Keen to develop our performances after the feedback we recieved from other groups the previous day, we focused on running our set list. I initiated a vocal warm-up by singing lip trills to a major scale, which gently prepared my voice for the rehearsal.
Before running through the set, we lent time to rehearsing the group performances; "Golden Brown" and "Pride", focusing on the vocal arrangement and harmonies to ensure the utmost accuracy; as I've noticed at times other group members being inconsistent in their pitching, causing all of the vocals to sound discordant. In rehearsing these songs it became immediately apparent that 11 days before the show others were still unsure of what their melodic lines were. This causes me great concern as it shows a lack of initiative and ability to rehearse independently without the aid of the group.
We then ran through our set list, pausing to share feedback after each performance. I took notes during each solo performance so that my feedback could be as detailed as possible.
Elica commenced the run with Emeli Sande's "Read All About It". She sang more confidently than previous renditons but her ability to project is still lacking, especially on the bridge and last chorus - the climaxes of the song which require the most projection, power and passion. Her pitching on the bridge is still inconsistent but she has expressed that she struggles on this part of the song. I have suggested that Tamara or all of us could provide backing vocals on the two final sections of the song. This may boost her confidence, resulting in better projection of her voice. I must note however that her eyes were engaged throughout the song which is a stark contrast from the nervous laughs of previous rehearsals. She could improve her performance further with very simple gestures to emphasise the lyrics - which are very poignant at times.
Tamara followed with "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me". She performed and sang confidently, gesturing to the audience and effectively using body language to emote and perform the lyrics rather than simply sing or recite them. The only negative was her inability to cover mistakes seamlessly. Whenever she did something she did something she perceived to be wrong, she'd make it very obvious in her facial expressions - when we hadn't even noticed up until the point where she let it get to her. As well as mentioning the points above, I suggested that she explore the stage to take her performance to the next level.
Crystal's choice of "Edge of the World" by Within Temptation is the perfect match for her voice, which floats effortlessly on the song. Her beautiful vocal performance was really refreshing and I love her style. As her vocals are faultless on the song, I think she should definately focus on working on audience engagement, movement, gesture and the use of eye line which are noticeably lacking, which is a shame considering how beautiful her vocals are.
Crystal passed the torch to Serena who also delivered pretty vocals, this time on Lianne La Havas' "Lost & Found". Though beautifully sung, I commented that she should also work on matching her body language to her vocals and emote through her face just as much as she does vocally, so that all contribute to the performance for greater impact.
Tamara and Crystal performed their duet, "My Immortal", with different staging which made for a more interesting visual set-up. They also appeared more relaxed which will lend itself well to our lounge theme. Their harmonic blend was euphonious but there were quite a few mistakes which disrupted the flow of a performance unfortunately. It is evident that they need more rehearsal but I look forward to seeing them perform the song error-free. I commented that they should work on their facial expressions and staying focused regardless of mistakes, so the intensity of their performance is maintained for the entirety of the song.
Tamara displayed her vocal agility on her performance of Jessie J's "I Miss Her". Once again maintaining focus in the face of errors was an issue but her vocals were very pretty throughout and she was noticeably more engaged emotionally and artistically in the second half of the song, which was touching.
Me and Tamara received very positive feedback from the group for our "Say Something" duet. Crystal described the performance as "incredible", which was very encouraging and she commented that there was a much stronger connection between me and Tamara. One negative that both her and Elica pointed out was that I pulled away from the mic too much causing me to be overpowered by Tamara at points. I tend to overthink whilst performing and worry about being too loud during the climaxes in the song and so I pull back so that the sound of my voice is not distorted, but from the feedback received it is clear that this is not an issue and so I will work on focusing completely on emoting rather than analysing whilst performing.
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