More than just a pretty face

[Chris James]

When I see the lives of the famous young singers splashed across the grocery store tabloids it makes me wonder if they are just somewhat talented kids with a manager. Bieber is a disaster waiting to happen.

But here in the U.S. we don't seem to look beyond our shores and recognize that other countries have some pretty talented young men. Here's my nomination from Sweden. Not just a real fine voice but he isn't hard to look at, and I do look (he has a whole page on Google Images) now that he is nineteen.

Anyone else have some singing voices out there or around the corner from you, please post them here. Meanwhile, enjoy:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6R--xZhbvg&feature=share&list=LLNCUWOdE0Wgj4LKYJJF4m4w

(And yes I meant for the YouTube video to be seen here but it doesn't always work for me)

[Jeff Ellis]

Here's my nomination... Thilo Berndt from Germany

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu-ka0A9YrI

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjX5g1tMNj8

Just to give you hope... Rosa is his sister :-)

[The Pecman]

But here in the U.S. we don't seem to look beyond our shores and recognize that other countries have some pretty talented young men. Here's my nomination from Sweden. Not just a real fine voice but he isn't hard to look at, and I do look (he has a whole page on Google Images) now that he is nineteen.

Wow, that was excellent -- and by that I mean the music! Very talented kid: Ulrik Munther.

[The Pecman]

Another Norwegian music video effort is the huge pop culture phenomena "What Does the Fox Say," which doesn't exactly have hot guys in it, but it is funny as hell and unbelievably catchy:

I laugh every time I see it, particularly when they CG-animate the dancing fox. 230 million views and climbing. It's a strange, strange video but an undeniably catchy song. (I wanna know why the songwriters of "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" don't sue.)

[Jeff Ellis]

enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEs1wtsw_IA&list=PL0684EB2E5B2BA68C

Caresse sur l'ocean par Les Choristes

[Paul_and_Paco]

Jean-Baptiste Maunier was only 12 when he was cast, in 2004, as the lead in the Les Choristes. Alas, he was the only singer from the talented Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc, used in the cast, though they sang the soundtrack.

In this performance, their choice of "uniform" leaves much to be desired... still, quite beautiful.

[FreeThinker]

I have to suggest my obsession, Ronan Parke. Now that he's fifteen, his voice is so sexy and beautiful. I can't imagine how hot he will be when he turns eighteen. He's so much more talented than the Biebs. He came in second on Britain's Got Talent in 2011. Here is his latest video, Move, which is a really good song, and his first video, A Thousand Miles, when he was thirteen.

And yes, Les Choristes was a wonderful movie!

[Jeff Ellis]

Jean-Baptiste Maunier was only 12 when he was cast, in 2004, as the lead in the Les Choristes. Alas, he was the only singer from the talented Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc, used in the cast, though they sang the soundtrack.

In this performance, their choice of "uniform" leaves much to be desired... still, quite beautiful.

Wasn't it the French who coined the expression "sans-culottes" ?

OK, so I've disgraced myself again, sigh.

Back to the hills he said sheep-ishly.

[The Pecman]

Another video that does not have a hot guy in it, but man, this guy has a voice. 9 of them, as a matter of fact:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3wSbLa2uGg#t=91

I'm normally opposed to religious songs, but I'll make an exception with harmonies this good. Fantastic vocals and an exceptionally good arrangement. As much as I know about music, I'm stumped on how to arrange 9-part harmony, even if half of them are an octave apart.

[And once again, the forum software will not allow me to embed videos -- with two different browsers. Just sayin'.]

[Cole Parker]

If you had nine different pitches all played simultaneously you'd have cacophony. But modern music is is filled with basic triad chords that have embellishments. The most commonly used is a minor 7th chord. It's the basic triad (in the key of C major, which has no sharps or flats) it is C, E, and G. Playing those three notes together makes for a pleasing chord. Adding a 4th note, in this case a B-flat, changes it from a C chord to a C minor seventh chord, which sounds very unfinished and almost demands another chord be played to follow and complete it, in this case, an F major chord.

So that's four notes. You can add more and have it still sound good as long as they're not all in the same octave. And you'll find it amazing how different that basic C major chord sounds if you add an A (making it a C-sixth chord) or a B natural (a C major seventh chord.)

So that's how they'd do 9-part harmony. They'd have singers in probably three octaves, some singing the same notes in different octaves, and some adding embellishments to the basic chords.

C

[The Pecman]

Much appreciated, Cole! I did take two years of music theory, and played clarinet for 7 years, but it's been a long time. I know just enough to be dangerous.

The trick to me is also having one person doing 9 vocal parts, particularly in terms of balance and recording. Not simple or easy. But then, there's 10cc's 1975 classic "I'm Not in Love," where I believe they went down 6 generations across 24 tracks, creating 144 layers of sound for certain parts of the song -- most of which were all a capella. It's just a wash of sound, a very interesting aural effect.