Can Russell Watson Cut It?

[Chris]

I have to confess that I am not a Russell Watson fan and I have seen him live before and never really thought much to him.

Fair enough, the lad was brave for trying but there are far better people who could have done this show and done much better.

I never really got the feeling that he was trying. More that he was treating it as a humorous aside and never erreally seemed to put his heart and soul in to the music.

My verdict:

Can Russell Watson Cut It?

Can He Buffalo!

[Testify]

sorry, he didnt cut it for me!! dont quit your day job mate!

[jcmoorehead]

Ahem... Russell was a total and utter wally :lol:

[RichieBoy]

Can he cut it?
He couldn't cut butter if that performance was anything to go by!!!

He didn't look the part, act the part and couldn't hold a note for love nor money.

I never liked him and haven't changed my feelings, he wasn't worthy to be up there and looked like he couldn't give a toss either.

Overall : Piss poor!

A smarmy, smug jumped up little prat and too much of a pretty boy, perhaps he should get his head out of arse then think about trying to cut it with the big boys!! (Especially Meat!)

All agree - say Aye!

[heat]

For F**k's sake - give the lad a break!!!

I ain't his biggest fan either, but even i can admit that he did really well up there with the god of rock.

He's an opera singer for christ's sake...it's something he's been trained to do, and once you learn one way to do something, it's very difficult to undo that way of thinking, but i think he gave it a fair crack of the whip. In a way, it's like asking a donkey to do a thoroughbreds job.

[mariella]

I think it is extremely brave to stand on a stage and sing BOOH With Meat Loaf! I really expected him to 'look like a clown' and to me, he didn't.
I don't like his music at all, but have to admit he has a good voice, just my opinion.
This was a 'one night only' kind of thing.

Love,

Mariella

[RichieBoy]

Alright perhaps a tad (only a tad mind) harsh, he did better than what i thought he would.

But having said that, him being an opera trained performer, surely he has the ability to change the way he uses his vocal chords?? Better than any other singer perhaps?

Not too sure about the comparison with donkeys and thurerbreads mind?
Animals have different builds - humans have similar vocal chords that can be adapted.

Any how apart from the singing I just don't think he was enthusiastic enough to and wasn't taking it as serious as he perhaps should have.

Sorry if i upset you there Heat but you've got to admit he could have pushed himself a bit more? Y/N?

[Sapphire Lady]

Come on. I don't think for a minute that Russell Watson seriously wants to be a rock singer.

It was a TV programme for entertainment purposes and probably to give RW the experience that he gained from it. I thought he looked like he was enjoying every minute of it.

He seems to be doing well enough as an opera singer. Did you not see the £50K BMW he was driving? :mrgreen:

[meatfan]

He's doing B****Y well as an opera singer! My brother loves Meat Loaf AND Russell Watson, but he does not do anything for me!

But I thoroughly enjoyed the programme and thought he did extremely well after a meek start!

Well done to BOTH of them - and I think Meat was pleased and was chuffed to have Russell on stage with him.

Heather.

[JJ]

Firstly in reply to Richieboy....An opera singer is trained to sing in a certain way, using particular muscles, and vocal chords, and most would not even attempt to try anything different for fear of ruining their operatic voices.

I am a Rock music lover not an opera fan, but I do like Russell Watson, and have heard him sing some contemporary songs very well too. Unlike many opera singers he is still a pretty down-to-earth sort of bloke, from an average background.
Personally, I thought he did a brilliant job considering he was obviously nervous at being thrown in at the deep end (and how much deeper can you get than BOOH?) 8O , and with the short space of time he had to practice. He worked well with Saxon as he seemed less intimidated by them than with Meat (and less face it who wouldn't be intimidated by Meat!) Being an opera singer, he naturally had the strength in his voice, and could match the power of Meat's and if he'd have been given more time to build on his confidence in singing Rock I am sure he'd have done far better.
I certainly feel he didn't do anything to embarrass himself and Meat seemed pretty impressed by his attempt too. Maybe they should try getting a rock singer to sing opera, and see how well they could adapt??!!!! So give the poor guy a break eh?!! :roll:
Oh...And having now seen Watson on that bike for the photoshoot...well I think he can look pretty sexy too !!!!! :wink:

[Testify]

Ok after reading what you have wrote, he did well, but to me he didnt put enough there. He was ok.

[bambi]

it was better than i expected, but i thought he was a bit up himself don't u think??

[Shadows On The Wall]

Dont hit me for saying this, but meat doesnt have the best voice, its the way he is which makes him such as great singer (his stage presence), nobody else can take that away from him. and btw i loved the bit on the programme where meat did those two different notes - just shows his range - he cud sing opera

[RichieBoy]

I agree with Shadows On The Wall Meat doesn't have THE BEST voice it is his stage presence, but also Meat's voice is that unique it is what makes him an exceptional singer! And yes I believe he could dabble in the opera scene too.

Which brings me back to what I said previously being an opera singer surely Russel "I'm so up myself" Watson can change the way his voice is projected.... I can understand what you said JJ .... but.... he knew what was required of him before he started trying to 'Cut It' he knew that his voice would have to adapt to a different genre of music.

And can I ask what is all this 'poor Russell' 'Poor lad' 'Give him a break'... he must have known what pressure he was going to be put under when he decided to do the program, and you cant tell me that someone with such a reputation as himself that he would have gone into the show blind not knowing that he would have to change his voice that drastically!!!

I bet a pound to a penny before he went out to LA he was with his own voice coach(s) going through the differences of Classical and Rock music and more than likely TRYING to get help singing BOOH.

Yes he was brave, yes the program was good entertainment... no I won't give him a break he could have backed out of the project before it got into motion HE WANTED TO DO IT! - and he is up for criticism good and bad... it just so happens I dont think he tryed hard enough he was just hoping his cockiness would get him through but it cuts no ice with me I am afraid.

[Asha]

Well, all i like to say is I enjoyed the programme, I didn't know Russell Watson, but I thing he has a very good voice. Very suited for Opera. He managed to get to meat power of voice at the end of BOOH. I really like to congrat him on that! It's a though thing to do, especially if you are not used to that raw kind off singing and certainly because you don't want to ruin you're voice, being a young operatic singer.

I think he Cut it because off that, because he gave it a shot. i do agree with Testify tho on the puting it there part, In the beginning off the programme he just stood there with his hand in his trouser pocket. Like it was: I Have to be here, so get it over with, attitude.
At the ens, on stage he did seem to give it something and he seemed to enjoy himself.

All in all not bad,
Asha

[dottie]

Um where would I start, listening to Russell Watson made me realise how Meats voice and presence command attention, Russell Watson's well - sorry just didn't cut it for me, his stage performance looked quite wooden, I can give Bat out of Hell sung with my daughter a lot more emotion than he did, and I'm not a professional singer, just for fun singer at karaoke.

But I will give Russell his due to have the courage to go up alongside Meat, no-one in their right mind should even contemplate this.
Also I would like to say that Russell should stick with what he knows best opera. But I still wouldn't put him anywhere in the same league as Pavarotti, Carreas, Dominigo, Callas etc.,

[Guppie]

Up untill yesterday, I never heard of this Russel guy I must admit. :oops:

I voted he can cut it, in the sence that I have respect for his attempt and having the guts to stand next to a Rock Legend such as Meat Loaf.

[greg]

ill must agree with my brother ritchie boy on this one. mr watson showed no emtion in fact he showed ~~~~ all . the way he looked the way he acted was like a mummys boy , & that is where he belongs still holding the apron strings , there would have been many other people who had been , given the chance we had gone for it , with both hands , it just shows people just can't do a meat cover he is out there on his own . watson was in out of hes depth & it showed , meats music is all about passion & watson for me has got ~~~~ all passion . piss of watson stick to opera where you belong all the best greg

[Frying Pan]

He did alright and was pretty strong in parts but he didn't look convincing enough at times. It was fun to watch though and a very enjoyable programme
Russell did use to sing Meat Loaf covers when he was trying to make his rise to stardom so I suppose he already had some practice.

[JJ]

Ok Richieboy, where exactly did I say 'Poor Russell' or 'Poor Lad'????

I wouldn't expect anyone to feel sympathy for him. I agree that he would have had a pretty good idea of what was expected of him and yes, he could have put more emotion into the song, but maybe his heart really wasn't quite in it, to be honest I don't think he was really happy with that particular song in the first place, perhaps he asumed he'd sing something else, who knows?? I simply said 'give him a break' because some seem to have written him off purely on principal without really giving us valid points for their argument.
We are all here to discuss, agree and disagree, I have no qualms about that, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but it isn't a discussion when some people simply say something is rubbish because they don't like the look of someone.....thats not a fair reason....that's prejudicial!!
I still stand by my viewpoint, and although Russell could have done even better, I think he did enough to show that the possibility was there, he did 'cut it'. I also agree that Meat could probably have sung opera in his younger days but that wouldn't apply to ALL Rock singers, in the same vein that few opera singers or pop singers come to that could sing ROCK!!!
I enjoyed the programme, although I thought they could have shown more...it seemed to me that they'd cut a lot out of that programme, maybe even stuff that would have explained his lack of effort. He was never going to be particularly convincing as he hasn't got the look, the hair or the attitude for Rock music, but that's something that is BORN in a person, not created! That was never going to happen, all he could do was sing and hope for the best. He was also going to be on the losing wicket having to sing to a whole roomful of Meat fans!!!!
Oh... and Watson doesn't come across to me as being particularly 'Up himself' anyway. I've seen many more 'celebrities' much further 'up' than him...with FAR Less ability in any genre of music!!!!!

[RichieBoy]

JJ in reply to your first line, I wasn't aiming those comments at anyone inparticular it was just a feeling from some of the comments that were made!!

I know I have said that I don't like him as a person and your right giving him a slating just for that is not fair... however the other reasons I think are valid reasons for an argument.

He was never going to be particularly convincing as he hasn't got the look, the hair or the attitude for Rock music
He didn't need the hair, look or even attitude it just would have been better if he had the most valuable aspect of the lot enthusiasm!!

Oh... and Watson doesn't come across to me as being particularly 'Up himself' anyway.
Oh I think he did!!

[meatfan]

Well said JJ - a very balanced opinion.

Heather.

[JJ]

Thanks Heather