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Shanghai music aims to silence its critics

michael!.gifIn recent years, Shanghai's critics have leveled some pretty heavy criticisms at the music scene:

With one sweeping move and a startling invitation, Shanghai's music elite looks to silence its critics forever. On December 12th, they will rest their hopes that the Shanghai music scene might rise to greatness on the (very large) shoulders of one man. Who is this man? None other than the illustrious Michael Bolton.

The grammy award-winning crooner will play two nights in China, first on Shanghai's Grand Stage before heading to Beijing. Shanghaiist hopes that both cities have enough Zingers Tea, avocados, and fine cheeses on hand (not to mention the gospel choir) to meet the superstar's high demands.

Despite his status amongst Chinese critics as 'outdated', Bolton's deep baritone and soulful renditions of timeless classics still ask very pertinent questions, such as:

  1. How am I supposed to live without you?
  2. How can we be lovers if we can't be friends?
    3. and of course:
  3. Can I touch you there?
For answers to these questions and much, much more, be sure to get those tickets well in advance ...

Contact the author of this article or email tips@shanghaiist.com with further questions, comments or tips.
By Jeff Jorve in , on August 12, 2005 2:32 PM

Comments [rss]

  • ManAim

    Jorve, Are you kidding?



    Michael Bolton can't hit tenor high notes!?



    Check any of his songs, almost in each of them he gets above tenor C easily.



    You probably thought it's not high because he hits that notes easily so it sounds natural.

  • He can hit very high notes (he has gone up to high F (F5), mind you), but his true voice type is still that of a higher baritone. He has trained himself to sound like a professional tenor, but his true baritone voice is evident in his earlier songs. Listen to "Rocky Mountain Way" to hear his naturally deep and husky Joe Cocker-like voice (before it was trained to sound much higher).
  • z

    can i touch you there? is my favorite lesson to learn from all music.



    but i'm afraid dj assault does a better job than bolton.

  • Jorve

    I am going to have to call shennanigans on this one, as I have seen Michael Bolton in concert. Moreover, I saw Michael Bolton in concert with Kenny G.

    While you might not classify his voice as baritone, he is definitely not a tenor in the truest sense of the word, i.e. his vocal range. Baritone, in this context, was used to classify him as a mid-range vocalist, able to hit both low and high notes, but not the extremes of bass and tenor voices.

    "Deep" in this context was meant to convey the husky nature of his singing. He often seems to growl out his vocals, so the adjective "deep", for me, conveyed the sense that he had to dig down to find those notes, or perhaps the feelings behind the notes.

    I appreciate your clarification of what must have been misconstrued as my lack of familiarirty with Michael Bolton's work. As a matter of fact, I am painfully familiar with his work. Hoep you enjoy the show, and I apologize for any mix-ups regarding voice classification.

    Cheers...

  • Well said, I agree. Bolton is a high baritone who has trained himself to sing very high in full voice.

  • "Deep baritone"? Looks like Michael Bolton has a chance to bring his piercing high voice to new fans in Shanghai, fans who've never heard his voice before. A rare chance indeed.

  • Michael Bolton's true voice type is that of a high baritone, that becomes evident because of his very deep timbre and vocal colour. His tessitura also used to be lower (back in his blues days where his technique wasn't as good as it is now). He is an EXTREMELY trained and technically skilled, which results in his incredible high register. Bolton's voice can be best described as a high baritone who has trained himself to sound a lot like a professional tenor voice.
  • jorve

    whoa, hairtrigger!



    as soon as we have ANY further information, we will let you know.



    Until then, you're going to have to sit on your thumbs or something.

  • Gun

    WHERE CAN I BUY TICKETS?????????????

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