Round Eight: Gilad v themriron2 (422 views)

[Steve]

This is Gilad v themriron2 in Round Eight of the Clip-Off. You have five days to submit your clips, and until 23:00 BST Time December 18 to vote. December 19 is the Results Day.

You have three categories this time! You can use any of your singers in Free Choice regardless of whether they were used in the other two categories, but if you choose to use all three of your singers and sweep, you'll get a bonus point!

The categories for Round Eight are:
1. Best Live Performance: A live vocal take done during a live show, a stage show or live in studio, etc.
2. Best Studio Performance: A studio recording of a vocal performance, which may include backing and/or harmony singing.
3. Free Choice: A clip you thought was interesting in terms of its vocal that you just really want to show off; you can use a song here that you were perhaps saving for a category but didn't get to use.

The contestants are free to post their clips, voting commences as soon as they have.

Vote here.

Current Vote Count: 1

[Gilad]

So for the final round of this Clip-Off, instead of picking the most "vocally impressive" performances, I've decided to pick the clips that I feel, while still impressive, most represent the singers on my team as a whole. Also, these are some of my favorite songs by each respective singer, but that's beside the matter.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Best Live Performance - Ryan Tedder}
(47:51 - 51:36) Ryan fucking kills it performing one of his band's most vocally demanding songs, "Love Runs Out". Consistently belting out Bb4s in the chorus, some strong D5s, effortless melismas, nice quick switches to falsetto, a G5 scream, and just super stamina singing overall. Absolute vocal unit.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Best Studio Performance - Serj Tankian}
(0:43 - 3:21) "Chop Suey!" is very often considered to be one of the greatest metal songs of all time, and Tankian's iconic and truly one-of-a-kind vocals played no small part in making that the case. The song hooks you with aggressive, rapid-fire singing on the verses, which not many vocalists can pull off successfully. Then the song transitions into Serj and Daron's lovely harmonized singing on the chorus. And of course there's the last minute of the song, which is one of my favorite parts in any song ever. Dammit nobody does it quite like Serj!

SPOILER: Click to show

{Free Choice - Jack Black}

(1:25 - 5:17) This clip has quite a bit of spoken word, but I think those parts are relevant and I feel it showcases exactly what JB is all about, and what he does best. An incredibly entertaining performance of Tenacious D's classic "Tribute", and Jack freaking nails it in every way. His comedic delivery, the control over his vocal distortion, his bombast, his great singing. It's all here.

[themriron2]

The last round! I'm excited to see the results; though I've made some good and bad choices, I feel this round - like Gilad said - comes down to not just picking the clips you've saved for last, but also showing a clip that simply shows off what you love most about your singer. Regardless of how they score, I love all of these clips.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Best Live Performance - Ayunga}
Timestamp to end.
I've decided to include part of the intro as I feel it is important for setting the tone. This is one of my favourite performances of all time, taken from the Super Vocal final.
Ayunga tells the story of a dying Mongolian soldier writing his final letter on his coat in his last moments, overcome with grief and pain, longing to return to his home and family. This story touches Ayunga's heart deeply, as a Mongolian singer forced to leave his home in his younger years. And what a delivery!
There's really nothing Ayunga does not do in this performance; with the soft, subdued verses rising into choruses that drive ferocity and intensity past the maximum, I believe this is not just a display of performative excellence, but a truly world-class singing showcase.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Best Studio Performance - Mao from SID}
Timestamp to 3:18. You may optionally skip the instrumental bits from 1:28 - 1:37 and 2:27 - 2:45 if you're not a fan of guitars or short on time, though I enjoyed them enough to leave them in and they're not long. I included the intro here to set up the first verse, but that too may be skipped directly to 0:36 if you wish for the reasons mentioned.
This song is quintessentially SID; the eccentric dress styles of visual kei Japanese rock, heavy guitars and drums, and an earworm chorus hook. Mao does well here, providing good vocal contrast between verse and chorus, with a tender, acoustic chorus before the triumphant finale for some variation.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Free Choice: Best Chinese Song That Accidentally Became an Internet Meme - Fei Yu-Ching}
Timestamp to 3:33; you may skip the instrumental bridge from 2:18 - 2:44.
Sorry, "Super Idol的笑容", this song wins this competitive category for me. Aside from the rich meme value of millions of TikTok users never shutting the fuck up to the tune of this song, this is actually quite a soothing singing performance; spanning C♯3 - F♯4 with a sweet, smooth and consistent tone. This encapsulates Fei's singing style; while lacking the mind-blowing extremities of many other styles, he is able to deliver a velvety-smooth, refined performance, with meticulous dynamic control - a deceptively difficult feat in your higher register, but one he is an expert at - and decades of experience mastering his tone.