<p>My yardstick tonight is measuring snarky comments … and I’m out of yardsticks. So I’m done. Enjoy your evening.</p>
<p>What musica said. She didn’t master a Puccini aria. If this had been an archery contest she wouldn’t even have hit the target. We can applaud her for her military service, but not for her ability to sing opera. What would have been smart would be singing a much simpler song, maybe from the musical theater repertoire. Even her hometown newspaper said her singing lost her the title. Wasn’t she already in the top ten before she sang?</p>
<p>No she made the top ten before she sang. And I guess my point again is - that we don’t have to be so cruel. My guess is that a woman who decided to join a pageant nine weeks before the state contest did not have years of practice at pageants, with lots of coaches, etc. She did it her way … and did the best she could. Maybe it wasn’t the best choice, but it was her choice. And if it wasn’t up to par …well then, that’s probably why she did not make the top five. But again, why do we feel the need to attack and tear down others in such insulting ways? It goes to the point made that started this thread to begin with.</p>
<p>Besides the fact that the entire enterprise is silly…bad bad singing is just that. And it’s bad singing on national television where these women parade in front of what? In front of judges and the public. It’s all about being judged… for better or worse. If you can’t stand the heat stay out of the kitchen and off the stage. And don’t pretend something so utterly stupid is courageous.</p>
<p>I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the contestants, but I like Miss NY better than many. </p>
<p>IMO, the hue and cry ought to be about the pageant itself, which was a hot mess from beginning to end. The video introductions were stupid, and a poor substitute for the contestants coming downstage center one at a time to introduce themselves; the “Selfie Cam” was ridiculous, and the images she shot with it were hard to watch; the contestants’ wisecracks about “butt glue” and “boobs up” were not funny enough to be worth the crassness; the singers clearly could not hear their accompaniment, which is why they ranged from mediocre to embarrassingly out of tune, and which disadvantaged them relative to dancers, instrumentalists and baton twirlers (and while we’re on that subject, who knew there still are baton twirlers?); the use of current Top 40 music was absurd, particularly the playing of Jason Derulo’s “The Other Side,” (about friends who are going to get drunk and have sex tonight–see the lyrics here: [JASON</a> DERULO LYRICS - The Other Side](<a href=“AZLyrics - request for access”>AZLyrics - request for access)) when Miss America was announced.</p>
<p>(Oh, good God, listen to me–I’ve turned into my own grandmother. Now you kids turn down that rock and roll music! And don’t sit so close to the television!)</p>
<p>I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about Nina Davuluri being Miss America. I just wish I could get back the two hours I spent watching that train wreck.</p>
<p>
If I remember correctly, one spot of the original top 25 was voted on by the internet. She was the winner. No one knows if she would have been in the top 25 otherwise. She did stick around for the top ten so good on her.</p>
<p>I’m not pretending anything musicamerica - I think I’m still allowed my opinion. If I think she showed courage for trying the song, for entering the pageant … I have the right to think that. You obviously have a strong opinion that she was terrible - that’s your opinion - I guess I was trying to ask and say why do people have to be so hateful? I just never get it - and don’t see the point. You can say you didn’t like, didn’t approve - that your music expertise leads you to believe she made a poor choice. All very different than some of the attacks I’ve seen here.</p>
<p>And I guess I would wonder why you would waste two hours of your time for something so silly to begin with?</p>
<p>We are not hateful…we are like you. We are offering opinions. Like you. And I did not watch the program. My opera singer daughter brought that nightmare of a performance to my attention tonight. We had a good laugh.
That was BEYOND a “poor choice”. It was stupid. On so so so many levels.</p>
<p>I like the descriptor “stupid.” It just kind of sums it all up.</p>
<p>Because you have labeled YOUTUBE activity and the one week study of opera, (that take people years and years to master) as courageous …well that’s your opinion. But don’t expect us to shrink away in shame because you think that our opinions are just mean. Sometimes stupid is just that…stupid.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What I took issue with was the over the top praise in the article depicting her vocal accomplishment as almost prodigy like. She did nothing of the sort. In fact it was almost an insult to valid Opera singers to frame it as such. Miss America has always had the talent portion, and singing is usually the go to talent for those who are weak in that area. (This is not to say that there haven’t been valid vocalists because there has). She did just what many others have done in the past when they needed to fill that requirement.</p>
<p>Brown priide!</p>
<p>Tvenee…“almost an insult”? No…FULL ON INSULT> ;)</p>
<p>Why has my D studied this art form for over 12 years when she could have just pulled up a YOUTUBE video? I will tell her to eschew the $150/hr lessons for the internet in future.</p>
<p>There have always been Miss America contestants who are wonderful in every way except for…talent. They suddenly regret quitting piano lessons or whatever and have to come up with something quickly, and it’s obvious they have not put the work into it that other people have. Just because you can wow your friends with kareoke doesn’t mean you can sing a difficult operatic aria. If it were so easy, everyone would do it.</p>
<p>Those people who say Miss Kansas was “robbed” are just ignorant or biased. Or both.</p>
<p>It seems as though the same people who labeled her poorly sung opera as “courageous” labelled her tattoos as “art”. Some of those people are also the ones who commented on twitter that Miss NY was not a real American. Although they might be entitled to their opinions, my opinion is that they are showing their ignorance.</p>
<p>I’ve always felt that singing was a copout talent. It’s so overdone that, in my opinion, you need to be amazing to have your efforts recognized.</p>
<p>The real problem is having to showcase your "talent ". What if your talent is making pottery? Or cooking gourmet meals? Or interior design? Or jewelry making? Or writing short stories? Or photography? Or lab research? </p>
<p>You can only showcase a few things but true talents are many and varied. Which is why so many attempt singing I suppose. Couldn’t one of them come up with 120 seconds of stand up comedy though??</p>
<p>I guess the unstated requirement is that it be a Performing Art sort of talent. I remember one year an artist did a really quick but beautiful piece of art (maybe with pastels?) while music played.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Merciful God, I hope not!</p>
<p>I agree…awful “opera” trumps bad comedy. At least awful opera is funny.</p>
<p>I am pleased that Miss New York won, but early on I liked Miss California…until she opened her mouth. I felt like her interview question should have placed her lower than 2nd. I had no problem at all with the top two being ethnic-American. </p>
<p>I thought the violinist did well and I thought her interview answer was good. I was surprised that she was 5th. Personally, I liked the redheaded Irish dancer who did not make the top five. I thought all the vocalists were pretty bad. The girl who sang from Les Miz should be punished for what she did to that song. And “For Good” is a duet for heaven’s sakes. </p>
<p>I have been watching this pageant as well as the Miss Texas pageant since I was little (I used to get to stay up past my bedtime to watch Miss Texas) and I love to see how fashion has evolved, especially the evening gowns. Not having the need to shop for gowns, I did not know that peplums were in! I was glad to see more color. There was a time when nearly everyone wore white.</p>
<p>Well, after 15 years of classical dance training, I didn’t think it was very good Bollywood either. But why do they even have the talent portion? It doesn’t pertain to their future duties. </p>
<p>If I wanted to hear opera, I’d go the opera. If I wanted to see Bollywood, I’d rent a movie.</p>