Let the choir sing…
No Madonna performance – especially when televised live in front of the entire world to see – is safe from criticism. But what you’ve read this morning (or overnight) following the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final deserves a word or two by yours truly, and it is a chance to stop and think about it that we should not miss.
To be fair, we think we are objective and yes, last night SHE was off key three or four times during Like a Prayer.
We’re not saying that longtime, die-hard fans should not be allowed to criticize that performance as we are clearly not blind little monsters.
But this morning we read so many experts advising her to take singing lessons and this really makes me laugh.
Do you really think Madonna needs singing lessons to perform Like A Prayer? She has sung it hundreds of times with different moods and arrangements over the years and she has shown us that she is capable of singing this anthemic song very well.
Those who know her well as an artist also know that on these occasions she is always very emotional during the first moments of these performances, she is very tense at the beginning, she then relaxes and burns the house down. Last night this cleary didn’t happen. Maybe something was wrong with her voice feed in her headset, maybe there were some unexpected technical issues going on that we are not aware of, maybe she was pissed off, maybe shit simply happened. The result were three of four moments of off tune singing during the first part of the performance by the woman who knows that the show must go on, even if you fly and take a severe fall onstage.
A professional explanation of what coul have happened came from singer Darren Hayes via Twitter today: Madonna was having difficultly finding pitch due to her in-ear mix.
“Happens to the best of us,” Hayes explained. “That arrangement was very sparse and I imagine sounded a mess from the stage. I don’t think the average audience member understands how isolating it is, sonically, using ‘in-ear’ monitors. You’re entirely reliant upon what is given to you – so if the sound is murky – you just have to work with what you’ve got. Pitch is relative to what you hear. Like A Prayer was clearly a struggle but you can hear, once the next rack started with more instruments (and bass, which is essential for pitch) – her pitch was great. She works so hard, I’m amazed she still wants to do this. Anyone criticizing her for being ‘old’ – fuck off.”
To be fair, what is happening today on social media is not normal. All these alleged longtime fans and/or media experts, who seem so enraged, indulging in multiple Tweets, comments on Instagram and Facebook messages to denigrate her, claiming Madonna is over, that she has to retire, that she can’t sing…
It’s nice to be back to 1985 like in Back To The Future and read the headlines about Madonna from back then. This behaviour reminds me of those passionate murders, in which the killer does not stab the victim only once but multiple times, showing that it’s a crime of passion, a love/hate murder.
So what is the trigger starting all this uncalled shaming often coming from people who act as Alpha males only because they feel safe behind their computer screens?
It may have to do with the fact she didn’t release the new song they expected, she didn’t copy her old self on this new album, she didn’t make the kind of video they would have liked, she decided to do a theatrical tour instead of an arena one, the theatre tour is indeed very expensive and many of them can’t afford it, she doesn’t do theatres in Italy, Spain and Arendelle or simply because instead of dying and turning from an icon to a LEGEND she is still here to fight discrimination, ageing, getting older and wiser but she is doing that her way, as usual not following conventions or walking on known paths.
All this fury on media today can’t be justified by four off key singing moments on a song she has been singing live for the last 30 years. You, the people who are so enraged today, just stop for a moment, and think about which button Madonna has pushed in you with what she does today, to make you react this way, to quickly offend, judge and dissmiss others as you would never want others to do with yourself.
To be fair, very few of these media experts commented on the real scandal she provoked last night, a scandal for peace and unity, putting together the flags of two enemies in an touching embrace of friendship.
Not everyone is coming to the future, not everyone is learning from the past. Let the choir sing…
