Wow, what a controversial week!
I'm in Japan right now so I had to watch the show from here. By the way, I got a chance to visit the city of Sendai, the place where epicenter of the big quake was and the tsunami that followed on March 11. To witness the sense of community and how resilient the people here are is truly inspiring and I was honored to have been welcomed here with such memorable warmth!
PLAY IT NOW: Celebrity Judges Talk 'The Sing-Off' Season 2
Now, as the competition gets closer to the final 3, it gets more and more intense, and the margin of error is extremely slim! The critiques become a bit more meticulous, for what's at stake is a life changing recording contract with the giant record company Sony.
Because of the choices my co-judges and I made on who was eliminated from the show, these past few episodes were scrutinized by so many, which for the record, we understand is just occupational hazard and it comes with the territory. A lot of you asked me on my Twitter page, some with pronounced irateness I might add, lol, 'How do we come to our decisions?' I'll attempt to explain it as fireproof as possible:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Boyz II Men Singer & ?Sing-Off? Judge Shawn Stockman
In the first few episodes, in comparison to the ladder ones, it's pretty obvious. Though every group is amazing, it's clear to us who has more depth of field to have a long run in the competition.
As the weeks go on, and I'll speak only for myself, I try to look for the group who not only can sing a cappella, because by a certain point of the season everyone on the show is damn good, but who can translate well enough that the public will buy their record. I look for an appeal across the board, and a group that I feel the people will connect with instantly, not just musically, but personally!
Now music as a whole is subjective, and these days it is extremely difficult to sell records of ANY kind so I'm not saying our choices are always spot on. Matter of fact, once you get to the last five, normally these groups surely can have a prosperous career in the music biz!
VIEW THE PHOTOS: ?The Sing-Off? Season 3
But it's what I see at the time.
Case in "point", Vocal Point is an amazing group of guys from Provo, Utah that nailed predominantly EVERY performance! They were creative, fun to watch and the girls loved them. My only issue -- if you even want to call it that -- is their "front man" spot.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Verdict Is In! Judges Of Reality Television
You really didn't have a stand out one or two guys who would have been the "face" of the group. Their cohesiveness was their gift and their curse, because to me there wasn't a person that distinctive from the unit! With all that being said, I still feel they have a shot at being amazing recording artists and performers. But if you compare them to the other groups in the competition, I think you will understand what it is I mean.
That's a trade secret I just gave you, so this blog will self-destruct in 30 seconds. But before it does, I felt the need to take advantage of the space Access Hollywood has given me to philosophize on things I think about in my travels (sheesh, I sound like a lonely hunter or something). Anyway...
Ever witness a kid play with LEGOS?
To witness a child put so much thought and time to creating something is actually awe-inspiring! You can see the joy they get from every single piece they stack in their visionary formation -- the chunky yellow ones, the small petite red ones, the half-moon shaped blue ones, all in perfect symmetry to create what this child is constructing from the ideas in its beautiful mind.
When it's finally complete, when the LEGO masterpiece has its last and final component carefully complied, ever see another child come and kick over that creation!
The young architect instantly develops tears in his eyes, angry, yet also hurt that someone would do such a mean and evil thing! Reality is instantly brought to surface from the interaction between two children. That reality is, in life, there are BUILDERS and DESTROYERS!
I have been fortunate enough to be around both ends of the yin and the yang! You can learn from both, basically how to be and how NOT to be!!
I personally am inspired by builders because of their attention to detail and their ability to create something out of nothing! To witness a group of men and women on a television show construct harmony out of thin air to build a sound that brings the on looker of millions to a variety of emotions is amazing and never tiring to see! To watch my wife somehow keep a household together and still have time to make sure I'm cared for, to seeing my mother raise FIVE kids practically by herself, to my father never flailing in his beliefs in being proactive in whatever cause you decide to be a part of, to seeing my own group members in action as we put together some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard, I've been blessed to be around greatness most of my life! Builders!
The one thing they all have in common is that they have what we call, "TALENT", SKILL, an ability to actually do something that benefits others naturally! To coin my own phrase, lol, "people who destroy are normally TALENTLESS, and MAD about it!"
Take a look around, and you can see based on that definition who you should devote your precious time and attention to, in all aspects of life! Build or destroy, the choice is yours!
-SHAWN
Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
moneyball nasa satellite nasa satellite v for vendetta kate walsh mastectomy space junk
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.