Word: underwoodã
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...does, and we therefore should not take Souter’s appearance for granted. Last year’s commencement speakers at other Cambridge and Boston-area colleges included Arthur creator Marc Brown at Lesley College, former Wellesley College President Diana Chapman Walsh at Cambridge College, and actor Blair Underwood??who spent a week at Harvard as an Office for the Arts artist in residence earlier this year—at Emerson College. These speakers are undoubtedly worthy choices, but they do not have the cache of the University’s recent speakers, and it would...
...first song, “Cowboy Casanova,” despite its title, is a distinct break from Underwood??s earlier work. It affects a Lambert-lite stomp and swagger, but Underwood is no rockstar. She sings in perfect pitch, but there is no feeling; in a market where the pop audience demands sincerity, or at least heart, Underwood can provide neither. Worst of all, the song lacks recognizable hooks or an engaging melody. It’s all bluster, no substance...
...applaud and highlight performances of vocal excess, culminating most often in “glory notes.” It is an aesthetic comprehensively rejected by the record-buying public, if the album sales of most “Idol” winners are any indication. The key to Underwood??s prior success was that she discarded the vocal theatrics prized by Randy Jackson for solid, conventional country music written by hardened Nashville pros like Josh Kear and Hillary Lindsey. “Play On,” by contrast, features the talents of a murderer?...
...level, focusing on Underwood??s voice might make sense, as she is a technically flawless natural, as effortless a female singer as any in a genre which has a richer tradition of great female vocalists than any other. As her eponymous 2005 debut and 2007’s “Carnival Ride” showed, she can sing country—and ballads in particular—with verve and gusto. But on those albums she sang the songs; here, she overpowers them, such as they are, with pyrotechnics. The result is impressive, perhaps, but certainly...
...would be unwise to doubt the ability of someone with Carrie Underwood??s telegenic looks, extraordinary vocal gifts, and successful track record to, one day, become a global pop sensation. But if Underwood truly intends to crossover into the pop mainstream—or at least to an audience consisting of someone other than Randy Jackson—she will need to start by hiring a new set of songwriters. Taylor Swift might be a good start...