Alright. A little break from our normal theological and exegetical fare. Paul Potts.
My son was listening to the computer stream of classical music in our area—KDFC in San Francisco—and he came across on that website a clip from a television program in England called, I think, “Britains Got Talent,” something like that. So. They were having auditions for this program and there appeared a mobile phone salesman, named Paul Potts, and he said he wanted to sing opera. OK. Right. I’ll let you tell me what you think, but I want you to be honest with these reactions when you comment. And please do comment.
1. Did you get the chills?
2. Did hair stand up on your body?
3. Did your eyes mist up if not cry?
4. Were you surprised?
Answer those questions in that order for me. Watch Paul Potts.
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Yes
I hate to sound like such a fan-boy, but I found that clip amazing, and the music really moved me. I ran into it back in September, and I immediately ordered his CD so that I would have it as soon as it was released in the U.S.
On the other side, I’ve also had thoughts that the entire thing was scripted and carefully staged to draw the reactions you are referring to above. I finally decided that I didn’t really care if the story was genuine or not, as I enjoyed the voice and music of the singer very much, so the CD was worth the $13 or so I paid for it.
1.Yes
2.Yes
3.Yes
4.Yes
I do not like Opera. His performance was good. I wouldn’t buy any opera cds or stuff like it, but I did enjoy that clip.
1. Did you get the chills? Yes.
2. Did hair stand up on your body? Yes.
3. Did your eyes mist up if not cry? Um, not really. I probably would have if I had not been asked the questions ahead of time.
4. Were you surprised? Yes. How could he sing that way with those teeth?
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Uh, no. The humidity was too low
4. When he said opera, I was looking for the ear plugs. Absolutely suprised.
1. Yes
2. yes
3. Uh, No. The humidity was too low.
4. Surprised? when he said opera I was ready to run for my Navy Issue ear plugs. Totally Surprised.
The crying part was the biggest stretch in the questions. It’s not hard for me to cry. I mist up at these kind of things—the full scale boo-hooing comes for something tied into what I believe, but there was a sincerity to this guy that tugged the heart strings.
Kent said the full scale boo-hooing comes for something tied into what I believe…
I’m thinking Right, stuff like the Lord’s Supper.
I walked away before someone got injured from the tears shooting out on that occasion. Full hydrant mode.
1. Almost, but not quite
2. The ones on the back of my head, in the general location of my cowlick did. But they almost always do, so that doesn’t count.
3. No.
4. Yes. Suspicious might be the word. If that is genuine, then it is certainly surprising, and one would wonder if he hasn’t had training. The teeth also got me.
But no, it didn’t motivate me to go buy the CD. Sorry.
Now, if it was Wyoming Wind, I might have considered it.
If you read a little about him on the internet, he freely admits that he has sung as an amateur, and that he has had training — he even paid for a master course in Italy. However, it’s still amazing that an amateur could sound that good, and that nobody had really noticed before. He had even sent tapes to various TV stations, etc., but had always been rejected.
As for those of you who wouldn’t listen to (or pay for) that kind of music, I can only say “Diff’rent strokes for diff’rent folks.” I personally find his sound very good — I enjoy listening to him more than to many of the masters, and to me, at least, that says a lot.