# Britain's Got Talent meets Les Miserables **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 13, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906 "2009-04-13T01:39:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/141 "2009-04-18T19:53:09Z")
[spoiler]Oh god. 12 year old son of a single mum. Simon stops his first song and gets him to sing the backup song. Knocks it out of the park. Very contrived[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/142 "2009-04-18T20:23:29Z")
No no no, Simon Cowell is an impresario genius and his natural gift for talent-spotting just told him that the little boy had something more to offer. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/143 "2009-04-18T21:40:53Z")
> [@Ximenean](#): > > No no no, Simon Cowell is an impresario genius and his natural gift for talent-spotting just told him that the little boy had something more to offer. Snort! I’ve watched a few of this clips now & my faith that this isn’t completely staged has been shaken by Fabia Cerra. Warning: May not be considered work safe ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hNy0wQBWzbU/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNy0wQBWzbU?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/144 "2009-04-19T00:10:16Z")
Goodness gracious, a reality-TV competition smells corny and contrived? Color me surprised. BUT, good for her! Even if she does not go on to a career as a Recording Superstar (unlikely even for those who do have talent), she’ll have a nice time with her fifteen minutes and she’s likely to have a few good paydays coming her way which she probably won’t mind. She could have just sat out her life in anonymity with her cat. Instead we’re talking about her. She’s ahead. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/145 "2009-04-19T00:29:41Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > I pefer the original of “Cry Me a River” Uh, which original? That song’s been sung by everybody and his dead aunt, ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/146 "2009-04-19T00:53:50Z")
> **[Cry Me a River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_Me_a_River)** > > Cry Me a River may refer to: Julie London’s was trhe first recorded version - & I love it. Joe Cocker’s is good too though. I’ve never heard the Ella Fitzgerald version. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/147 "2009-04-19T01:08:29Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > [Cry Me a River - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_Me_a_River) > > Julie London’s was trhe first recorded version - & I love it. Joe Cocker’s is good too though. I’ve never heard the Ella Fitzgerald version. Funny, I think of it as a Doris Day song. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/148 "2009-04-19T01:14:29Z")
Julie London’s version circa 1955 was the first release and according to [Wiki](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cry_Me_a_River_(Arthur_Hamilton_song)) the most popular and well-known version. That recording is the one that I always refer to as the original. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/149 "2009-04-19T01:50:55Z")
> [@silk1976](#): > > Is this a professional critique, or are you saying the pitch is unstable simply because it contains some vibrato? I was thinking how _good_ her vibrato was, unlike whats-her-name ex pop star with all those scarves. I just heard her do some of “Cry Me a River” in the other room (on tv :)), and she sounded awsome. I want more, and I don’t like show tunes. At all. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/150 "2009-04-19T02:53:25Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > [spoiler]Oh god. > > 12 year old son of a single mum. Simon stops his first song and gets him to sing the backup song. Knocks it out of the park. Very contrived[/spoiler] [Linky.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVU4IkzMNIo) Admittedly I can’t think if _any_ child singer I’ve ever liked and I’m far from the ‘pop audience demographics’ as you can get and still be alive and in the western world and under 79, but I have to admit I didn’t like either of his numbers. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/151 "2009-04-19T03:32:59Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [Linky.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVU4IkzMNIo) Admittedly I can’t think if _any_ child singer I’ve ever liked and I’m far from the ‘pop audience demographics’ as you can get and still be alive and in the western world and under 79, but I have to admit I didn’t like either of his numbers. The boy is good - for a 12 year old. Susan’s just good. Big difference. ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/152 "2009-04-19T04:32:59Z")
_If_ that was contrived - either the mum is a magnificent actress or she wasn’t in on it. That looked like a real look of fright when Simon stopped her son. I still like Flawless best out of the acts I have seen. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/153 "2009-04-19T07:09:05Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > My wife pointed this out. She’s seen Les Miserables in both London and Toronto, and in both cases the singer blew Susan Boyle out of the water. > > But bear in mind that the people singing the song in stage productions have been practising it with the assistance of voice coaches for Christ knows how long. When judging folks on talent shows you have to bear in mind that you’re usually watching relatively uncoached talent with only amateur experience, By **that** standard Boyle’s performance was stunning, especially given that the song requires unusual range. Give her a year of working with professionals and she’ll be better. > > On preview, uh, what SA said. Darn. No doubt. And if she had been given the opportunity maybe she would be at that level. But she is not. And yet I am reading articles talking about recording contracts and tours. Now, not after training. The first clip I linked to is Ruthie Henshall. She is a successful stage performer and has been for years. Right now Susan Boyle is probably a lot more famous. She has power, pretty good pitch and range. She lacks the subtlety that you can hear in the other performances. Don’t get me wrong, I was very moved by the performance. It was carefully edited to get that response. She is a good singer and it is a great story. But this is similar to the Paul Potts thing. He is a good singer, but the opera experts I have heard on this board and elsewhere say he is maybe chorus level talent. But now he is more famous than most premier opera singers. After my initial reaction to Susan Boyle’s performance (which did make me misty eyed) I had to put it in perspective. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/154 "2009-04-19T08:51:52Z")
> [@maplekiwi](#): > > _If_ that was contrived - either the mum is a magnificent actress or she wasn’t in on it. That looked like a real look of fright when Simon stopped her son. It’s entirely possible that she wasn’t in on it. However, Simon almost certainly knew what he was doing. The contestant isn’t just some kid from Whales who lives with his single mother. He’s a kid from Whales you lives with his single mom, [has played the role of Michael Jackson in a successful stage musical, and appeared on a number of television shows](http://www.flyingmusic.com/Thriller-Live-Spring-2008/biographies/). Of course, they don’t present him that way. Again, _this is television_, everything that can be staged will be staged. Everything will be edited and presented to achieve the maximum effect. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/155 "2009-04-19T09:46:37Z")
seems like youtube is being blocked by the great wall of china for some reason. I’m sure it’s not because of Got Talent though. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/156 "2009-04-19T10:26:47Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > She was on one of those entertainment shows last night and did a few bars of “Whistle Down the Wind.” It’s one thing to know a popular song from _Les Miz_; but to know how to sing a song from the failed Andrew Lloyd Webber-Jim Steinem work–I was blown away again! The basement-dwellers among us often can discover and appreciate things the typical busy, media-saturated consumer would never get close to. Of course, those things aren’t always very marketable, either because the culture industry has chucked them aside or because we stereotype tastes that don’t fit with some market or trend as being embarrassing or uncool. > [@Scathach](#): > > She gave up trying to be a singer to look after her dead mother Run that by me again?! ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/157 "2009-04-19T10:43:32Z")
> [@jovan](#): > > It’s entirely possible that she wasn’t in on it. However, Simon almost certainly knew what he was doing. The contestant isn’t just some kid from Whales who lives with his single mother. He’s a kid from Whales you lives with his single mom, > [has played the role of Michael Jackson in a successful stage musical, and appeared on a number of television shows](http://www.flyingmusic.com/Thriller-Live-Spring-2008/biographies/). Of course, they don’t present him that way. Again, _this is television_, everything that can be staged will be staged. Everything will be edited and presented to achieve the maximum effect. I certainly feel manipulated now! ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/158 "2009-04-19T13:03:48Z")
_Late Night with Jimmy Fallon_’s take on the Susan Boyle effect: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHwgCcj9UCU) ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/159 "2009-04-19T19:53:58Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Or this one from the great [Lea Solonga](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNojZg_mrTg&feature=related). I would love to be able to say that she was close to being as good a singer but it is just not true. Call me strange, but I preferred Susan’s version. There again, I hated Les Miserables and walked out at the interval (London West End version). They use a style of singing that doesn’t please my ear - it is as if they talk in a singing-like fashion, but nothing has any memorable melody or tune. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906/160 "2009-04-19T20:07:44Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Call me strange, but I preferred Susan’s version. There again, I hated Les Miserables and walked out at the interval (London West End version). They use a style of singing that doesn’t please my ear - it is as if they talk in a singing-like fashion, but nothing has any memorable melody or tune. I had the same problem with “Les Miserables,” though it depends on the part. With two notable exceptions, the music’s remarkably boring and unmemorable - after all the hype, I was amazed and appalled at how boring and uninspired the music was. The part of Jean Valjean, in particular, has not a single memorable hook and many long stretches where he doesn’t sound as if he is singing any particular tune at all. It is, really, the ultimate formula musical - a classic book chosen at random and all Broadwayed up with songs that seemed to be written just to sound, well, Broadwayesque. And that’s saying a lot in a genre that is about as formulaic as any that’s ever been invented. “I Dreamed A Dream” doesn’t sound bad on its own, though. It’s just that in a musical of two hours of songs that mostly sound the same you get bored pretty quickly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britains-got-talent-meets-les-miserables/492906.md?page=9)