We didn’t do our usual Popstar to Operastar liveblog last night, so by the time we got round to reviewing it today, we already knew that Jimmy Osmond had been voted off. It killed the mystery of the show a little, but truthfully after his poor performance of Voltare last week it wasn’t a huge surprise.

Last night Jimmy attempted Amor Ti Vieta and we actually thought it was his best week yet. It was his most believable and least ‘pop’ opera performance and his range seemed much improved.

Judges Comments:

Katherine: “I think this has been a turning point for you, it’s the first week where you’ve had a proper aria and it’s forced you to sing in an opera style. I hope you preferred it because I enjoyed that.”

Rolando: “It was very, very touching. Technically there is so much to work on but the one thing an opera singer should never lose, and you didn’t, is the connection with the emotion and that was fantastic.”

View the original post Watch Jimmy Osmond on Popstar To Operastar – 29th January 2010 on Unreality TV

Reality TV addict Jimmy Osmond has been voted off ITV’s Popstar To Operastar.

The former I’m A Celebity Get Me Out Of Here contestant found himself in the bottom two with McFly singer Danny Jones. It was his second time at the bottom, having been placed there alongside Saturdays singer Vanessa White last week.

All four judges unanimously voted to save Danny and Jimmy told host Alan Titchmarsh:

“I’ve had a blast!”

View the original post Jimmy Osmond leaves ITV’s Popstar To Operastar on Unreality TV

Popstar To Opera Star continues on ITV1 tonight and we can’t wait to watch Delectable Darius once more. Although we are liveblogging the show, we may be about an hour behind the rest of you, curse that awful Celebrity Big Brother!

We start with a tedious introduction of the judges. We know who Meat Loaf is! Move on please.

DARIUS CAMPBELL
Darius kicks off tonight’s performances and someone on Twiter compared him to Mr Bean….which kind of ruined the illusion for us! This week Darius will be singing in French and apparently his mispronunciation is leading him to sing about asses. We thought that Darius’ performance was a lot stronger tonight, he definitely performed it well. We could so see him waving that cape about and being torn apart by an angry bull!

Judges Comments:

Rolando: You gave energy, you gave a performance but the French was not all there.

Lawrence: I think that we can now out you as a secret pretend matador as a child.

KYM MARSH

So Kym stuggled this week with her drinking song, which by the way we heard Paul Potts sing in concert last week. He was amazing at it, can Kym compare?

We really enjoyed Kym’s performance and think she might be a bit wasted on Coronation Street. With a voice like that, why is she wasting her time snogging mingers like Steve McDonald and Peter Barlow?

Judges Comments

Katherine: There is such a massive improvement on last week. You tend to go flat but you didn’t do that today. Next week we need to work on projection.

Meat Loaf: I think you have a real problem…and that is you’re going to get invited to every party in London from now on!

Lawrence: You were sophistcated, elegant and sexy!

DANNY JONES

Like Darius, Danny Jones struggled with the whole singing in another language thing this week and after a crash course in Italian he repeatedly strugled with one particular phrase.

Although his performance wasn’t as technically good as either Darius’ or Kym’s, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that he will reach the final of the series. Danny has an army of McFly fans backing him and no doubt voting for him repeatedly!

Judges Comments

Katherine: Swoon!

Rolando: Danny you worked very hard and this was a dangerous piece for him. He really kept the operatic voice and I’m very proud of you.

Meat Loaf: Danny I applaud you, you were there every moment.

Lawrence: I thought that was a very mature performance. It was all about opera and pop Danny was left behind.

MARCELLA DETROIT

It’s Shakespeare Sister girl again and though she impressed us vocallyon last week’s show, this week we’d like to see a bit more confidence and personality. Tonight she will be singing an aria from Madame Butterfly.

Marcella is by far the best amateur opera singer on the show and that shows in more difficult pieces the judges are choosing for her. We loved her tonight and thought that she looked a bit more comfortable than she did last week.

Judges Comments:

Katherine: I think you are far to hard on yourself. You had the hardeest song and you worked really hard. I thought it was outstanding.

Rolando: I think we worked very hard to the the emotion of the piece. But we did not hear that magnificent moment that we got in the rehearsal room.

Meat Loaf: She was singer about her lover coming back, if I was him I would be swimming to you.

VANESSA WHITE

So Vanessa was devatsted to be in the bottom two last week but not annoyed enough to make practice! Rolando was not a happy bunny at all. She’s singing Sumertime, which seems a bit easy in comparison to Marcella’ song but hey, if she hadn’t got the time to rehearse…..

Vanessa started off badly and it didn’t get much better from there. She was screechy at her top end and had no performance or emotion at all. We’re hoping that she leaves tonight.

Judges Comments:

Katherine: In fairness this is quite an easy song this week. It’s in English and I think you got away with it but if you had something more difficult it would have been a challenge.

Rolando: One thing is to say you want to give it 100%. Another thing is to perform like that….you did it!

Meat Loaf: I have to disagree with Katherine. I actually think it was the hardest song because it’s so well known and people know if you’ve nailed it or not.

Lawrence: I love the fragility in your voice.

BERNIE NOLAN

Tonight Bernie will be singing the love theme from the film The Godfather. We thought it was pretty unfair of Katherine to sing it with Bernie, how off putting would that be? Show off!! Bernie decided to try a high note at the end and then regretted sugesting it when she realised how difficult it would be. Luckily she pulled it off and her whole performance was about 10 notches above Vanessa’s. We would never have expected Berne to be such an accomplished vocalist, we wonder if Coleen can sing as well?

Judges Comments;

Katherine: That ending blew everyone away. It was amazing. I wish that I had that top note honestly. You were slightly ahead of the orchestra but I can forget that because the passion was there.

Meat Loaf: There are hitmen all over the world in tears right now.

Rolando:You took breaths in strange places but thats what I call a chaka chaka (?) performance!

Lawrence:It is extraordinary to hear the noises that you make.

JIMMY OSMOND

Jimmy is singing another song that we heard Paul Potts sing this week, the poor man just can’t hope to compare. The sight of Jimmy serenading his wife was quite sweet, he should make it through to next week just for that wee piece of lovliness.

Katherine criticised Jimmy last week for starting a phrase in his opera voice and finishing in his pop voice and it looks like he hasn’t managed to shed that habit. After the first two lines he could have been singing any Osmond’s sng in a different language.

Judges Comments:

Rolando: The words were not there and the voice was a little tired. You were struggling but you tried very hard.

Meat Loaf: Jimmy the middle of that stage right there, you did something with your hand and it was sexy dude. If your wife wasn’t heer I’d have you on the floor.

Lawrence: Last week you sold us ice cream, this week I thought it was a bit of cheese. Next week lets have opera and tragedy instead.

View the original post Popstar To Operastar liveblog: Friday 22nd January 2010 on Unreality TV

So we’re liveblogging tonight’s first ever Popstar To Operastar and if it wasn’t presented by Alan Titchmarsh we might actually be excited.

It’s an interesting concept though, they are aiming to turn former pop singers such as Kym Marsh and that Saturday’s girl into bona fide opera singers. The contestants are being mentored by the lovely Katherine Jenkins and the snakey eyebrowed Rolando Villazon and critiqued by Meat Loaf and Lawrence Le flouncy blouse (aka Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen).

The show kicks off with loads of VTs. Katherine and Rolando tell us how amazingly emotional Opera is and Meat Loaf boasts about all his experience.

JIMMY OSMOND

It all runs on a bit and then Jimmy Osmond emerges, he’ll be singing that Cornetto song. He rehearses too much and tires out his vocal chords. Will he be ok singing tonight? Oh the drama!!

So he starts singing and can I just say he looks incredibly like Paul Potts, which is no bad thing! Unfortunately he doesn’t have Paul’s range and the extreme notes prove quite challenging for him, however those middle ones weren’t too bad and you can’t help but like Jimmy. Come on, he’s Donny’s brother!

Judges Comments:

Katherine: I loved that Jimmy, you’ve been practicing and practicing and there’s still some things we need to work on. But I loved it!

Rolando: You did a great job, I think sometimes you uncover the sounds and go to your pop voice.

Meat Loaf: That dog was hunting son! Your Jimmy Osmolo now.

Lawrence: If nothing else you’ve just sold millions of tons of ice cream!

KYM MARSH

So Kym’s kacking herself about the lack of miming and she’s singing the song from the Stella advert….in French! 24 hours before the show Kym awoke with a frog in her throat…panic stations!

She emerged onto stage in a stunning silver, floor length gown and as well as singing her opera song she seemed to act it a bit more than Jimmy. No mean feat when you consider that she doesn’t even understand what she’s singing. She seemed good to us and she nearly made us cry…surely that’s a good thing!

Judges Comments:

Katherine: What we’ve got to realise is that this song isn’t necessarily an aria, so you had to make up your own story. I loved you interpretation.

Lawrence: I thought the nerves slightly affected the French but I loved the way you trickled down that staircase like a river of sequins!

ALEX JAMES

Alex loves Opera, unfortunately he says he’s not a singer, he’s a bass player. It seems like he chose the wrong show then and when he sang for the first time we were doubly convinced. He certainly no joy to the ear! As Rolando said ‘the instrument is not spectacular!’

However he won us over with all that air guitar playing and comedic energy. His performance was the funniest thing we have seen since Mark Fowler did Dancing On Ice or John Sergeant’s Paso Doble! Reality TV genius…..this Blur man has to win!

Judges Comments:

Lawrence: We had never envisaged it being sang in the style of Dennis The Mennis before!

Rolando: That was as far as opera singing can be, totally bad. However you were enjoying that performance and the audience enjoyed it. That is also opera!

Meat Loaf: That was like watching two women kissing in the subway. It was the best opera from a rock bass player in the world

MARCELLA DETROIT

Marcella Detroit, was one half of the band, Shakespear’s Sister and sang lead vocals on their hit ‘Stay’. She’s probably the least famous person on the show tonight, however we know she can hit a high note so she should slam this one. Marcella had a bit of a breakdown, but at least she didn’t have a sore throat like Kym and Jimmy and she can actually sing which gives her one up on Alex.

So Marcella emerges in a vibrant blue (or is it purple…) floor length dress and I think we’ve found the most talented singer so far. She makes the aria (at least we think it’s an aria) sound effortless and we think she has secretly been an opera singer all along. Her nerves were palpable, but she carried it off well anyway. We loved it!

Judges Comments

Lawrence: You were nervous but when you brought out the heavy artillery it was amazing.

Katherine: The top notes are just stunning and when you are singing the high notes I can relax. You need to learn to support the lower notes more.

Meat Loaf: That song is a prayer and darlin, your prayers were answered. Hallelujah!

DANNY JONES

During rehearsals Danny can’t believed that little old him will be singing a huge Pavorotti number. He started his performance off quite wobbly but improved as the song goes on. We loved seeing gorgeous Danny in a suit for a change, he looked good enough to eat. Danny performed well and had great stage presence but we don’t think he should give up rocking any time soon.

Judges Comments:

Meat Loaf: You want to kiss those beautiful ladies int he front row, commit to that! Kiss ‘em!

Rolando: You said you tried to be relaxed, but you started a little bit weak because you were nervous. You did build up and with the energy of the audience you sang well at the end.

VANESSA WHITE

Here comes that Saturdays girl who is sickeningly beautiful…so jealous! Rolando loves her voice and is excited about working with V, so she must have a lot of potential. Rehearsals are a problem though, as all The Saturdays promo work doesn’t leave much time for practice. Katherine is concerned, but we think she will nail it.

Vanessa starts strong and is almost as good as Marcella but without the nervous energy. She has more of a range than her Saturdays tracks exploit and can convey emotion beautifully. We like VW, lets hope the judges do too.

Judges Comments:

Katherine: She did really well, this aria has really long phrases which need lots of breath and control. You didn’t do that as well as you did in rehearsals but your voice is beautiful and we can work on that.

DARIUS CAMPBELL

Yes we did say Campbell, Darius Danesh, the man who murdered a Britney Spears song has changed his name in a bid to sound more Scottish. After losing on two previous reality TV shows Darius is hoping to win this, however it doesn’t look promising and practices are bad for the big D.

OMG, we had forgotten how truly beautiful this man is in real life and the first verse was a complete blur as we got lost in those gorgeous brown eyes. However, the rest of the song sounded pretty amazing to us and we didn’t hear even one faltering note. I don’t know why those judges were worried.

Judges Comments:

Meat Loaf: Dude, you were locked in and you know how we know? You asked him a question and he could barely answer. Opera is about this!

Rolando: I have to say that it’s not easy to do this in such a short period of time. Overall you have worked very hard and you got those high notes, though we were far away from the original key.

BERNIE NOLAN

She’s been in the Nolan Sisters for 35 years? Surely they broke up for at least 20 years in there! Anyway she’s crippled with nerves, so much so that she almost breaks down at the dress rehearsal.

She looks pretty classy in her floor length sequined black dress and she’s not a bad singer either. She has a much larger range than expected and the nerves aren’t too obvious. She mastered the language better than Kym Marsh and in all we think it was a pretty good performance for an amateur.

Judges Comments:

Lawrence: I really loved that performance. It was one of my favourites of the evening.

Meat Loaf: You were a lady in Venice and singing to the sky. I will be your sky darling!

Katherine: I think you did so well and the few problems were due to nerves.

Rolando: You say you were thinking of your mum, but I think you were also thinking of everything we covered in practice. I was very very happy with your performance.

Before the results are announced Gary Barlow and Camilla Kerslake are making an appearance. Gary was hiding behind the piano, obviously trying to throw the spotlight on his new protegee, but if we’re being honest, we found it all a bit boring.

RESULTS

Danny’s safe, no surprise there. Nervy Marcella survives, Darius make sit through *swoon*, Jimmy, Bernie and Kym are last through, leaving Alex and Vanessa to fight it out for the last place.

Rolando tries to resign and then saves Vanessa, Katherine saves Vanessa because of her vocal capabilities, Meat Loaf saves Alex because of his roots (it didn’t make sense to us either!) and Lawrence saves Alex. It’s a tiebreaker, kind of like the X Factor deadlock but not as exciting. Vanessa makes it through on the public vote and Blur’s Alex goes home. We think he’ll cope ok.

So do you agree with who was sent home tonight and do you have any comments or observations on tonight’s performances? Leave your comments below!

View the original post Popstar To Operastar: First show Liveblog- Friday 15th January 2010 on Unreality TV

Singing legend Jimmy Osmond has admitted that his famous brothers persuaded him to take part in ITV’s Popstar to Operastar.

Jimmy revealed:

“I came over here to meet the producers and they said, ‘just for fun, go and vocalise with our coach.’ It would never have crossed my mind that I could hit a big note, but I did and the coach said, ‘that’s cool’.

“Then I went home and didn’t think anything more about it,” continues Jimmy, who has sold over a 100 million records as part of The Osmonds and is also a platinum-selling solo artist. “But soon after, I got a call asking me to take part in Popstar to Operastar. When I told my brothers about it, they said, ’get out of here! You’ve got to do it. We’ll cover for you here’. So now Merrill is doing shows for me in the US, and I’m over here having the time of my life!”

View the original post Jimmy Osmond ‘My brothers convinced me to do Popstar To Opera Star’ on Unreality TV

Jimmy Osmond, who has enjoyed a huge number of pop hits, is part of one of the most famous singing families in the world. It was they who urged him to become a contestant on Popstar to Operastar.

46-year-old Jimmy, who performs regularly in the Osmond Family Theater in Branson, Missouri, takes up the story. “I came over here to meet the producers and they said, ‘just for fun, go and vocalise with our coach.’ It would never have crossed my mind that I could hit a big note, but I did and the coach said, ‘that’s cool’.

“Then I went home and didn’t think anything more about it,” continues Jimmy, who has sold over a 100 million records as part of The Osmonds and is also a platinum-selling solo artist. “But soon after, I got a call asking me to take part in Popstar to Operastar. When I told my brothers about it, they said, ’get out of here! You’ve got to do it. We’ll cover for you here’. So now Merrill is doing shows for me in the US, and I’m over here having the time of my life!”

Jimmy, who charmed ITV1 audiences in I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here in 2005, outlines why he has so enjoyed training for Popstar to Operastar. “I love learning new things,” beams Jimmy, who is happily married to Michelle and has four children.

“I like anything that pushes me. If you always only do what you’re comfortable with, it’s like Groundhog Day and soon gets really boring. This is something very different for me. I’m always up for an adventure – and this is certainly an adventure!”

Jimmy, who holds the record as the youngest ever artist to have a number one single in this country (he was just nine years old when “Long-Haired Lover From Liverpool” topped the charts), has adored being mentored by Rolando. “He’s great,” Jimmy enthuses.

“He’s so passionate about what he does – and he doesn’t even know how good he is! There is a lot of ego about some entertainers, but there is none of that with Rolando. He’s so eager to help.”

Finally, Jimmy underlines how pleased he is to be taking part in Popstar to Operastar. “This might be beyond me – I know it’s sink or swim. But I’m just glad to be invited to be one of the fish in the aquarium. The others are beautiful clown fish and angel fish. And I’m a sucker fish, one of those guys who swims around cleaning out the tank!”

View the original post Popstar to Operastar: profile of Jimmy Osmond on Unreality TV

He told the newspaper, “It’s really hard when you don’t make it. It’s dangerous to their lives.

“We need a support group for all the kids that made it so far and then are no longer.”

However, whilst he reckons it’s hard on the losers, he thinks the show’s concept is a good idea as it discovers talent that might otherwise not be found.

“Reality shows are great because kids who would never have an opportunity, get exposure” he added.

What do you think? Should Simon set up a Loser Line? Let us know.

View the original post Jimmy Osmond says X Factor needs Loser Line on Unreality TV