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It happens not only at the Songfestival, but also with other major performances at festivals or concerts: artists who do not sing pure. Even artists who have been in the profession for years are caught a false note every now and then.
Many will still remember Madonna’s bad performance. Various Songfestival participants have also received criticism in recent years. Why is artists not always succeeding in singing pure with a big performance? We asked different experts.
‘Just like a penalty’
First, according to vocal coach and singer Marcel Swerissen, it is “sure” with the pressure and tension of a large stage. “As a result, your heart rate increases,” says Swerissen. “Because of the tension you breathe in more, because you need more oxygen. That ensures that you move differently and that your muscles react differently. That way you have less control over your voice.”
He calls singing an art form where things can go wrong. “It is just like professional football. It seems very simple to take a penalty, but footballers also sometimes fall next.”
‘No world stars’
“In addition to music, the artists must suddenly pay attention to camera work and the dance of act,” says comedian Shamke de Voogd. She is Songfestival enthusiast, connoisseur and jury member. “That is a spicy focus distribution that may be at the expense of the singing. Cameras on faucets and running men with steadicams Seems intense. “
On the contrary, we must be happy that things often go well, the guardian thinks, because it is super difficult. “They are generally not world stars and they are suddenly on an immense stage, of the size on which people like Madonna stand. They are not used to it and then a few rehearsals are not enough to remove the tension.”
“It also becomes more difficult if someone moves or dances a lot,” says musician, composer, producer and teacher Menno Bruin, who used to give music lessons to Claude. “Then it is more difficult to concentrate on your voice.”
The question was how Claude would sing if there had to be dancing. There was little to criticize:
Claude sings ‘C’est La Vie’ in Basel during the semi -final of the Songfestival
“Fair is fair,” says De Voogd. “Here and there, Claude flew out a bit. He started beautifully. Then his voice became too loud compared to the music.”
“No autotune may be used at the Songfestival,” adds Swerissen. “Nowadays they can do a lot with that tool on TV and social media. That is how we are actually taken in the piss.”
“Everything has to come together in that big show,” he says. “You need a good team for that. If you don’t leave anything to chance, you can sing freely.” In 2019, Swerissen was part of the Duncan Laurence team. “Everyone knew exactly what had to be done. Then an artist can function at his top.”
At the Eurovision Song Contest of 2019 (the year in which the Netherlands won), superstar Madonna did not sound pure:
Then the so -called in-ears, Those artists in their ears still have an important role. “It’s a wireless system,” explains sound engineer Mike Manders. He is the regular technician of Suzan and Freek. He also previously worked with well-known names such as Miss Montreal, Maan, Colin Benders, Rowwen Hèze and Racoon and various Songfestival artists.
“You can assume that they can all sing,” says Manders. “But technology can falter. If the connection fails, an artist will not hear anything anymore. With a large performance there are all kinds of jammers: thousands of phones and the channels that are needed with live TV.”
The more noise, the harder it is to find the right tone. Those ears ensure that the noise does not distract the artists. “Without good closure it is impossible to sing pure.”
“In an ideal world, a vocalist can even only hear himself, but there must be something of reference,” says Manders. “It is not an extensive music mix, but something is needed to be able to sing. The vocalist must clearly communicate with the technician what he wants to hear.” The expectation that you will hear music from CD-quality in those earphones cannot be realized, says Manders.
“Many things are different at the Songfestival than usual,” says De Voogd. “For example, no live music is allowed on stage. For example, look at the Portuguese band. They are sweet guys, but the singing was very fake. Their instruments were playback, so that suddenly sounds very different than normal for the singers.”
Bruin states that a recorded band should not influence the purity. “With live music it is more difficult,” he says. “Yet artists prefer to play live.” Brown itself also has that preference. “The interaction with the musicians is the best thing there is.”
