Am I alone in finding Paul Potts-mania completely baffling?
For those of you who have been living in a vacuum for the past couple of months, the aforementioned appeared on and won Britain’s Got Talent on ITV, as a mobile phone-selling opera singer.
Since winning, he has released an album which has, predictably, shot to the top of the chart, outselling everything else comprehensively.
What I don’t understand is who buys this stuff? And, more pertinently, why? If people truly want to listen to opera, why not go for the real thing and buy some Enrico Caruso?
At least Enrico was never forced to sing an operatic version of REM’s Everybody Hurts!
Why not go for the real thing? People ARE going for the real thing. Enrico Caruso died years ago. Paverotti is just about through his singing career and here is a shy young man with a terrific talent that deserves all the promotion he can get to move ahead as a world class opera singer and people are anxious to encourage him and quite frankly WANT TO HEAR HIM SING. What more do you need for a reason to buy his CD? Hope that you now understand. If not, I really wonder about you !!!!!!!
CARUSO WAS A MAGNIFICANT OPERA SINGER . HE’S DEAD BUT HIS MUSIC WILL LIVE ON . FINE … BUT WE LIKE TO IDENTIFY WITH A PERSONALITY WHO HAS TALENT AND WE LIVE THE DREAM WITH THEM. WATCHING A PERSON PERFORM , MAKES THE EXPERIENCE COMPLETE. PAUL POTTS MOVES ME , WHEN I SEE HIM PERFORM . THATS WHATS IMPORTANT. THATS WHAT GIVES US CONCERTS TO GO TO. LET YOUR WRITER SIT AT HOME LISTENING TO HIS CRACKLY 78’S
Thanks for your comments. I don’t deny that Caruso died a long time ago – does that mean I should stop listening to the Beatles or Beethoven, though?
Maybe he is exceptionally talented… I guess I’ve seen the whole “talent” contest so many times now, I’m extremely cynical about it. If he’s still selling records in 5 years time, I’ll deem him a success and think about reconsidering my position. The one thing I’m grateful for is that he won Britain’s Got Talent and none of the others did