SINGERS

(PICTURE: Paul Potts.)

On the subject of singers, a friend emailed me a video of a phone salesman, Paul Potts, who has become a sensation in England on their version of American Idol.

Before I get into that let me break rules by making some totally disconnected comments.

I am writing this in that barn-like structure I described in Fifty Hookers (below). The moment I got here the rain started pouring down on the corrugated metal roof making a thunderous racket. I see no leaks in the roof despite many exhaust fans up there. There are no more than 20 men in here and the girls outnumber them 3:1. Just saying.

In other news, I was in a massage parlor once where I observed a time clock right next to a Buddhist shrine. The girls would punch in and then pray to the shrine. I thought that was interesting.

Okay, back to that singer. I had heard about that performance and tried to get it on You-tube but You-tube is one of the many things censored here in Thailand. In this case, something to do with insulting the King. You can hear and see the performance *HERE* and *HERE*. It is great. The audience was enthralled as was the “evil’ Simon Cowell. Many might wonder why this operatic performer hasn’t been discovered before; surely he did auditions.

Here is my evaluation. The guy has the Mario Lanza disease. He has a great voice but limited range; limited for an operatic tenor. I don’t think he can reach the top notes required of a lead tenor as written. Opera is closed to him unless they will lower the key to fit his range. They did that for Lanza but I doubt they will do it again.

This is to take nothing away from his voice or his performance. He is good and I enjoy hearing him. I’m just putting it into perspective.