Songs of Praise Big Sing

Just a quick post today to say that I was on TV at the weekend. Yes, you heard it right! I'm a member of the Brighton Festival Chorus, who for the last couple of years have been invited by BBC Songs of Praise to take part in the Big Sing as one of their 3 stage choirs for the event.

It's always a great experience and really interesting to see how the programmes are made and what Aled Jones and the guests for that episode are like when the cameras aren't rolling. And yes, I can confirm that Aled was his usual bouncy self and Jaz Ellington (from the BBC's The Voice) seemed like a genuinely lovely person from where we were sat. As for Alfie Boe? Well, BFC have worked with Alfie before, which I'll tell you about when I get a spare moment, and he too was as lovely and ever so slightly mischievous as normal.

At the recording day back in September we filmed two episodes - this one aired on Sunday and one scheduled for some time between Christmas and new year, making a change from the usual one episode for the Big Sing and one episode for Christmas. Although I'm personally a really big fan of anything Christmas, it was nice to have a break from singing Carols in September this year, although the switch over in the break between recordings is always funny as Christmas trees and festive jumpers appear whist the stage choirs are urged to don a bit of sparkle to get in the festive mood.

Some students have festival wristbands,
I have a songs of praise one.

So if you watched it at the weekend or fancy stalking me on the iplayer before it disappears, I'm in the stage choir so dressed in black concert dress, early twenties (ouch it hurts to say that!), long blond hair... or you could just fast forward to 22:26 if you're that desperate.

It always makes me laugh that if you mention songs of praise at BFC one of the first things anyone will say is something along the lines of "and they give you lunch, nice sandwich, crisps, a bit of fruit, bottle of water and a kitkat. And tea and biscuits in the break". it's true musicians do love their food...

Apologies, this post was somewhat longer than intended and pretty much picture-less, but I had a feeling the BBC wouldn't be too pleased if I started print-screening directly from iPlayer and then posting it on here!

Happy Wednesday,

aLittleBlonde

If you want to know more about Brighton Festival Chorus then take a look at our website or you can follow us on twitter

The Voice

So, on saturday I watched the BBC's new talent show The Voice. I knew it was starting this weekend, but as I'm not a real fan of your normal run of the mill talent shows, I hadn't intentionally decided to watch it, it just happened to be on

I've watched programs like britian's got talent and the X-factor before, and found them entertaining to some extent, but not so enthralling that I felt the need to watch them most weeks. However, musical based shows such as Any Dream Will Do, How Do You Solve a Promblen Like Maria and I'd Do Anything, now they're another story, alongside Strictly and So You Think You Can Dance.
There's something about the genrealised 'talent' contests that just doesn't quite work for me, with the endless episodes designed to host some (sometimes questionable!) talent, but also to provide a platform to laugh at those who are perhaps a ittle deluded as to their own abilities. Yes, maybe they are hopless, but it makes them happy, so quite frankly who cares? It's not for the general public to play with their hopes and dreams.

I often also find the judges somewhat irritating, with vague or unfair comments, sometimes provided by those who often have no more of a clue than the person up on stage.
Enter the voice.

The format of the show is, from what I've seen so far, entirely different to that of other talent shows, with the intention of stripping it all back to what really matters - the music. At first I thought the choice of judges a little odd and gimicky, but seeing them all perform together at the beginning of the show really validated their positions and showed exactly why they are qualified enough to take the budding singers under their wing to tutor them. At the end of the day the program is all about the voice and the music, without the gimmicks, the costumes, the dance moves, and the great celebrity mirage, and the judges are there to help mold that voice into something truley remarkable. Yes there is the competative edge there, and it is without dout a talent competition, but it's about the potential for singing great music and the journey in getting there, rather than a fame fuelled drive to be the next big thing.
As Jessie J said after hearing one of the performers sing - the fame and the money are bonus', it's the music that matters. If the singers get a celebrity following along the way, then great, but it needs to be because of the music they make and their voices, rather than their ability to put on a show and be famous for famous' sake.

This show marks the devide between those are in it for the fame, but perhaps lack talent somewhat, and those who are in it for the music, because it's important to them and, hopefully, important to others. And that is the whole point of creating music and sharing it with others, something that often gets forgotten in today's music industry.