ooh okay so the reason some of the lyrics in mean girls seem to be awkward or not very thought out is because they wanted it to sound like slang/casual speech. they didn't want every line to seem like perfect English because we don't speak like that especially the mean girls characters who are in high school. especially with i'd rather be me which has a lot of the half singing half speaking style and with fly fly away/kerry butler, I recommend watching the video of her actually singing it in the show (the full show is on yt, FFA starts at around 1:55:30). that recording is definitely the best version of her singing it since she would've been properly warmed up, using a mic that's probably built with singing in mind, and being in an actual theatre
oh and also kerry often alters her voice a bit for each role, I think it was kinda the point for brenda's voice to be a little whiney since she comes from a fairly rich family
Fair! I agree that the lyrics in Mean Girls are fine without context of the song. Although they make sense for the characters to be singing I just don't think the flow of the song should be sacrificed for that. But I definitely see what you mean. And as for Fly, Fly Away, I actually played Brenda recently so I did a lot of research and listened to a bunch of different recordings of both Kerry and many others and I just didn't like any of her takes. I really do think it's because I prefer a more smooth and "refined" sound when it comes to vocals (evident by the fact that I gravitated towards Shoshona Bean's rendition) And I fully understand that that is definitely a preference and not the objective best way to sing every character. That whiney tone definitely did fit the way she plays Brenda, it's just not my favourite thing to listen to out of context. Hope that kinda makes sense (and by the way I'm not trying to discredit you or anything because your opinions are valid (of course!) just elaborating on my point of view a little bit)
I adore Kerry Butler because I think (as a training singer myself), she’s a model example of what a great mix voice and belt can sound like in a Mezzo range. I love listening to her. I also think she does a great job with her acting, often playing characters who aren’t the typical “strong woman” but are feminist in their own way. Barbara finds her independence, Brenda stands up for her ideals and love against everyone’s opinion, Regina’s mom shows motherly love in a difficult way, etc. I think she’s a fantastic representation of what feminist and progressive acting can look like in “out of the ordinary” ways!
Okay I can't stand the music on the prom movie I'm glad other ppl agree Automatically on the defensive when I saw black Friday bc I've got a big soft spot for team starkid, but I can't help but agree, the way it was written was pretty clunky compared to other starkid shows
Hey don't you worry, I'm a huge Starkid fan myself! And I do really like Black Friday as a whole (while not nearly my favourite Starkid show, I won't deny that it is incredibly entertaining). It's only a few moments that are a little, well.....something else.
Sorry, I just think it was because a lot of the cast was sick all the time during the run. They have so much talent and the writing is great, but it’s difficult to perform, especially with an illness. Just my opinion, sorry!
@@ARGHHHHHHHHhello there I am two years late to this comment 💀 But omg first of all, don’t say sorry for giving an opinion, especially one given so politely. But I totally agree. I said in the video that I knew the cast were sick and it’s so dang hard to sing sick. That’s honestly why I get nervous listening to it. Not because I think they’re bad and terrible and booooo. But because I can relate so hard to singing while sick and I can’t help but empathise 😭
idk I like the "imagine a party with dresses and cake" line. It's comedic emphasis. Not to be all "look how smart i am" but like, cake is a metaphor for what you want, and you say cake twice to emphasize how much you want it, more than the other things. Also they fixed the slur in Shrek for the Jr version of the show. The line is now "They labelled me a fashion mess because I wore a granny dress." I feel like it's a bit more clunky but at least there isn't a slur anymore.
honestly, and i think i speak for most of the steven universe fans. That song did its job perfectly, patti's character was thought to be this super complex and incredibly strict person, hence the low range in her song, and we get to see a bit of her emotions as she builds up in the last bits of the song. I think the song in general is great, but yeah maybe they didnt use patti to her full extend
@@alemobra5747 fair enough! I’m glad you enjoy it! I think, looking back on this video, I really don’t like that she sounds quite out of tune in a lot of areas. Maybe that’s just my ears. And the main melody I think is rather clunky compared to the rest of Steven universes very catchy and beautiful catalogue. Like even when I hear cover artists do it I’m not a fan. But a lot of people enjoy it, and that’s cool! I am huge Steven Universe fan and there are just other songs that scratch my itch a little better
@@downstageright3298 Thats completely fair! may i add, i love how you did this video, i love how you didnt blame the singers and how you made it clear that it was your personal taste. Keep it up :)
For the yellow Diamond one, I get what you're saying in a way but consider she's voicing a character who is a lot sharper and more masculine, yellow diamond doesn't seem like the type to have a high singing voice more of a softer more deep one and it also contributes to the way she's feeling on the inside very sad and also blaming herself for pinks fate, keeping those feelings instead of expressing them, I agree that Patti has range and she is fantastic! But I feel it was a character choice instead ^^
Just to clarify, my problem with that song isn't that I don't like her singing in a lower range. There are just certain moments where her tone is very whiny and not very nice to listen to, if that makes sense. I think the song being in her lower register definitely makes sense for the character! But some of the other stylistic choices she makes is just not for me. But hey, that's just my opinion of course. Lots of people love the song! :)
@@downstageright3298 I do agree that when I first heard it, it did sound a bit off but I've ignored it since perhaps I should go back and listen more as a critic than a fan. I would love to see more of your least / favorite theatre moments, I haven't listened to JCSS yet and you've reminded me to do so, so thank you!
THANK YOU FOR THE SHREK ONE. Everyone in my theater class thought I was crazy for saying they shouldn’t have put a TRANSPHOBIC SLUR in a musical for CHILDREN. I don’t care if shrek is generally more mature than most kids movies! There were 3rd graders and below in my school’s production and they didn’t need to hear that.
for the yellow diamond thing, have you considered that she’s doing a voice on purpose? because she’s not playing patti lupone, she’s playing yellow diamond
@@maybeitslucy true! But I think the thing that bothers me the most about the song isn’t her voice. It’s that she sounds out of tune in a lot of parts. A creative choice should never sacrifice being in tune. But I’ll give you the vowels and the tone thing though, that was probably intentional on her part.
ooh okay so the reason some of the lyrics in mean girls seem to be awkward or not very thought out is because they wanted it to sound like slang/casual speech. they didn't want every line to seem like perfect English because we don't speak like that especially the mean girls characters who are in high school. especially with i'd rather be me which has a lot of the half singing half speaking style
and with fly fly away/kerry butler, I recommend watching the video of her actually singing it in the show (the full show is on yt, FFA starts at around 1:55:30). that recording is definitely the best version of her singing it since she would've been properly warmed up, using a mic that's probably built with singing in mind, and being in an actual theatre
oh and also kerry often alters her voice a bit for each role, I think it was kinda the point for brenda's voice to be a little whiney since she comes from a fairly rich family
Fair! I agree that the lyrics in Mean Girls are fine without context of the song. Although they make sense for the characters to be singing I just don't think the flow of the song should be sacrificed for that. But I definitely see what you mean.
And as for Fly, Fly Away, I actually played Brenda recently so I did a lot of research and listened to a bunch of different recordings of both Kerry and many others and I just didn't like any of her takes. I really do think it's because I prefer a more smooth and "refined" sound when it comes to vocals (evident by the fact that I gravitated towards Shoshona Bean's rendition) And I fully understand that that is definitely a preference and not the objective best way to sing every character. That whiney tone definitely did fit the way she plays Brenda, it's just not my favourite thing to listen to out of context.
Hope that kinda makes sense (and by the way I'm not trying to discredit you or anything because your opinions are valid (of course!) just elaborating on my point of view a little bit)
I adore Kerry Butler because I think (as a training singer myself), she’s a model example of what a great mix voice and belt can sound like in a Mezzo range. I love listening to her. I also think she does a great job with her acting, often playing characters who aren’t the typical “strong woman” but are feminist in their own way. Barbara finds her independence, Brenda stands up for her ideals and love against everyone’s opinion, Regina’s mom shows motherly love in a difficult way, etc. I think she’s a fantastic representation of what feminist and progressive acting can look like in “out of the ordinary” ways!
Omggg. I love this so much. Kerry is such a cool person and I’ve always been sad her singing style isn’t for me. I adore your take, great perspective!
@@downstageright3298 thank you!
Okay I can't stand the music on the prom movie I'm glad other ppl agree
Automatically on the defensive when I saw black Friday bc I've got a big soft spot for team starkid, but I can't help but agree, the way it was written was pretty clunky compared to other starkid shows
Hey don't you worry, I'm a huge Starkid fan myself! And I do really like Black Friday as a whole (while not nearly my favourite Starkid show, I won't deny that it is incredibly entertaining). It's only a few moments that are a little, well.....something else.
Sorry, I just think it was because a lot of the cast was sick all the time during the run. They have so much talent and the writing is great, but it’s difficult to perform, especially with an illness. Just my opinion, sorry!
@@ARGHHHHHHHHhello there I am two years late to this comment 💀
But omg first of all, don’t say sorry for giving an opinion, especially one given so politely. But I totally agree. I said in the video that I knew the cast were sick and it’s so dang hard to sing sick. That’s honestly why I get nervous listening to it. Not because I think they’re bad and terrible and booooo. But because I can relate so hard to singing while sick and I can’t help but empathise 😭
idk I like the "imagine a party with dresses and cake" line. It's comedic emphasis. Not to be all "look how smart i am" but like, cake is a metaphor for what you want, and you say cake twice to emphasize how much you want it, more than the other things.
Also they fixed the slur in Shrek for the Jr version of the show. The line is now "They labelled me a fashion mess because I wore a granny dress." I feel like it's a bit more clunky but at least there isn't a slur anymore.
@@dommitchell4319 when I did Shrek recently they changed it to clammy mess. I think that works just fine too 😂
honestly, and i think i speak for most of the steven universe fans. That song did its job perfectly, patti's character was thought to be this super complex and incredibly strict person, hence the low range in her song, and we get to see a bit of her emotions as she builds up in the last bits of the song. I think the song in general is great, but yeah maybe they didnt use patti to her full extend
@@alemobra5747 fair enough! I’m glad you enjoy it! I think, looking back on this video, I really don’t like that she sounds quite out of tune in a lot of areas. Maybe that’s just my ears. And the main melody I think is rather clunky compared to the rest of Steven universes very catchy and beautiful catalogue. Like even when I hear cover artists do it I’m not a fan. But a lot of people enjoy it, and that’s cool! I am huge Steven Universe fan and there are just other songs that scratch my itch a little better
@@downstageright3298 Thats completely fair! may i add, i love how you did this video, i love how you didnt blame the singers and how you made it clear that it was your personal taste. Keep it up :)
For the yellow Diamond one, I get what you're saying in a way but consider she's voicing a character who is a lot sharper and more masculine, yellow diamond doesn't seem like the type to have a high singing voice more of a softer more deep one and it also contributes to the way she's feeling on the inside very sad and also blaming herself for pinks fate, keeping those feelings instead of expressing them, I agree that Patti has range and she is fantastic! But I feel it was a character choice instead ^^
Just to clarify, my problem with that song isn't that I don't like her singing in a lower range. There are just certain moments where her tone is very whiny and not very nice to listen to, if that makes sense. I think the song being in her lower register definitely makes sense for the character! But some of the other stylistic choices she makes is just not for me. But hey, that's just my opinion of course. Lots of people love the song! :)
@@downstageright3298 I do agree that when I first heard it, it did sound a bit off but I've ignored it since perhaps I should go back and listen more as a critic than a fan.
I would love to see more of your least / favorite theatre moments, I haven't listened to JCSS yet and you've reminded me to do so, so thank you!
YOU KNOW, THE ONE WHO SANG THIS 🔥
THANK YOU FOR THE SHREK ONE. Everyone in my theater class thought I was crazy for saying they shouldn’t have put a TRANSPHOBIC SLUR in a musical for CHILDREN. I don’t care if shrek is generally more mature than most kids movies! There were 3rd graders and below in my school’s production and they didn’t need to hear that.
for the yellow diamond thing, have you considered that she’s doing a voice on purpose? because she’s not playing patti lupone, she’s playing yellow diamond
@@maybeitslucy true! But I think the thing that bothers me the most about the song isn’t her voice. It’s that she sounds out of tune in a lot of parts. A creative choice should never sacrifice being in tune. But I’ll give you the vowels and the tone thing though, that was probably intentional on her part.