though I'm not keen on Alex on that song) she looked and sounded fantastic.

[Sara2009]

Darren definitely has energy, but he usually seems a bit TOO excited to me. I get why that appeals to some, but it makes me cringe a bit.

Melissa has a great voice. I didn 't appreciate her much until I saw a video of her singing live with Sarah Hylahd.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Sara2009

[caracas1914]

It's sort of irrelevant to me who's good "live" and who isn't. For Glee what matters is how effective they come across on screen. There is alot of auto tune focus and tweaking for a lip synched musical performances which is what most Glee performances are anyways.

The "Rumors/Someone like you " mashup I enjoyed because the choreography/visuals/set up and vocals looked and sounded great on screen to me and enhanced an ongoing storyline.

Edited August 15, 2014 by caracas1914

[jaytee1812]

"Rumors/Someone like" mashup  you I enjoyed because the choreography/visuals/set up and vocals looked and sounded great on screen to me and enhanced an ongoing storyline.

 

I love that performance, I thought Naya in particular sounded amazing, and your right it did really enhance the storyline, you early got Santana's pain in that song. Although that is a bit strange as neither song relates even slightly to what Santana was going through. 

 

I'll disagree with you on one thing though, I hated the outfits and choreography. Actually I hated the outfits and choreography in general for The Troubletones. 

[caracas1914]

Lol I agree that the mashup wasn't a perfect fit lyrically to Santana, though I think it was more literally that she was the victim of "rumors'. The mashup though did seem to reference her angst ridden state and Naya acts/sings well that number.

Naya Rivera isn't the most technically proficient singer on Glee and she doesn't have the power or control of , say, Amber or Lea, nor the purity of Jenna, but she has a very distinct vocal sound that stood out from the other girls, almost an earthy jazzy tone to her which I find appealing.

[Sara2009]

It's sort of irrelevant to me who's good "live" and who isn't. For Glee what matters is how effective they come across on screen. There is alot of auto tune focus and tweaking for a lip

synched musical performances which is what

most Glee performances are anyways.

The "Rumors/Someone like you " mashup I enjoyed because the choreography/visuals/set up and vocals looked and sounded great on screen to me and enhanced an ongoing

storyline.

I agree that it's irrelevant in terms of what's enjoyable on the show,

I just meant that it matters if you're trying to determine who's the best technical singer.

[jaytee1812]

Because we’ve been talking about the best singers, I thought I’d compile a list of my favourite performances from everyone (apparently I need a better social life, and a job!):

 

Amber - I Will Always Love You 
Matt - Forever Young, Dream On
Lea - Don't Rain On My Parade,
Kevin - Lean On Me, Man in the Mirror
Melissa - Blow Me One Last Kiss
Alex - Wide Awake
Jenna - True Colours, also Wide Awake and Shake It Out (Breakaway would be here if it was just Jenna)
Chris - Being Alive 
Jacob - My Life, also Wide Awake
Naya - Rumour Has It/Someone Like You, (close run thing with the first version of Valerie)
Mark - Beth (close run thing with Sweet Caroline and Only The Good Die Young)
Darren - Somewhere Only We Know
Chord - Human Nature
Blake - Everybody Hurts
Heather - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (apart from this she only seemed to sing songs I hate!)
Harry - Cool, also L-O-V-E
Dianna - Never Can Say Goodbye
Becca - Wide Awake
Cory - Jessie’s Girl, Man in the Mirror

 

Make of it what you will that it’s dominated by season 1 and 3 (2 songs each from seasons 2, 4, and 5). Some of these were really easy, some I actually had to look through their performances, others had too many I wanted to choose. 

[Sara2009]

I love both your choices for Matt. I'd also be tempted to include " Leaving on a Jet Plane" and any of his duets with Cheno(excepting " Raise Your Glass).

I think my favorite Alex performances are " Boogie Shoes" and " If I Were A Boy."

[jaytee1812]

I love both your choices for Matt. I'd also be tempted to include " Leaving on a Jet Plane" and any of his duets with Cheno(excepting " Raise Your Glass).

I think my favorite Alex performances are " Boogie Shoes" and " If I Were A Boy."

 

I nearly went with 'Alone' for Matt. 

 

I do love Alex performance of 'Boogie Shoes', but it was overruled by my love for Wide Awake (best song from season 5 imo). I can't stand 'If I Were a Boy', not Alex performance, the song itself. 

[Sara2009]

Vocally speaking, my favorite " Glee" song is probably " One Less Bell To Answer/ A House Is Not A Home." The performance is a bit too long, but the vocals are gorgeous. I remember when the two of them performed it live, and it sounded just as amazing.

[BizBuzz]

I thought Glee was some nonsense teenie bopper thing my daughter was watching until I saw the performance of To Sir With Love, and then I fell in love and binge watched until that point.  For a while anyway.

 

I always liked the mash ups, my fave was Matt doing Young Girl/Don't Stand So Close.

[Sara2009]

I thought Glee was some nonsense teenie bopper thing my daughter was watching until I saw the performance of To Sir With Love, and then I fell in love and binge watched until

that point. For a while anyway.

I always liked the mash ups, my fave was Matt doing Young Girl/Don't Stand So Close.

The performance of the 2nd one was hilarious all around.

[tom87]

it means I'm very young and it's hard for you to stand close to me

 

[Sara2009]

I think that scene was the start of Will misinterpreting song lyrics. LOL

[Hana Chan]

My biggest issue with the "big voiced" girls on the show (Lea & Amber) is that more often than not, more emphasis is paid to showing of their vocal technique and strength and not enough of real emotion. This is especially problematic with Lea - it's been a very long time since I've heard her sing anything where I actually got a visceral emotional reaction. It is more a case of just being asked to admire how strong a singer she is and her ability to project rather than actually get any sincere emotion from Lea. Her performances now usually leave me petty cold. She's a great technician, but it's all surface - she uses power as a substitute for getting to the real emotion of a song.

 

With Amber, she's a more soulful performer and I do get more emotion from her than Lea, but I still feel like the musical directors ocus too much on the power in her voice and it makes her look like she has only one real mode of performing. The last time she or Lea really got to me in a vocal performance was when they sang "How Will I Know?" when they sang with Naya and Chris, but even here Lea stood out (not in a good way) for being more about belting and less about the real heart of the song.

 

My favorite singers on the show don't have Lea's and Amber's raw power and may not have perfect technique, but when they sing I actually feel something. Naya has a lot of Amber's soulfulness, but she's able to dial her power back to that quiet place and let the emotion pour out. Chris has grown in his technical prowess and projection power, but he hasn't lost his ability to tap into the emotion of a song and has a remarkable ability to act and tell stories through his vocal performances. He never substitutes power for emotion (which was very apparent in the diva off with "Bring Him Home"). Jenna has such a sweet and pure tone to her voice and when she has good material really can tell stories with her voice. And then we have Kevin who has all of Amber's soulfulness, but is a more naturally emotive performer.

 

And the less said about Darren (the beast that ate Glee), the better. He's pleasant (at best) when he's got material that sits right in his range and generally needs a lot of backing to sound good (which is way I've found his best performances were with the Warblers). And I don't get any real emotion from his singing - just a lot of mugging and using volume to make up for his lack of range and emotion. Why he's given so many songs on Glee and so many songs that he has no business trying to touch is beyond me.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Hana Chan

[Sara2009]

My biggest issue with the "big voiced" girls on the show (Lea & Amber) is that more often than not, more emphasis is paid to showing of their vocal technique and strength and not enough of

real emotion. This is especially problematic with

Lea - it's been a very long time since I've heard

her sing anything where I actually got a visceral

emotional reaction. It is more a case of just

being asked to admire how strong a singer she

is and her ability to project rather than actually

get any sincere emotion from Lea. Her

performances now usually leave me petty cold.

She's a great technician, but it's all surface - she

uses power as a substitute for getting to the

real emotion of a song.

With Amber, she's a more soulful performer and I do get more emotion from her than Lea, but I still feel like the musical directors ocus too much on the power in her voice and it makes her look like she has only one real mode of performing.

The last time she or Lea really got to me in a

vocal performance was when they sang "How

Will I Know?" when they sang with Naya and

Chris, but even here Lea stood out (not in a

good way) for being more about belting and less

about the real heart of the song.

My favorite singers on the show don't have Lea's and Amber's raw power and may not have perfect technique, but when they sing I actually feel something. Naya has a lot of Amber's soulfulness, but she's able to dial her power

back to that quiet place and let the emotion pour

out. Chris has grown in his technical prowess

and projection power, but he hasn't lost his

ability to tap into the emotion of a song and has

a remarkable ability to act and tell stories

through his vocal performances. He never

substitutes power for emotion (which was very

apparent in the diva off with "Bring Him Home").

Jenna has such a sweet and pure tone to her

voice and when she has good material really can

tell stories with her voice. And then we have

Kevin who has all of Amber's soulfulness, but is

a more naturally emotive performer.

And the less said about Darren (the beast that ate Glee), the better. He's pleasant (at best) when he's got material that sits right in his range and generally needs a lot of backing to sound good (which is way I've found his best

performances were with the Warblers). And I

don't get any real emotion from his singing - just

a lot of mugging and using volume to make up

for his lack of range and emotion. Why he's

given so many songs on Glee and so many

songs that he has no business trying to touch is

beyond me.

If you don't mind my asking, what do you think of Matt's voice?

[jaytee1812]

My biggest issue with the "big voiced" girls on the show (Lea & Amber) is that more often than not, more emphasis is paid to showing of their vocal technique and strength and not enough of real emotion. This is especially problematic with Lea - it's been a very long time since I've heard her sing anything where I actually got a visceral emotional reaction. It is more a case of just being asked to admire how strong a singer she is and her ability to project rather than actually get any sincere emotion from Lea. Her performances now usually leave me petty cold. She's a great technician, but it's all surface - she uses power as a substitute for getting to the real emotion of a song.

 

I think that's why I chose 'Don't Rain on My Parade' as my favourite performance from Lea. There is genuine emotion there, I believe every word. Then you get actual emotion ballads like 'What I Did For Love' and 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' and there's nothing. 

[Hana Chan]

If you don't mind my asking, what do you think of Matt's voice?

 

I do like Matt a lot. He's got a great tone to his voice and I haven't disliked anything he's done on Glee. Unfortunately he's been limited to mostly showtunes and pop songs that don't really let me see his emotional range as a singer. I certainly think that he's capable of it - we just weren't given a chance to see much of it on Glee.

[caracas1914]

Mark Salling is someone highly underrated for his singing voice on Glee.  I loved some  of his ballads, too bad he lost favor with the PTB and was shockingly underused most of his time on the show.

[jaytee1812]

Mark Salling is someone highly underrated for his singing voice on Glee.  I loved some  of his ballads, too bad he lost favor with the PTB and was shockingly underused most of his time on the show.

 

I love Mark Salling's voice, his rendition of Beth is outstanding. I was beyond gutted they did a Billy Joel tribute episode and he wasn't in it. 

[fakeempress]

Darren has some energy and charisma at least, though his voice is hit or miss at live performances. His wild faces look a bit weird on the show sometimes, but they work live IMO. He's like the opposite of Ariana Grande (not Glee, I know) for me, who has great vocals but no stage presence whatsoever and just kind of looks like she just randomly walked in there. And only has one facial expression.

 

I grew up in a family full of classically trained musicians and have been in choir all my life, but I still tend to prefer some of the untrained voices to the more trained ones - Lea is good but I only listen to her songs when I like the songs, never just to listen to her. I dislike almost all of Chris' ballads, his faster stuff is usually pleasant to listen to. I love Cory's voice and Dianna's (unless they don't fit the songs at all), even though they're among the least trained of the bunch. I think Amber is madly talented and probably the best of the bunch in terms of range and versatility but I don't like her on every song. Like, I would have preferred Dog Days Are Over as a Jenna solo.

 

 

Though it doesn't mater for Glee, a comment on Darren live - he has a very strong stage presence as a pop performer at his shows. I don't really care for his solo music but I can see he has energy, charisma and is very engaging, which is all a plus for his type of pop / singer-songwriter act. That his voice is not perfect or that he is not a perfect performer isn't de rigueur in this genre. I follow mostly indie acts and their singers come in all shapes and sizes as to quality of voice, so I'm used to "imperfect" and messy. So my problem with Darren is not his voice per se. It's his extreme overexposure on Glee and being showcased in any and all kinds of songs / genres regardless of whether they fit him or not. I agree Somewhere Only We Know is one of the best he's ever sounded on the show, and I also like his more croony numbers. He has a very distinct timbre in the more attractive lower range. Which brings me to why I can't take to Chord at all - he's not distinctive in any way, he's just so replaceable and mediocre as a voice and a performer - imo.  

 

I really like Matt, also Kevin apart from when he gets too nasal outside the funky numbers. I'm very partial to Chris' voice because it's distinct, surprisingly versatile, and also because it's soft yet has this ringing clarity to it for most of his range. Not a fan of Coldpay but I'd love to hear him sing more in that style because he sounded fantastic on what little solo part he had on The Scientist. This song was also one of the few where I could get behind Heather, and also one of my favorite of Cory's in S4. Lea is a conundrum - great voice but I'm so tired of her wailing style, and especially her habit of signaling the "turning it up" by those whoops (I don't really know what to call them) she does. Amber and Naya are voices I typically like when I hear them on the show but don't really listen to outside the episodes. Of the newbies I liked Jacob for the most part. 

 

In general, I get drawn to singers who have distinct and expressive voices, and know how to use them to best effect (aka not overdo it if they're also great techically). I also have a very soft spot for baritones.

Edited August 18, 2014 by fakeempress

[Sara2009]

I think Jacob is EXTREMELY impressive for someone who hadn't sung much(at all?) prior to " Glee."

[jaytee1812]

I think Jacob is EXTREMELY impressive for someone who hadn't sung much(at all?) prior to " Glee."

 

I love listening to him, I think he's a really great all-round performer. 

 

One thing though, he cannot duet with Melissa, their duets sucked.  

[Sara2009]

Heh. I think they were the romantic couple that sounded the best together. Different strokes and all that I guess.

[tom87]

I cna not think of  one song they sang together except a Britany song which I can remember either.

[Glorfindel]

Lea is a conundrum - great voice but I'm so tired of her wailing style, and especially her habit of signaling the "turning it up" by those whoops (I don't really know what to call them) she does.

It's called 'scooping' (starting a tone too low and then 'scooping' it up to where it's supposed to be), but I think 'whoops' is a perfect word for it. ;)

Agreed on your post, btw.

 

I'd also like to add Jenna as a favorite singer of mine, because of the warmth in her voice and something I can only describe as 'joy' in it, combined with good vocal techniques. It's a shame they haven't let her sing more (same goes for Matt btw). I also have a soft spot for Dianna's voice: not so strong and trained as some others, but on the right songs she sounds absolutely lovely.

 

And that's basically what Glee unfortunately hasn't mastered over the years: assigning the right songs to the right singers, finding songs that match the timbres and voice capacities of the cast. They've had some wonderful matches of songs and singers, some even very surprising and unusual, but there's been some huge misses too.

I think the music producers know for the most part what fits who and do their best to make do with what they have to work with (and I certainly don't mean by that that they have to work with bad singers, but that they sometimes have to put a square peg into a round hole musicwise), but probably due to the writers just wanting certain songs in the show sung by certain characters regardless if the actors of those characters can sing those songs and do them justice, the talents and strong sides of the cast's voices are often not utilized while their weaker sides sometimes get unintentionally exposed.

And this sucks twofold, as:

#1) a song gets "wasted/ruined" by a singer who can't really help not being a good fit to it and is only doing his/her best, and

#2) fans of a singer who would be a much better fit get frustrated because of the lost opportunity/potential.

Imo it all boils down to that the people who are making these decisions and are assigning (main solos in) songs are not professional musicians, or putting it more strongly after 5 seasons of Glee: don't seem to have any basic knowledge of music and voices at all. (Or maybe they just don't care.)

[jaytee1812]

Heh. I think they were the romantic couple that sounded the best together. Different strokes and all that I guess.

 

I don't mind listening to 'You're All I Need To Get By' or 'Crazy/U Drive Me Crazy' but they look ridiculous performing together. I like Melissa's voice but she is probably the worst female dancer ever to perform in Glee, Jacob is one of the best dancers on the show. Their duets either have them both completely still or her sitting/standing while he dances. I actually wish they'd kept Jake and Kitty together or establish some reason for them to duet again because I thought Jacob and Becca doing 'Everybody Talks' was fantastic.

[Hana Chan]

There are so many songs that I do indeed feel got "wasted" because they were either used poorly, had the wrong singer and just made no sense in the context of the episode.

 

One that immediately comes to mind was "Glitter In The Air". It is one of the most gorgeous, emotionally vulnerable songs about throwing caution to the wind and embracing love and Lea's version basically hit the notes without capturing any of the song's raw emotion. Then we have the context - using the song to try to convince the writer for her prospective tv pilot about the importance of music and joy. It just didn't work there for me. It would have made far more sense for the song to have been assigned to Kurt's storyline, as he was in the position of having to choose listening to his heart vs his head when it came to his relationship to Blaine. Using it in Rachel's storyline was pointless.

 

The same with "The Rose". They could have picked any song for Rachel's failed LA audition, but again they chose one of the most beautifully written songs about heartbreak and wasted it as a throwaway solo that had no context in the scene or the character's story.  And again, Lea failed to find the song's heart and it was just a pretty but superficial rendition that immediately could be forgotten the instant she finished singing.

 

And I would be remiss if I failed to include "Against All Odds" in the wrong singer/wrong context listing. Darren could not handle the song's emotional heft (so we got the contorted faces to try to infuse the feeling that should have come out in his voice) and the inclusion of the song ended up making Blaine's crush on Sam carry far more emotional weight than it should have (given that Blaine was supposed to be focused on winning Kurt back).  Using the ultimate song of unrequited love over a fleeting crush was a major miscue that just served to make Blaine's character appear even more emotionally fickle.

[Lovecat]

[re: Darren]  I also like his more croony numbers.

Same!  I just have the average listener's appreciation for American standards, but "You Make Me Feel So Young" came on in the car the other day, and I literally went, "Ooooh, Darren should cover more of those, please!"  He has a nice warm tone when he's in his sweet spot, and I think that's why I like his and Chris's duets so much--the contrast with Chris's bright tone is interesting to the ear.  Unfortunately, Glee's music producers push him out of his comfort zone way too much.

[jaytee1812]

I know he wasn’t in the show at the time but I wish Jacob had done ‘Wanna Be Startin Somethin’. He's probably the best all-round singer/dancer among the students. 

 

I’d love it if Puck leaving for the Airforce had been a different episode and he’s been the once singing Movin Out, or if they shown him moving to LA with the same song.

 

I’m not sure if it would work with her voice, but I think ‘What I Did For Love’ would’ve been perfect for Quinn about Beth either in season 2 or 3.

 

I wish Jenna had sung ‘The Rose’, don’t care why. I also wish Breakaway had been a Tina solo, she was the one really breaking away, leaving her friends behind. The rest were going together.

[Sara2009]

I agree about the performance of " Crazy/You Drive Me Crazy." I just like Jacob and Melissa's vocals on the song.

As for Matt, I think he does really well at crooner numbers too. " Sway" is very underrated.

[Hana Chan]

I wish Jenna had sung ‘The Rose’, don’t care why. I also wish Breakaway had been a Tina solo, she was the one really breaking away, leaving her friends behind. The rest were going together.

 

Jenna would have sounded glorious doing "The Rose" - I think that she's  much more naturally emotive performer than Lea, and it would have worked with her storyline since she was dealing with a long line of heartache and disappointment.  Unfortunately I think this was another case of just tossing a song to the lead because someone BTS had a jones to see Lea perform an iconic song rather than determining if Lea was the right singer for that song or if it fit Rachel's storyline.

 

I want to clarify something - my criticisms on Lea's singing is not meant to be a slam against her. She is an astonishingly talented performer and there were times when she really impressed me. But I think that too often, especially in the past three seasons, her focus has been too much on showing off technique rather than just singing and letting the song breathe. It becomes more about showing off what her voice is capable of in a "look at me" manner than showcasing the material. It, unfortunately, makes a lot of her performances pretty to listen to, but emotionally inert.

 

And it's especially noticeable when compared to two other very talented singers (Naya and Chris) who are less technically perfect, but are able to tap into the meaning of a song and really expand upon the emotional message. If Lea asks me to just listen and admire, Chris and Naya invite me to feel. Lea is a technician as a singer, so it does come across as being a bit mechanical and affected, while Naya and Chris are more elemental. And unfortunately I've started to lose my awe of Lea's technical abilities. It's been a very long time since she's been able to surprise or impress me with her song performances.

[caracas1914]

I think that Lea did best in duets when blending in with other different or distinct voices, with Cory in something like " Born again" I think they sounded great, same with the Hummelberry BW duets , especially "For Good". Her and Darren were fun in " DYWMB" and one of the highlights of Season 2 for me was the "Unpretty/I feel pretty" duet with Dianna Agron. Ditto the rare times she sang with Matt Morrison.

Even as a big Lea fan, I can see some of her solos have a sameness after awhile and some lack of emotional connection to a song, the best example of this was the diva off with Kurt of "Bring him home", one couldn't dispute that hers was the more "broadway pipes " voice in it, technically "better" but the emotional plaintiveness of the song was missing, which Chris, for all his 'weaker' voice, nailed.

Where Lea excels is that because her voice is technically strong there is no heavy effort when she sings at a drop of a hat on Glee, it makes sense that Rachel is a star.

Edited August 19, 2014 by caracas1914

[Hana Chan]

The Diva Off was a great contrast in Lea's/Rachel's style vs Chris's/Kurt's. "Bring Him Home" is a difficult song because the whole song is staged around a deeply emotional moment of this particular character. Lea's version was more about showing off the scope and strength of her voice, while Chris's was more conscious of the song's deeper meaning and place in the musical. I think that Lea's approach would have been pretty interchangeable with any song, while Chris's was more specific to this particular song. And while Lea might have been technically "better" (a point that I would debate since showing the emotion of the song is a part of Broadway technique), Chris's was the better, more emotionally respectful performance.

 

I have no dispute with Lea getting so many songs, as she is the "lead" (or as much as a lead we can have in an ensemble show). It's that because she is missing that instinctive ability to show the emotional qualities of a song without resorting to stage faces and vocal tricks (like the scooping that Glorifindel identified). It ends up feeling like artifice rather than a performance that hits me viscerally. Lea too often substitutes her vocal strength and technique for a real emotional connection to the material, and I've never seen her able to manipulate the emotional quality of a song the way some of the other singers on Glee could. Her songs have to seamlessly match the emotional part of the storyline to be effective. Think her rendition of "Cry" after Rachel's botched NYADA audition compared to Chris's rendition of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" or "As If We Never Said Goodbye". Chris took the bones of those songs and was able to emotionally translate them for Kurt's story.

 

Again, this is not to say that Lea's not a tremendous singer and doesn't have a huge amount of talent, but it's what separates her as more a technician vs the artistic singer that Chris (and Naya and Jenna) are. And I'll agree that Lea is her best when she sings with others because she either is forced to dial back the power of her voice (like her "I Feel Pretty/Unpretty" duet with Diana) or she has the other singer provide the emotional underpinning to support her performances (like her duets with Chris).

[caracas1914]

I forgot to add that another great recent duet was in " Frenemies" with BRAVE , the pairing of Lea and Naya was fantastic in that song.

[jaytee1812]

I want to clarify something - my criticisms on Lea's singing is not meant to be a slam against her. She is an astonishingly talented performer and there were times when she really impressed me. But I think that too often, especially in the past three seasons, her focus has been too much on showing off technique rather than just singing and letting the song breathe. It becomes more about showing off what her voice is capable of in a "look at me" manner than showcasing the material. It, unfortunately, makes a lot of her performances pretty to listen to, but emotionally inert.

 

And it's especially noticeable when compared to two other very talented singers (Naya and Chris) who are less technically perfect, but are able to tap into the meaning of a song and really expand upon the emotional message. If Lea asks me to just listen and admire, Chris and Naya invite me to feel. Lea is a technician as a singer, so it does come across as being a bit mechanical and affected, while Naya and Chris are more elemental. And unfortunately I've started to lose my awe of Lea's technical abilities. It's been a very long time since she's been able to surprise or impress me with her song performances.

I've often wondered if that's Lea or Rachel. Does she perform that way because it's how Rachel would perform it (which I think is accurate), or is it just Lea that doesn't connect with emotion lyrics the same way as other performers on the show. 

[dizzyizzy01]

Singing and interpretation of emotion is all incredibly subjective.  I enjoy most of Lea's songs and find great feeling in them.  Yesterday, Don't Rain on my Parade, Defying Gravity v 1.0, Hello Goodbye, To Love you More, Taking Chances, Take a Bow, Paradise in a Dashboard Light, It's all coming back to me, are all pretty fantastic IMO.  But I agree, Lea (much like Darren) at times get turned into a human jukebox.  So when you're asked to sing a song that has no relevance whatsoever to the story line, I think it's more challenging to feel connected to the song as a viewer.  The Rose is a perfect example.  WTF was Rachel singing that in a non-musical audition anyway?

 

I don't find Naya particularly compelling except for the one Adele mashup.  Amber is a fantastic singer that I think delivers with the emotion as well.  Chris generally gets to sing songs that are more relevant to the story line, which I think helps in delivering the emotion.  

I've often wondered if that's Lea or Rachel. Does she perform that way because it's how Rachel would perform it (which I think is accurate), or is it just Lea that doesn't connect with emotion lyrics the same way as other performers on the show.

 

 

Lea has quite different mannerisms when she performs as herself so I think her performances on Glee are certainly character choices.  It's probably also the rushed nature of Glee productions.  Lea (although not as much in recent seasons) had by far the most anyone had to do.

[caracas1914]

I agree that Lea like Darren gets turned at times into human jukeboxes.  However the chasm technically is like night and day, at her worst you can still admire Lea's technique and power and range, where as I shake my head why they give Darren all these female power ballads (and Freddy Mercury!) that require vocal horsepower, which for all his charm and energy, he simply does not possess and you can't fake that. 

[Sara2009]

Lea breathes too loudly most of the time, though. But yes, she's undeniably technically superior to Darren.

[dizzyizzy01]

I agree that Lea like Darren gets turned at times into human jukeboxes.  However the chasm technically is like night and day, at her worst you can still admire Lea's technique and power and range, where as I shake my head why they give Darren all these female power ballads (and Freddy Mercury!) that require vocal horsepower, which for all his charm and energy, he simply does not possess and you can't fake that.

 

 

Oh I agree.  I think Darren is mediocre at best and awful when he's asked to sing outside his wheelhouse.  I'm just saying that their characters both sing a lot.

[Lovecat]

Lea breathes too loudly most of the time, though.

Yes! She inhales very slowly and audibly, like she's *tasting* the air, and it drives me bananas. In fact, when she's in ballad mode, she enunciates the same way, very deliberately, squeezing every drop out of every syllable. I think it's how she signals "emotion," but I find it a little off-putting.

[Hana Chan]

Yes! She inhales very slowly and audibly, like she's *tasting* the air, and it drives me bananas. In fact, when she's in ballad mode, she enunciates the same way, very deliberately, squeezing every drop out of every syllable. I think it's how she signals "emotion," but I find it a little off-putting.

 

This is exactly what I was talking about - how Lea uses vocal "tricks" to imply emotion that's not actually coming out in her voice. This, for me, is a big performance weakness. I don't know if it's a result of spending so many years doing Broadway shows, when you need to exaggerate the inflections in order to communicate to the audience in the cheap seats and she hasn't been able to make the transition to tv and the intimacy of the recording studio, but it's a real problem. I don't think that the direction she's getting on Glee is helping, in that she's being encouraged to overload on the belting, even in numbers that it seems very out of place in (like The Scientist where it really stood out unpleasantly when compared to the other singers). I think that the show is so caught up with the idea of showcasing Lea as "the voice of a generation" that they're actually degrading the quality of her performances. I found her singing much more engaging in season one and two than I did in season five.

 

I don't know if I buy the rational that Lea being a "human juke box" is the reason that she often fails to find the emotional core of a song because she's always sung a lot on the show. I'll agree that if the songs don't fit in with Rachel's storyline that she might have an issue in trying to translate an emotional message, but it doesn't explain the total absence of any emotion in her renditions of The Rose or Glitter in the Air. Even if all she was doing was copying the originals (and the arrangement for both was the same as the original recordings) there should have been something there. But there wasn't. It was just singing notes.

 

I've heard Lea in a few performances outside of Glee and she hasn't impressed me with her ability to give genuinely emotive performances, but I'll admit that I haven't seen everything (and therefore can't make a blanket judgment). If this is a conscious acting choice on Lea's part in how she approaches songs for Rachel (that Rachel is more focused on impressing an audience with her technique and quality of voice rather than giving really emotionally powerful performances), I would find it an odd choice given that Rachel is supposed to be such a phenomenal talent that no one can touch her (or to have none of her vocal teachers over the years calling her on this flaw). There have been just too many times when Lea (on Glee) needs to give those emotionally powerful performances and it ends up falling flat.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Hana Chan

[SNeaker]

Personally, I always feel that the emotion comes through in the vast majority of Lea's singing. It's why I consider her one of my all time favorites -- it's not just that her voice is stunning, it's that something about the way she sings gets me in the gut. I hear passion and power. But different strokes. Once there's a baseline of talent, the rest is really all subjective. Lea, Matt, and Amber to me are a cut above in terms of the mix of technique and authenticity, with Naya and Mark being my faves after that for having good voices (Naya's is great, Mark's is average but pretty) with a less polished quality but a lot of character in their singing. I never know where to put Kevin because he's a great singer whose voice I've gotten used to, but that Kermitty quality (which Jacob Artist has even worse) takes it down a notch for me. Jenna has a really nice quality in her lower register, but I often find her too childlike. Chris is very hit or miss for me with a 20% hit and 80% nails on a chalkboard rate.

[dizzyizzy01]

I don't know if I buy the rational that Lea being a "human juke box" is the reason that she often fails to find the emotional core of a song because she's always sung a lot on the show.

 

 

Well, I don't think she often fails.  People's emotions are subjective and individual to the person.  No two people feel the same thing.  I get a lot from Lea's singing. I think Lea's one of the best both technically and performance wise but the performance piece is subject to individual interpretation.  

 

Lea, Matt, and Amber to me are a cut above in terms of the mix of technique and authenticity,

 

 

I will always be incredibly disappointed that there weren't more duets among this combination.  Endless Love gave me one of my most favorite musical moments on the show ever.  Lea & Amber got a few "duets" together but most of the time they were solos being mashed together.

[tom87]

Personally, I always feel that the emotion comes through in the vast majority of Lea's singing. It's why I consider her one of my all time favorites

 

Agreed.  There have bene a few songs I have not like but it usually as much about the song then the performace.

 

So many different perceptions, I guess that is why no one can please everyone.

[Sara2009]

It's almost criminal that Matt and Lea have never sung a Broadway duet together.

[Glorfindel]

Lea breathes too loudly most of the time, though. But yes, she's undeniably technically superior to Darren.

Yes! She inhales very slowly and audibly, like she's *tasting* the air, and it drives me bananas. In fact, when she's in ballad mode, she enunciates the same way, very deliberately, squeezing every drop out of every syllable. I think it's how she signals "emotion," but I find it a little off-putting.

 Lea's audible breathing drives me nuts too. First of all it's very distracting from the song and its lyrics/emotions, and secondly it's not something a trained singer is supposed to do. Lea should know better.

Maybe it's part (a too exagerated part imo) of the characterisation of Rachel being an OTT diva and drama queen, but I find it highly irritating. To me it seems like a cheap effect: "Look at how hard I have to breathe in to produce those difficult and beautiful tones,..... and oh, I'm also supposed to be full of feels I can't keep inside".

 

This unnecessary loud breathing (and the 'scooping' she does) combined with both Rachel and Lea indeed being presented by RIB/Glee as "the voice of a generation", resulting in her having sung so many songs on the show (often just because, without a real purpose in the narrative), usually in full blast belting mode, has made me a lot less interested in and charmed with her songs the last few seasons. After all: there can be too much of a good thing.