As I mentioned in my November 21st post, there is a special airing on CBS tomorrow night called "Movies Rock" celebrating the role of music in the movies. The live event was held in LA last weekend. This article from the International Herald Tribune called the event a "collision between the Grammys and the Oscars" as present-day stars of music and film paid tribute to the former legends and songs of the silver screen.As reported, Usher dances to "Singin' in the Rain" and after reading the praise about the number (a standing ovation?) I can't wait to see it. You can see a brief glimpse of Usher doing a Gene Kelly move (in Don Lockwood attire) at the preview video on the Movies Rock website, http://www.moviesrock2007.com/.
6 comments:
I thought he did well - at least it wasn't like the Volkswagon commercial, which was a travesty! I wasn't too fond of Usher's singing, but the dancing was enjoyable.
I agree that Usher gave a nice tribute to Gene. He added his own "spin" to the routine, but all in all he did Gene's choreography and you could tell it was a labor of love.
I had seen and heard Usher for years and his performances never made a lasting impression.
On his "Singin' in the Rain" recreation I was absolutely entranced in a way that I don't recall since Michael Jackson way back on the Motown 25 special (was that now 25 years ago?) Anyway - Usher's choreography was obviously a close recreation of Gene Kelly's, in addition to the musical arrangement, but as much as I love the Gene Kelly original, Usher simply nailed the vocals with a nifty soulful approach that made a timeless classic new again. In my mind this marks the rise of the House of Usher.
Boat Doc, thanks for writing! It's Usher's soulful approach to the singing that many Gene fans did NOT like. But, you're right - he made it his own! It was a fine performance, and it was certainly the best of the night. I wasn't all that impressed with many of the other tributes.
Amazing performance, looooved the updated music and Usher proved again, that he is a master showman! His range of depth is astounding..one of the greatest....
Amazing performance, looooved the updated music and Usher proved again, that he is a master showman! His range of depth is astounding..one of the greatest....
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