Tag: Christina Aguilera

“The Voice” Brings Out Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” For Sandy Hook Tribute

the voice sandy hook

Last night on NBC’s The Voice, the show opened with the contestants backing up the coaches — Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, CeeLo Green and Christina Aguilera — singing Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah” in a tribute to those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

The coaches, contestants, host Carson Daily, and Social Media Correspondent Christina Milian held up signs with the names of the 26 children and adults killed at the school as well as a card for Nancy Lanza, the mother of the mentally ill shooter (although it appears they opted not to hold up a card for the young Adam Lanza who also killed himself).

I am usually not a fan of the way people pull out “Hallelujah” as a tribute to those who have died. For example, I have seen awards shows use the famous Jeff Buckley recording to accompany a video of artists who passed away. The beautiful song is often overused, and despite the title and biblical references in the lyrics, the meaning of the song is not really as religious as many think, touching on love, obsession, and sex. Leonard Cohen has stated that the song “explains that many kinds of hallelujahs do exist, and all the perfect and broken hallelujahs have equal value.”

That said, The Voice rendition and their selection of which verses to sing was appropriate and one of the few times the song has been used so effectively in tribute. So as much as I don’t want to admit it, it is a beautiful tribute on what has become one of my favorite music competition shows. Check it out.

As Saturday Night Live did this weekend after its children’s choir “Silent Night” tribute opening, after the opening, The Voice went back to the usual show.

What do you think of the tribute on The Voice? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Hurricane Sandy Concert Ends With Springsteen’s Hope

    Springsteen Sandy Telethon When I heard that several stars like Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Christina Aguilera and Sting were going to appear last Friday on a one-hour “Coming Together” TV concert on NBC, I could not help thinking of the similar benefit that had aired on the four major broadcast networks September 21, 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. There were similarities to that benefit because both marked sad times with performances by many of the same artists in a darkened studio. There were some differences this time, though, such as the fact that the Fox network tried to stir up some controversy about NBC’s Sandy fundraiser.

    Also, on Friday’s show, some of the performers were able to touch on some hopeful notes while still acknowledging the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. For example, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Tyler remembered better times and looked to the rebuilding when they sang “Under the Boardwalk,” accompanied by some of the other artists.

    As the show went on, I tried to anticipate what Bruce Springsteen might sing. After reasoning that “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” probably would not fit with the night’s theme, I had suspected that Bruce Springsteen might perform the somber “My City of Ruins,” which he wrote about Asbury Park and which he performed after 9/11 and had performed at another show in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

    Instead, though, when Springsteen and the E Street Band took the stage for the final song, they reached into their catalog for one of Springsteen’s more hopeful songs, “Land of Hope and Dreams.”

    For an explanation of the legacy, history and optimism of “Land of Hope and Dreams,” check out our previous Chimesfreedom post on the song, including how the song connects to Springsteen’s ending reference here to “People Get Ready.”

    Finally, remember that organizations still need your help even after Hurricane Sandy is no longer on the front pages. Visit Red Cross’s website or some of the other organizations offering help to volunteer or donate. Or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10.00 to help those hit by the hurricane.

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    High School Trauma for Pop Stars

    Bob Dylan No Direction Home

    I once saw a story where Christina Aguilera told about her high school prom experience. She already had her first hit with “Genie in a Bottle” and was no longer attending regular classes. But one of Aguilera’s girlfriends found Aguilera a prom date at her old high school. So, Aguilera hoped for a somewhat normal experience for her age of attending prom, just as she was on the border between being a teenage student and pop star.

    Christina Aguilera Genie in a Bottle Everything went well at first. She had fun with her girlfriends and her date. The other students were on the dance floor. Then, the DJ put on “Genie in a Bottle,” and all of her former classmates stopped dancing and went to their seats. Aguilera felt embarrassed and heartbroken.

    I can imagine both sides in the story. There was Aguilera trying to hold onto normalcy for a few hours longer before her life became completely insane, and then she was rejected and scorned by those from whom she sought acceptance. But I also understand teenagers being teenagers and making a stand against someone who had effectively placed herself on another plane, one they would never reach. Therefore, they refused to play a part in some rich and famous person’s fantasy.

    I thought of that story recently when re-watching Martin Scorsese’s Bob Dylan documentary No Direction Home (2005). One of Bob Dylan’s high school classmates told a story about Dylan performing at a high school talent show. Dylan banged on the piano like Jerry Lee Lewis, belting out a rock and roll song. His Minnesota classmates did not know what to think and probably did not react the way the Dylan had hoped. The principal pulled the curtain while Dylan was still singing, thus ending one of the first public performances by the future icon in humiliation.

    Taylor Swift I know we often ascribe too much to childhood events. But I still cannot help speculating how Aguilera’s experience shaped her, just as our high school experiences shaped us. Similarly, in a October 10, 2011 New Yorker article, “You Belong With Me,” Lizzie Widdicombe recounted how Taylor Swift went through a similar period of exile in adolescence when her friends turned on her as she started becoming famous. Despite her success, like Aguilera, she still felt the sting. To get back at the mean girls, during her sophomore year of high school, Swift bought a silver Lexus convertible because in Mean Girls, that was the type of car driven by Regina George, who the girls in Swift’s high school idolized.

    Just as in those cases, I see a little of the teenage Dylan, facing rejection from his principal and peers, standing on the stage with his older self years later in 1966 in Manchester at the Free Trade Hall. As Dylan listened to a crowd booing his conversion from folk music to electric music, he might as well have been playing for his principal and high school classmates when he (or someone in his band) requested, “Play it fuckin’ loud.”

    Dylan found his high school revenge in an expression that was better than buying a car or anything else money can buy. While the lyrics of “Like a Rolling Stone” ask the listener, “How does it feel?,” there is never an answer back from the song’s target. But we know from the roar of the song what the singer is feeling. Redemption.

    Note: The above Free Trade Hall performance later became misidentified as the “Royal Albert Hall” performance. Bonus Trivia Question: What legendary group mentions Royal Albert Hall in a famous song?

    What do you think of these high school stories? Leave your two cents in the comments section.

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