Jackie Evancho - general discussion #3

Lisa
Saw the tweet today about meeting the Imperial family, that is so totally awesome!! Just curious, did Jackie get to sing for them as well?

A while back on the cc.co.uk forum, one of the users (bogi) posted some help on how to order Patricia's cd/dvd from dvdbest.sk. He has the instructions on his blog:

http://patriciajaneckova.weebly.com/how-to-buy-dvdbestsk.html

I ordered it from them and it was quite easy. I got the cd within a few weeks. It's quite good but I still prefer listening to Jackie.

jackieevancho jackie evancho
our visit with the imperial family was an incredible experience and a resounding success. so nice to have their support.
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

@Lisa
Maybe it's premature, but a lot of people are already using that label to describe Jackie

Lisa,
Great to hear from you after a long absence. The media in general has already made up its mind to label Jackie as an opera singer. I know that this may sound problematic but it is only for the opera purists and for the critics. The public at large doesn't have a problem with it. If anything its considered a mark of distinction to be labelled as an opera singer.

Lisa,
I've put together a summary of posts, tweets, and interviews that pretty much vivisects a lot of the critics: your latest here, the WSJ interview and the NBC backstage interview (with no mic for Jackie) during AGT; debunking all of their points that are not matters of individual taste. I've debated with myself whether to put the entirety of it on the comments on one of the more nasty critics' (although not the nastiest, since he seems beyond reason) blog. So far I'm holding off, wondering if it's better not to jump in that hard, as long as the ratio of reasonable to off-the-wall fan comments (sadly there are a few of those too) stays high enough that the undecided can see that it's not just critics vs fanatics.

The LAST thing I want to do is be a backseat driver, or ratchet up the commotion further than it is, not wanting to distract from either living or watching the adventure. But I really have to hold myself back when it comes to not swatting certain types of biting insects - as I'm very sure you do yourself. So (and I can see why you might not answer this) I wish I knew where _you_ wished the line should be drawn on fan advocacy.

I'm "Richard H." on the fan club; you might still also have one of my email addresses (rlhamil2 at the same provider as one of your "throwaway" email addresses was in July). I don't expect a private reply (and will not post it unless it includes permission to do so), but would welcome one at your option - or public guidance as to appropriate fan advocacy if you wish to provide it.

Best wishes to all! And deep appreciation, and reassurance that most of us that pay attention know that all of you are learning how to deal with all this yourself, that we see the continuing improvements both onstage and off, and, despite some second-guessing, know that you're almost certainly doing far better than we would under similar conditions and prior experience. (And that we even appreciate Jacob's quiet charm and Zach and Rachel's patience, as seen for example during M&G's.)

Hi Lisa,
Good to see you post and trying to clear up some of the confusion.

Lisa asked
"What does this mean? I don't understand."

M. Sims says:
HC,
You know there has been damage control with tweeting about the Doctor visit and tweeting that the Doctor said her chords were "pristine."

What does this mean? I don't understand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a pointless, hypothetical and slightly confusing exchange - or the typical exchange between Matt and me. ;)

Matt was responding to part of the discussion about opera singer labeling, I think. I had said that, if the opera people think she's claiming to sing opera, then it leads to Jackie having to deal with their criticisms a lot more than she would if they understood what was really happening.

I said that from my perspective I would view the Page article (and subsequent pile-ons) as a "crisis communication" issue, and the normal response to that is a series of things, including "do damage control (if any is required)." That was my quote. I hadn't thought any public "damage control" would be required and didn't discuss it except that one statement as part of a longer more general comment.

He said your tweet was damage control. I said that tweet wouldn't matter to those people for a number of reasons that I don't need to get into because they don't matter. And that was that.

Like I said, pointless.

Welcome home Lisa.

Lisa, we admire you and Mike for rearing great kids and for sharing a little of your incredible journey with us. I hope you got lots of grains of salt for Christmas to help you deal with the exasperations from media, critics and overwrought fans. Thank you for everything you are doing.

@kringle, I also prefer Jackie's vocal purity. Patricia is no slouch however. Both artists help advance the classical crossover genre and both are delightful to watch and to listen to.

It's a strange irony isn't it, that AGT promoted Jackie as 'opera' when you would have thought that their core audience might not be so receptive to it. Cowell is a sensationalist and knew exactly the controversy this would throw up. The perfect storm. The press jumped on the bandwagon and once there it's quite hard to get them off. I'm pleased he's out of the loop, as reported, and now, just let Jackie settle into what she really wants to do.

[Deleted by the author on Jan 9, 2012 5:16:32 PM PST]

[Deleted by the author on Jan 9, 2012 5:20:28 PM PST]

I heard Patricia on You Tube and her samples of her songs on Itunes and Amazon. She has a beautiful voice but completely different quality than Jackie's. Very good though and I think she will have a long and successful career.
Jackie is still Jackie and one of a kind :). Still remains my favorite singer and her music moves me like no other !

re: Jackie the Opera Singer

Speaking as someone who spent 20 years in the national media (albeit in computer journalism), I know why AGT and reporters call Jackie an Opera Singer: it improves ratings which improves their bottom line which improves their careers.

It's not their job to help Jackie's career or promote Classical Crossover music--it's their job to do what's best for themselves and their own families. It would improve their ratings even more if they called her an axe murderer, but they wouldn't, so they aren't soulless (or immune to defamation lawsuits). But they would certainly call her an opera singer.

How does it help ratings?

For one thing, if they call her a Classical Crossover singer, nobody knows what that is, so then they'd have to go into the weeds trying to explain what it is. That's when guys start grabbing the channel changer and change the channel.

Whereas if they call her an opera singer they don't have to explain it. Everyone just visualizes Jackie in a horned helmet, with a spear and a breastplate. And what they hear in their minds is like what they hear when Jackie sings, because if NOBODY ever said what Jackie is and just played her songs and asked what she is, at least 80% of the general public would say "She's an opera singer."

I have a slightly dimwitted friend--he has a college degree but just acts kind of clueless all the time (a bit like that guy Ricky Gervais does comedy skits with), so he's very useful to me to know what average people are like. He considers Jackie an opera singer, despite me correcting him every time he says it. Interestingly, he's totally ga-ga about the way Jackie sounded on PTAD, but now to him she's an opera singer. His favorite artist is Lang Lang BTW, so he actually likes classical music, if it's light and accessible--but not opera.

So that's the first thing--it identifies Jackie with two words that don't require further explanation in a field (broadcast media) that times its efficacy in split seconds.

The second thing is that it adds ratings via hyperbole. Compare "little girl who sings classical crossover music beautifully" with "10 year old opera singer."

That's when the guy puts down the channel changer and waits to see who this is.

You know I'm right.

Of course this raises the hackles of some in the relatively tiny opera world. Not annoying opera folks is where on TV journalists' priority stacks? Oh yeah. Nowhere. And if one of them makes a big enough stink, great. Good for ratings.

Remember, if it thinks it stinks. If it bleeds it leads.

So the TV journalists aren't stupid. Not because of this at least. They're just doing what works best for themselves in that situation--and most of us would call her an "opera singer" if we were in their shoes, frankly. Don't think we wouldn't.

re: why all the anti-fans who are operatic voice teachers?

I see a lot of these on the anti-Jackie comment threads. I'm NOT saying they're representative of voice teachers. No idea whether they are or not. But on my roaming leukocyte cybertravels, I do see many of these.

They're there posting their anti-fanny stuff because they think if Jackie exists, it invalidates their life's work. I posted a lengthier answer to this in the Dealing with Naysayers thread, but the short answer is: you're still needed for anyone but geniuses, and even geniuses still need you if they want to sing operatically. So simmer down. Jackie doesn't threaten your Way of Life.

They also evince plenty of thinly-veiled jealousy, but it's more fun to be patronizingly friendly...

So ehkzu, what is the solution to this delima? What do we do with all the stupid people?

I believe that is exactly what has happened Ehkzu. The label has been used for marketing and due to the term being "familiar", yet the art form being unfamiliar and stereotyped. It wasn't used to put her up as the model of what opera is all about. That is why it is humorous to see people get so overwrought over it. Water seeks its own level, and as soon as Jackie has been on the scene a while, her true genre would have been identified correctly.

If anyone thinks they have the power to teach NBC and the other networks and their news-readers the nuances of music, or accuracy in general, they might want to read the story of Sisyphus.

[Deleted by the author on Jan 9, 2012 8:24:14 PM PST]

@Ehkzu:
re: Jackie the Opera Singer

Or, it could be as simple as that "an opera singer" is what Jackie is MOST LIKE.
The Italians term is more specific, "The Baby Soprano".

Ehkzu,

That was a brilliant post and I think you're right. That doesn't mean I don't think people shouldn't seriously try to get the point across. But, I think you're correct. Somehow that's worse than incompetence.

kringle,

That was very helpful. Managed to get Janeckova's CD/DCD ordered using your instructions. At least I think I did, since I can't translate the final screen.

Ehkzu,

re:
The second thing is that it adds ratings via hyperbole. Compare "little girl who sings classical crossover music beautifully" with "10 year old opera singer."
That's when the guy puts down the channel changer and waits to see who this is.

I think you are right. I remember very clearly that on the evening of Aug. 10th, 2010, I was at my

computer. The TV was on in the background and my ears perked up when I heard Nick Cannon say.....

'she's 10 years old but she has a timeless voice, she is Jackie Evancho'.

I immediately thought to myself, how can a 10 year old girl have a timeless voice? This I gotta see.

As I watched and heard her sing, my jaw got closer and closer to the floor. It was stunning! I felt like

a "Born Again Music Fan'. It was an emotional experience for me, and many others I'm sure.

The next day I was one of the 3 plus million hits on You Tube watching her again and again. And still

to this day, when I watch one of her videos on You Tube, I'm still in awe of her amazing talent.

So I guess Nick was right too. She does have a timeless voice.

Yes, Ehkzu, it makes complete sense.

So, in short, being labeled an opera singer has helped her promotion, probably a lot.

Question is, for how long that will be helpful for her.