I’m almost certain no one, including myself, on this planet ever thought I’d be writing about an America’s Got Talent winner. No,
Hell has not officially frozen over and pigs aren’t flying, but this is most
definitely an unusual occurrence. Just
the fact that I know about someone on that decently trite piece of American
television is strange, but to be a fan of anyone that Howie Mandel approves of
is close to ludicrous. Channel flipping
was the cause of me finding this talented performer. While scrolling through the piles of TV drivel
one lazy night, I heard Grace VanderWaal’s voice for about three seconds and I
stopped smacking the channel button. I
remember being mesmerized by her tone, tenor and masterful control of what
could be the most original and sincere voice I’ve heard in a very, very long
time. Then I came to realize she was a
young girl…playing a ukulele. No backup
band of professional musicians. No
background tape. No backup singers. No digital processing. Just a voice, an instrument and a
devastatingly impressive abundance of talent.
Upon hearing that she was the young age of 12 and that her song was an
original composition, I was floored with instant admiration and respect.
It was around the
first quarter of 2017 when I began wondering if anything had been going on with
Miss VanderWaal. A search on Amazon
informed me that she released a digital EP called Perfectly Imperfect. With a
quick download, it was mine. Simply
stated, I was just as astonished as I was that first night in front of my
television. The EP, on the mega huge
label Colombia, is comprised of five songs with this singer-songwriter’s raw
capability at the helm. She has a
perfectly pitchy, scratchy tone that she is in complete command of and uses it
to give every verse and chorus character and individuality. Her words are interpersonal and real. These are not the ramblings of a typical of a
12-year old and makes one wonder what she will compose in the future as her
experience with the world expands. She
starts off with the song that hooked me in the first place, “I Don’t Know My
Name.” The song brings to mind the great
singer-songwriters of the 60s as she pushes and pulls the pace adding such a
human element that is absent from vast majority of pop music now. The rest of the songs continue in the same
vein, with her song “Clay” being the highlight as it has more spirit, emotion
and transparency than anything I’ve heard in years. The closing song “Gossip Girl” is the only
one with any real, composed musical accompaniment with dominating and
overbearing stereotypical pop percussion and keyboards. This is the only song I don’t enjoy as much
on the EP, and it is for that reason exactly.
The first four songs sound organic and innocent while “Gossip Girl”
sounds pushed and as if it fell into the hands of a producer that thinks she or
he knows what will sell. Here’s hoping
this gifted young lady is able to keep her vision, independence and personality
in the money hungry shark tank that is Columbia Records. Her artistry is bigger than money and should
be nurtured, not manufactured.
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