LINKAce Young "I Want To Cry"
Strengths: This was another great song selection for you, Ace! As always, you exuded such a vulnerable presence on the Idol stage and your emotional delivery of this song was heartfelt and real. Ballads are definitely your forte, as they allow you to relax and pace your vocal delivery throughout your performance, allowing you to really focus on the lyrics of the music.
As a result, we, as listeners, were able to appreciate your genuine talent and feel the emotional core of your song selection. You don't just sing a pile of words, you feel the variety of emotions within the lyrical component of this song and this translates into a successfully communicative performance.
I loved that you added your signature falsetto toward the end of this number. It was vocalized with a pitch centered pure vocal timbre - simply clean, uncluttered ringing head tone-and was the perfect element with which to end this heartfelt ballad. Excellent work this week, Ace!
Critique: Ace - once again, you had some real technical issues while singing in your natural voice. As I said above, the head tone (falsetto) quality is just wonderful; however, when you explored your natural register during the majority of this number, you didn't support your vocal sound effectively. As a result, you were left with a vocally thin, nasal timbre that really impeded your overall performance.
As I said last week, you must make certain that you are enhancing your natural voice by accessing the correct diaphragmatic technique. Your biggest problem is your mouth position; it is positioned horizontally when you sing and, as a result, your vocal sound is thin and reedy. Additionally, that prevalent nasal quality permeated your performance this week. All of these problems, due mainly to the lack of really solid technical support, are really impeding the ringing beauty of your natural voice.
Always remember that a circular mouth position combined with the relaxation of the jaw is very important in maintaining a beautifully focused and ringing vocal timbre. It will allow you to access your diaphragmatic breathing muscles more efficiently and will encourage you to resonate your voice freely in your vocal masque. Presently, your voice is lacking a resonant and rich vocal element and we are left with a wayward and unfocused vocal sound.
Since you are so comfortable with your head tone, Ace, I would urge you to attempt singing scale or chord passages - starting from your falsetto voice and then descending into your natural voice. Make certain that the head tone stays a permanent fixture as you move into your natural range. At this point, you will have to blend the head voice with chest voice, but do so in a manner that will allow the voice to resonate in your vocal masque. Keep the throat relaxed and open. Allow your rib cage muscles to support and place your sound. And, finally, always remember to sing on the pure vowel and avoid sustaining notes through the all the vowels in a diphthong. This way you will enjoy a ringing and pitch centered vocal quality.
Ace, I said last week you have a really great voice and a wonderful charisma on stage; however we are presently not hearing the inherent beauty of your vocal sound due to your lack of technical expertise. I hope that over the course of time you will be able to hook up with a vocal teacher, a technician, who will be able to set you on the correct technical path. Good luck, Ace!