I Still Believe from Miss Saigon Musical

[Guest Suzy_Yim]

Steph and Suzy at DPU's May Show

Tell me what you guys think. You can give me constructive criticism too. =) We sang this at our school's culture show. I'm the one that sings first...I was really nervous. =) Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1BjbjL2FXI

[Guest roujin]

i lovvve lovve this song. haha. i have to say this song is nuts...it requires the ability to sing low. gosh i remember having to play this song and all the verses were below the line.

when u guys did the duet part it was so cooo. my favorite part of the song. i wish ur partner had sung louder...its such a great part.

anyways you both were aweeesome. and nice stallin in the beginning haha.

[Guest hulie-oh]

Stage presence. You used your stage, but awkwardly. Believe it or not, ballads should be somewhat choreographed... basically, where to stand, when to move, and how to use your body (hands, legs, face) to show emotion in what ever part you are singing. You were basically walking around and I give you credit for looking like you were trying to reach out to the audience, but use your movements correctly. For instance, for one verse, stay on the left side of the stage... for the next verse, move to the right side of the stage. Find parts in the song (like verse changes, key changes, certain lines in a verse, etc.) to make your stage movements. You were kinda fidgety (from nervousness?) and that was a distraction.

You showed more emotion in your face than your partner, but not enough to get the message across. Furthermore on your facial expressions, make sure they agree with what you are singing. For example, say your line is "and he left me," use your face to show sadness, sorrow, perhaps even fear. Of course that only applies if your song is "depressing."

Also, your hand movements were used wrong. Resting your hand on your belly makes it look like you don't have enough support for what you are singing (I used to do that and a judge was annoyed and docked me points >_<). Holding onto the mic with both hands don't tell very much either. Use one hand to hold the mic and the other to help with expressing your song. Also, when singing, ALWAYS hold the mic at a 45 degree angle or less towards the floor so the audience can see your face. People want to see the singer behind the mic, not the mic.

Stage presence is extremely important when performing in front of people. Feeling what you are singing about is an important aspect of excellent stage presence. If you feel what you are singing, you should already have good stage presence, and your song and its emotions should reach out to the audience effortlessly. Nervousness and fear should never be an obstacle when you are already on the stage because if you were that nervous or fearful, you wouldn't have wanted to do it in the first place.

Very VERY important. Your stage presence should be professional until the song is over. Don't lose your emotions, expressions, posture, etc until the last note played isn't heard anymore. It's not that horrible with this piece you two picked. I have actually had to stand in character for 12 measures at the end of a song. You might feel stupid, but you look more stupid if you start pulling your hair back from your face or walking off the stage already. You know, something along those lines. Just stay in character.

Vocals. Very nice voices, both of you. Your's light and sweet and your partner's dark and rich. I was waiting to hear the both of you sing together to see if your voices blend well together because that doesn't usually happen. Surprisingly, your voices blended well together. Perhaps it's the ringing of your voices that help blend very nicely. And you chose the correct parts for your duet... that helped a lot.

Nice steady vibrattos also. Some parts were a bit shaky but perfection is hardly achievable when singing live. I just wish you two wouldn't have used so much. Some phrases could have used straight tone and then adding vibratto to the end for a bigger impact. Vibrattos can be overpowering and make the song not as good as it should be. Play around with straight tone to vibratto... you might just like it better.

Again, I need emotion (maybe more emotion) in what is coming out of your voices. Crescendos, decrescendos, vibrattos at the end, slowing down, speeding up, etc. Every phrase seemed to be on the same level and I could have definitely used more expression in your voices. It gets boring.

Pushing your notes will make it either flat or sharp, like when you sang "...you are here." I noticed that in several places. You know when someone sings a note and inside your mind, you're trying to push their note up or down just a notch??? That's how I felt in some parts of your song. Lighten it up. Pull back from singing so loud and that'll help somewhat. Alongside, when you start a different note, make sure you hit it on the dot as soon as something comes out of your mouth. There's a bit of "swooping" for notes. Think the note before you sing it.

Pronunciations. "I will return" right? Or is it "How will return?" Be careful because I heard the "H" in every "I will return." Pronunciations are important in singing musical pieces as well as several other different genres.

Lastly, I really did enjoy your tones and I liked how they blended together better than I thought it would. I do understand that you two might not be professionals but it doesn't hurt to come close. Besides, the more you know, the better. And really, even though this list of "constructive criticism" might be long and some of these things might seem hard when putting it all together, it's really not. If you feel it within you, a lot of these things should come naturally. I guess both you and your partner can use this "constructive criticism." No complaints, just could be better.

sorry so long.

[JohnnyMoon]

^haha wow long comment up there...

I really have nothing much to say after seeing the comment up there - covers just about everything. Just wanted to say that you two are fabulous in your singing.

[Guest babohyungjin]

great job =]

[Guest Suzy_Yim]

Anybody else want to say something?