James Durbin Performs “Screamin” – David Cook Co-Write (VIDEO)

o/*SCREAMING*o/

Ok, here is my honest to god opinion on the song. I listened to it once, then I listened to the other 3 songs on that site. Then I listened to it again. After a few minutes of it marinating, I listened to the song a 3rd time. So I gave the song an honest try. And I can honestly say I can’t stand Durbin’s singing. I really hate the chorus, but I did enjoy the bridge.  I like the music, but I can’t stand the lyrics.  There are much better songs out there that are about bullying without being so literal.

I suspect Cook’s involvement with the song was mostly with the music, and the lyrics were mostly Durbin. I’m curious how much Ryan Star was involved with this song, because I don’t hear his style AT ALL.

With all that said, I will listen to the studio version, hoping ProTools can work that shit out. *ducks anything & everything that will be thrown at me*

Um. Well… I’ll have to give the recorded version a listen?

Yikes. I held my tongue through the VH1 and Fox News performances, but after this StreetDate video I just don’t know. Is James Durbin the first high-placing Idol ever who cannot sing without Pro Tools? I agree that a few of the leaked album tracks have been stronger than the lead single, but every single one of his live performances so far this rollout has been flat-out unlistenable.

I know his fans will follow him to the ends of the earth, but if he sings like this through all his promo opps, expanding his audience is going to be seriously problematic.

I’ll definitely listen to the studio track before deciding if this song will join the eclectic likes of Frankie Negron and Arrows to Athens in the “Random Cook Compositions” playlist in my iTunes, but I’m not thinking anyone’s getting rich off the royalties on this one.

who ever booked these acoustic type outings should not have a job anymore. Wind up needs a hacker to remove all traces online of all the songs he has done live for this album so far. This 1 seems like itll get the next song button treatment when cd arrives.

I think the open-finger gloves make it a holiday tune.

Uh really painful..makes me wanna scream. LOL

I’d like to hear David Cook sing that. 

Lee Dewyze, I truly apologize to you. I gave you such a hard time for the key of Lee.  It wasn’t that bad really. This is bad.

Cookie, please do whatever you must to remove your name from this song and I will try my best to wipe it from my memory. The little amount you will make in residuals cannot be worth it. 

Wind Up should never book any more of these promo gigs for James, they are horrid. The band looks like they are going to crack up. 

Idols don’t get a pass from me on bad live vocals.  Or hair, I always have an opinion on both. 

The long-lost twin of LMB. Me no likey. This is definitely a Cook song. It has that monotonous, lazy beginning then exploding into repetitive screamfest which can pump you up or bore to death.

Wow, that was bad. Hard to imagine what contribution Cook made here. Maybe he intended it as an ironically humorous counter statement to all of the “it gets better” messages out there. ;-)

OTOH, oddly enough, it seems fitting for an album called “disaster.” Heh.

Ok, I did some digging thru twitter, and yes this was filmed the afternoon of the VH1 morning performance in NY.
It’s a shame all these performances were from that trip when he was sick.
His voice seems somewhat strained in all of them.

Can’t wait to hear some more recent performances,(hopefully not acoustic).

 I wonder what part of that is David? Someone has to ask him at Meet and Greet…. Okay…. Someone volunteer.

Maybe he shouldn’t do live shows.

These songs are just not meant to be sung with accoustic, takes the edge off them.

So we got to hear two new James Durbin songs today – Right Behind You I thought was fantastic, and Screamin’ I hated.  But as I said, I will wait to pass final judgement on the song when I hear the studio version.  Besides James struggling with the singing in this video though, I don’t think I really like the song itself.  It sounds to me like it should be sung by a teen singer with a bunch of kids screaming the chorus or something – not my kind of song at all.  I don’t really like the melody or the lyrics or anything about this one (sorry David).  Hopefully I’ll like the studio version better, if not I’ll just skip over this one when I listen to the CD I just ordered.  After Higher Than Heaven and Right Behind You, Screamin’ is a let down – it’s my least favorite so far.

WTF?  Trying to give Durbs the benefit of the doubt trhoughout this process, but this is a steaming pile of dog poop, from beginning to the end.  Yikes! 

That’s not Cook’s style… At all. His songs aren’t “screamfests” and I’ve never really been “pumped up” bye a Cook song. 

The song is okay… Not great, not awful. But the vocal? Oh my… That was one of the worst I’ve ever heard. I’ve heard better from Durbin, and if he wants to expand his fanbase, he’ll have to become more consistent. 

Hmm, I would have never pegged that as a Cook song and I’m pretty familiar with them :) Or a Ryan Star song for that matter. Curious what their contributions were exactly. 

I just quit.  I don’t know what happened to the Durbin that I sorta liked on idol.  This was just awful.  I don’t think I will be listening to anymore of his performances.  

Oy. Maybe I’m cranky because I hate these acoustic performances each time I watch them. I couldnt even sit through this and this is from someone who has always defended James when people say he cant sing. Now here’s the problem. I keep reading these are bad because a) James was sick b) so and so song isnt meant to be acoustic and c) James doesnt sound great in the morning..ok so what happens album drop week and he appears on all the morning shows all the Idols appear on? The ones like Regis and Kelly where the studios are so tiny you have no choice but to strip these songs down and you cant have a big rocked out performance? Whether or not these songs should be sung acoustically the point is someone booked a lot of acoustic appearances. If he ends up singing like this casual viewers wont have excuses to go along with bad singing.

And since David has to do with this song I’m just going to come out and say this – he would sing the snot out of this. I’ve heard David do soundchecks early in the AM with a bad cold and never missed a note. Argh.

What the hell was this? James needs to stop with live promo until he gets some voice training. That was awful.

I like the lyrics and melody of all his songs so far. I’ll bet this “Screaming” track is awesome live and also the studio version… I ’ve never  been a fan of acoustic from any of the idols

Whether he is sick or whatever, I still prefer the rawness of his voice over the syrupy, autotuned, poppy, growly crap the others from AI 10 have put out so far

WoW..Screamin’ for sure..and not in a good way!  There are many things wrong about this, but to me the biggest is the almost parody spinal tap talk up of the song in the beginning..”Here’s a song we like to call Screeeeeaaaamin ”  LOL-REALLY! :)

 I’ll bet this “Screaming” track is awesome live 

errr um that was live

I like his Rawk Mittens. His mourning voice? Not so much.

Well, I’ve got to give Cook the benefit of the doubt. Frankie Negron has sung a song of his and David Hodges has and they are both pretty good songs. This one only seems recognizeable in the music. David’s lyrics tend to be more off center. As I said, someone must ask him at an M&G. 

If I haven’t seen Durbin singing quite perfectly dozens of times on many you tube videos, I would assume he can’t sing. But, these NY acoustics performances are letting me down. Hope it’s just a flu or something, otherwise, he will lose a fan.

“I suspect Cook’s involvement with the song was mostly with the music…”

gigglesmo3, this would not surprise me, but I haven’t really heard the song the way it was meant to be played…just this acoustic version. If David is mostly involved with the music, I would look for evidence of that in the electric version. I’m not sure why acoustic is supposed to sell rock, unless the singers vocals are amazing, and on that day, James was not.

I listened to the song for traces of the writers whose styles I might recognize, and I’m at a loss to pinpoint David, Ryan, or Greg Wattenberg influences in this. Bobby Alt I don’t really know…and with that many writing credits, I also can’t know how much tweaking the song went through. 

I think I’ll wait to hear the album track – meanwhile adding this to the list of WTF!Cook Co-writes as Number #4.

I think James will have some kind of career. But my sense is that he’s a showman more than a musician. I bet he’ll put on a great show for his fans – lots of piano jumping and fire bursts – and they’ll be happy. Certainly he has energy and enthusiasm. To be fair, live singing is very difficult, which is one reason why I find Kelly so remarkable. (And while I can’t stand Carrie’s personality, girl has pitch.) An awful lot of singers don’t sing well live. My other theory is that James is ruining his voice with the screaming. There’s a good instrument in there somewhere, but he’s never learned how to use it. 

Is this a joke? Christmas party drunkard rehearsal?

Oh my… O_o

Is there any way David could erase his name from those credits…? As someone who has listened to just about every piece of musical composition of David’s that’s out there for the public, I can’t hear anything that screams (ahem, no pun intended) “David Cook” stylistically. Or any touches of Ryan Star either, for that matter.

I couldn’t get more than two minutes into it before I had to stop. My ears were bleeding. This boy needs some serious vocal coaching, sick or not.

I didn’t realize Scotty and Laurens album were poppy, autotuned, syrupy and growly. Thanks for the info, I’ll check it out. 

His weakness as a singer is that he is so hit and miss with live performances. Sometimes he does good, but then like here, it’s terrible. He had this issue on Idol as well. There are a lot of musicians today that cannot sing well live either, but coming off a singing competition show, people expect a certain level of quality and consistency. I feel bad b/c he obviously has the talent but it’s unfortunate when the live stuff just isn’t coming together consistently. 

I don’t think the song is horrible, though not as good as his two leaked songs, and we’ll have to see if he can handle it better in the future.

This guy is a walking vocal disaster. Why are they sending him to do live promo sessions? Are they determined to kill his career before it starts? He should just do studio music where they can auto tune the hell out of him.
David Cook I think you’re great dude. A great singer and song writer but what the hell were you thinking when you gave this song to him? I bet he had no choice.

Weird, I love David Cook’s music, even songs he’s written for others, and I also love Ryan Star’s music.  I like Right Here With You, which was cowritten by them.  I don’t really like this song, at least not this version. I’m not sure if it’s the vocals or the song itself.  The lyrics seem to fit James more so maybe they are his lyrics.  I do hear a bit of Ryan’s song structure especially in the beginning of the song.

That’s because David Cook can sing his ass off, and that comes from someone who isn’t exactly a fan of his.  I’ve never had to read that he has a cold or it’s too early. Suck it up and sing…..

Yikes. After being pleasantly suprised by the last two song leaks I am not loving this and it’s not necessarily the song. It’s the vocal. I bet the song probably sounds ok on the cd. James is going to have to figure out a way to recreate the way he sounds on the cd in a live setting. Even remotely like he sounds on the previously leaked tunes would be nice. This has me wondering how much help he had in the studio for the recordings. Then again lots of musicians sound awful live and if the song sounds good on the radio people will buy it. Think of Katy Perry, Kesha, etc. The thing is radio has to actually play it and with a new artist like James he will have to do small acoustic sets for radio stations to promote the single and with the meh Love Me bad and his live vocals lately getting a chance at another single like Higher Than Heaven may not be a given, and that would be a shame. That song rocks.

Has Durbin been booked on any morning shows for his album drop week?  I haven’t even heard an rumors. 

Cookie does sing the snot out of anything, totes true.

Non acoustic then… on a big stage even

Well of course the studio version will sound like he is a pro because of the “magic” of technology! (and i am sure he will not be “sick”) Face it, James heart is in the right place and he sings ~with feeling, but of all the live performances I have seen/heard from James(all the way back from Idol), there are many vocal issues that are just not good. But once he hits the studio, smooth as honey! So if he can sound that way recorded, and there is no auto-tune going on, then he should sound at least half as good live, but he doesn’t! So, yeah, he should either avoid live performances, or lip synch to his auto-tuned recordings. I’m sorry, and this is just my opinion, but THAT was terrible!

Er– no. But I will give the studio version a listen or two. This live acoustic? No.

There are ways to sing with a cold, professionals learn how to do it.  It shouldn’t be an excuse and there’s been a lot of excuses flying around for James’s live promo gigs. 

OMG! Fingerless gloves!!! So ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU GO DURBS!

And BLACK bandana! so metal!

Holy knitted mittens batman, this must be a joke! If I were Cook, I’d get my name off this crapfest ASAP. They need to stop letting him perform acoustically. He can’t do it. Obviously. 

I’m definitely not getting bored, not jumping through the window because of his screams…Hm, the song has a dance tempo a Paso Doble maybe, from the four of them it was the only one has made me tap my foot, I like it. Stand Up is good. Seems he really enjoys performing the song, that is the best part as long as means something to him to share his frustration, he has two bully-filler songs and the rest commercial-ones, not bad.

To me, in my opinion, the other AI 10 music so far is boring and poppy and sappy and not worth listening to. That’s my opinion.
 I just prefer more original, natural, less karaoke, rock type music. Very rare in the AI world, I know. I am still looking forward to his CD and any youtube videos that get posted. YMMV
Anyhow, I bid you happy listening to whomever you enjoy listening too… :)

If James is going to be opening for a bigger act, on tour would he have the benefit of the pyrotechnics & fancy lighting like a headliner would?  His sales may dictate a scaled down tour support including the band.

Oh my.

I wasn’t a fan of James the contestant, but I did think he could sing. I really thought his biggest problem was that sometimes he would get so lost in “performing” that he would lose the pitch. Plus, I root for everyone to make it after the show. So my fingers have been crossed for him.

But there is no excuse for this. Wow, that was horrid vocally. That was Gokey “Dream On” bad. Yikes.

That song does not sound good either. I know Cookie has some involvement but hey, everyone has a stinker sometimes. That’s totally one, unless the recorded version is dramatically different.

So, I’m hoping James pulls it together before he has to perform live on any major TV shows. I don’t remember him being this bad in his post idol press tour performances, though I admit I didn’t listen to them all. And don’t do this song anymore. Stick to the other ones we’ve heard so far, those are much better.

I actually think James is a great performer and sounds good recorded so he has stuff to work with, but he can’t so things like this regularly.

James needs to change his voice to match an acoustic arrangement.
lower the key in certain areas and smooth out his vocals. it can be done!

The big problem I see here is that James can’t sing live. Is there auto-tune for live performances? His pitch is a serious problem, as are the screechy high notes. This was painful. I don’t know what the future holds for James. Pitch is hard to improve, even with training. His vocal problems are particularly obvious in acoustic performances. When he sings “plugged in” with a band, the instruments can help drown out the pitch and screechy problems. idk?

Change the acoustic arrangement to work for the song and the vocal. If James can’t do it himself, hire someone who can and learn it.

But changing his voice would probably work too.

I like “screaming”.  They found a way to make it melodic and catchy while still doing some screaming vocals – and it works which isn’t easy to do.  Its kind of anthemic and has melodic rock and punk vibe like ‘My Chemical Romance” and Green Day.  I’ve heard “Screaming’, “Higher than heaven”, Right behind you” and the first one he did for that football compilation CD – and they are all pretty good.  Its looking like his CD will be one of the good idol CD that even those who don’t listen to anything harder than Pop Rock will appreciate.  I like what I’ve heard, and I listen to pop/soul/hip-hop/pop-rock/Alternative-rock/Latin-pop.

This was absolutely vocal disaster O_o. No joke! After watched this, i’m beginning to appreciate Lee’s vocal ability.

Oh Geeze:( my ears are bleeding, I will NOT be buying that CD.

Agree, both ways can help

Screamin’ great name for this song… thats exactly what it sounds like.

You know what, not everyone can sing well when they are sick. I get that, not everyone can sing like David Cook. I don’t expect them to. I went to a Collective Soul concert where Ed Roland was sick and sounded like ass. And he knew he did and apologized between every song. So, yeah I know not everyone can sing well when they’re sick. But Ed has admitted that he’s not a good singer.

However, There have been MANY times (on Idol) that I found Durbin’s voice excruciating. Was he sick those times, too?

Change the acoustic arrangement to work for the song and the vocal. If
James can’t do it himself, hire someone who can and learn it.

Paging David Cook…David Cook? An acoustic rearrangement is required on Aisle 9.

ETA: Honestly, I wish this would solve the problem. But I’m far from convinced the arrangement is the issue here. Even the flaming pianos and the judges tongue-bathing couldn’t mask the vocal issues on Idol, and without them he appears to be completely lost at sea. Cringe-worthy.

Its kind of anthemic and has melodic rock and punk vibe like ‘My Chemical Romance” and Green Day.

I’m a little insulted on MCR and Green Day’s behalf. That doesn’t sound like them at all. 

This is a prank right? WTF was that? I thought Durbin can sing? I know he is watching this videos right and hearing how terrible they are. I hope he gets it together. 

Watching Durbin is like watching a fifty car pileup. You can’t look away.

So this is not going to be an informative post. I could not get the gist of the music, as I could not get beyond the horrendous vocals. Man can’t sing. Why are they forcing him to sing live?

And yes, everyone has an off day. This is not an off day, but yet one more horrendous vocal in a pattern of terrible vocals which go all the way back to his experience on idol. This is a singer who can’t sing.

How in the world will James be able to have his voice last on a long tour playing sometimes 6 nights out of the week?

Well one thing is for sure-James album won’t be boring !!  Interesting to hear that this was done in the week when he was sick .I’d like to hear this done live again when he’s well to compare. There are not many albums I buy where I love every song but I am looking forward to the variety that James album will provide -such a change from the c[rappy] , poppy dance music that’s been around for 10 years .Time to move on.

I too prefer rock to other types of music.
The only other music from AI 10 we’ve really heard is from Scotty and Lauren.
Although I like both kids, I pretty much can’t stand country music.
It all seems boring and sappy to me, (Lauren being a little more poppy.)
And as far as dated and throwback, it doesn’t get more so than old school country which Scotty does so well. His fans seem to love it though, and he’s selling well.
So I guess it just all depends on what you like.

BTW, neither is growly-
that comes in the spring ;)
(Please Haley, you sound so much better without it).

My issue is with the song itself.  It’s ABOUT screaming…the word should not be screamed at every opportunity.  Sing ABOUT it and then give a good scream at the climax.  Too many cooks in the kitchen.

Oh god, I nearly died laughing.

Now I’m realizing that I click on those acoustic performances from James to see if it’s as bad as the last one or worse because I’ve lost all expectations of him to actually sing well.

The only things that can save James live are some explosions and marching bands. Or really really loud drums and guitars that would drown him out. 

I still just think he is way out of his league. Album sales will tell!

Anyone else find it amusing when he sings, “Still waiting to get better” and “everybody hates us”?

I just prefer more original, natural, less karaoke, rock type music.
Very rare in the AI world, I know. 

How come James is the most original, less karaoke and the only one rock type idol alum contestant?

The guitar player in the back took his headphones off at the end. Lulz

Aw, James had some really good vocal performances on Idol, especially early on. He CAN sing live. Maybe he’s not consistent, but he is not always this awful.

I didn’t think he was consistent enough to win, but that doesn’t mean he can’t do it.

Well, that was a bloody awful scream for sure. For the public good, somebody needs to stop him from singing live again.

whoa. I liked a couple of the other songs from James’ album that we’ve been able to listen to, but this one? uh-uh.

Agree about time to move on – but not to this.

The guitar player in the back took his headphones off at the end. Lulz

Yeah.. his band members look like they are really feeling the song. 

However, There have been MANY times (on Idol) that I found Durbin’s voice excruciating. Was he sick those times, too?

I was looking for a quote I remember from James about how he was less concerned with pitch in a live performance than with getting the audience engaged.  I didn’t find it, but I did run across his Idoloonies Interview.  In it, he mentions that he had a cold the week he sang “Maybe I’m Amazed.”  Which was one of his better vocals.  Because he couldn’t hit the high notes that week and had to do something else instead.

I was reminded watching the interview that James is very intelligent and gives a lot of thought to his performances.  Unfortunately, these live radio/tv appearances can’t rely on staging (because the stages are tiny), and there may or may not be a live audience to be engaged.  He’s going to have to work on putting across the songs in a stripped down, acoustic setting.

I’ve never thought that James has a great voice, and honestly, many of the singers in the genre that he wants to go into don’t have great voices.  For the most part, it seems like their personalities are the main focus.  I do have to commend James, since aside from the lead single, it seems like he’s making the type of album that he wants to make, and the type of music that he’s passionate about.  This sound isn’t radio friendly, so he it will be harder for him to find commercial success, but at least he’s being true to himself.

I don’t think James could or should ever be compared to anyone else in the music industry and or especially idol.  He’s in his own league….good or bad!

Guys, guys, this song meant a lot to him. We should applaud him for fighting back through his emotions to give a vocal like he just gave. No, it wasn’t perfect. But it was emotionally perfect.

The fact we could feel his emotions is the mark of a truly great performer. He’s not just a guy that can wail up into the stratosphere, or some rocker who just sings these high notes and screams, that’s not who he is. He has the heart and soul to back it up.

Are you really replying my post? which one? Because I’m not Durbinator. LOL

*apples and oranges*

Applaud? LOL, no. That’s exactly what went wrong on Idol, applauding crappy singing because of emotions.  what’s the point of being emotional about a song if it’s so painful to listen to people don’t want to listen to it or buy it. 

The only emotion I felt was uncomfortable and second hand embarrassment.

Montavilla – ITA and I just don’t I ow what is going on with Durbin. These performances and interviews are just falling apart at the seams. I’m honestly mystified.

I am not sure what you mean by emotionally perfect…all 4 of the songs he performed in this session where delivered the exact same way.  

The sign of a truly great performer is the ability to harness the emotions of the song and deliver good performances Not let the emotion overtake him negatively effecting the performances.

Morning show? You know about his morning voice, so Durbs, say no to morning show and acoustic show. Lulz.

I was channeling my inner Randy and J-Lo.

you need more Yo yo yo’s and your pretty’s in there lol

Isn’t that the Steven Tyler code for “vocals sucked”?

Anyone aware of future durbin promo coming up?

OMG, I LOVE Screaming! (everyone here must be listening to something else..:) It’s sooo going to rock, live!! I do hear David Cook writing, but sounds better with James singing.  (though Cook is good, just a better tune for Durbin).  Can’t wait for these songs in concert. Can’t wait for MOBD!

I’m sorry but by saying that, you’re not being fair to James. Give him room to really improve, not by constantly boosting him when he doesn’t deserve it. That way you’re helping him more :)

If, like this, he remains “being true to himself,” he’d better get a day job.

James doesn’t need any constructive criticism from me. On Idol, he did so much stuff that’s never been done on the show before. And he did the same thing here in this CBS Radio performance — he laid an egg.

I find it hilarious that we’re not judging Durbs on these promo performances. Exactly when does the judging begin? When will he be clear of all colds, or not performing in the am, or not emotionally spent? Or are we waiting until he hits the studio with voice altering, or the stage with loud guitars and drums that will cover his voice? I’ll check back on him at a later date then. When all the stars align.

From what the band says, no more acoustic performances are scheduled, just full on electric. Don’t know of specific upcoming dates though.

Unfortunately, I’m not listening to something else.

It’ll be interesting to hear the album version – can only go one way – well, on second thought -

I’m beginning to wonder if James has the notion that a singing career is like group therapy and it’s always his turn.  I don’t know of a single pro who is functioning on that premise.

Don’t really like it acoustically. The song sounds like it should be done full on electric, but its hard to really tell since we haven’t heard it that way yet.

I’m not going to say James sounded good in these acoustic performances we’ve heard lately. He didn’t. But since they all are from the same day, I’ll wait to hear something more recent. I’ve seen plenty of videos, pre and post idol and have heard him myself live to know he can and will sound much better.

Well then, poor him for not needing constructive criticism cause when he doesn’t need it anymore, there’s nowhere to go but down.

How many did they have him do in one day?

The band looks so freakin’ embarrassed. Oh dear ~

probably no more than any other artist on a promo tour

Well tomorrow we get to see the entire music video for LMB….no acoustics and no chimp. 

yep time to see how well pyro improves the song

Hey, fire and explosions always make it better!!!

The problem is that some of these performances were in front of radio execs/PD’s you are trying to impress and get to play your music.

If James is planning on having more of these acoustic performances he has to realize he has to tone down his  vocals just like the instruments are toned down.  He can’t have the band playing at one level & he belting the vocals out like that.  It reveals all the flaws in his vocals.  All he has to do is dial the vocals back a bit so the music supports his vocals.  Do any of his band members sing? He could also use some background vocals. We know he can belt it out but there is a time & place to do that.

I’ve got shiny ball syndrome….so fire suits me well…!

Maybe a few more years in a garage might help? I really wanted to be ok with this but that last OOO made me want to take drugs for the pain that shot through my head.

I thought that this would be much worse after reading the comments but I didn’t think it was THAT bad.  It’s got kind of a Nirvana vibe to it.  It’s Rock and Roll y’all.  It doesn’t have to be pitch perfect. 

Watching Durbin is like watching a fifty car pileup. You can’t look away…………………………………It was bad as it gets,Bad so even his band member had to remove head phone to avoid bleeding ears. His management need to stop this disaster from spreading.  Need damage control ASAP.

I’m glad I didn’t listen to it.  I hate second-hand embarrassment.

I don’t want James to be ‘perfect’….I accept him as he is, to pitch or not to pitch!  o/

I thought that this would be much worse after reading the comments but I didn’t think it was THAT bad.  It’s got kind of a Nirvana vibe to it.  It’s Rock and Roll y’all.  It doesn’t have to be pitch perfect…………………………………………..You are kidding right? This is not good and to compare it to Nirvana!!!Now I have heard it all.

I agree with the background vocals. Someone should at least be singing some harmony. I don’t know if any of them sing, don’t think so.

I believe no more acoustic performances are scheduled. But when you send a Hard Rock/Metal band out to do promo, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to only plan on doing acoustic.

I wish we could have heard a little of their “private corporate gig” they peformed at the night before these performances. It was supposed to be a full set. The way James performs, (like his hair is on fire,lol) maybe his voice was shot the next day from a crazy live performance there.
 
Who knows.

I think he did the VH1 appearance first thing in the morning, then did the thing for Fox. Then I believe was the set at CBS.

I really think you hit the nail on the head here when you said he needs to dial the vocals back for these performances.  I think James can sing – I’ve seen pre-Idol performances of his on the internet that were incredible, but I think you are right – he needs to know that when you are doing a softer, quieter version of a song you also need to sing softer, even if it’s a rock song.  You can’t belt it out like that or scream like that. 

On our local rock station that I listen to all the time they often bring in the bands to play live on air, and when they do usually the band changes up the rock songs completely to turn them into a soft rock version of the song and a lot of times it sounds completely different than the recorded version that is played on the radio.  And the singers don’t belt it out or scream like that, even if that is in the recorded version.  Hopefully by now (since these performances were all done a week or two ago and all at the same time), someone has told him he can’t do this anymore and he needs to work on how to sing his songs live to a very small audience for these kinds of performances.

I know he knows how to sing softer – his performance on the Ellen Show after he was eliminated was with just a piano and he was great then. But I think because these are rock songs and with his band, he thinks he needs to really belt it out.

I think we all own albums/cds where not every song was THAT great…!  I own the Lady Antebellum cd and my least favorite song is Need You Now…go figure…*shrug*

I don’t want James to be ‘perfect’….I accept him as he is, to pitch or not to pitch!  o/

And this here sums up your typical idol fanbase…they are a fan of the person (backstories anyone) not the music per say.

This is why idol contestants struggle after idol to find their place within the music industry

Oh dear. To paraphrase Rick Perry, “No, I can’t. Sorry. Oops.” 

You are kidding right? This is not good and to compare it to Nirvana!!!Now I have heard it all.

Nope. Not kidding.  I love Nirvana and this song is certainly not on the same level but Jame’s vocal has the same raw emotion and rough gritty quality.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the full band version was good.  James isn’t about “pretty” vocals.  He does rock.  It’s okay to be shouty when you’re doing rock and roll.  I’m not even a James fan (I prefer the pretty Kris Allen tone,myself) but I HONESTLY think he is a good rock singer.

But I accept James as a person, musically included.  I am not a fan who wants to change who he is.  I want him to be the best he can be.  I don’t expect anyone to be perfect.  I rather enjoy flaws…makes one more interesting.  To take these past acoustic performances as some definement of James as to what he can or cannot accomplish as a singer is not for me to judge.  I enjoy him as a person and as a singer…acoustics included!

“raw emotion” “rough gritty” vocals are not the same as off pitch vocals.  They are completely different things.  Also shouting is also different than being off pitch.  Being a rock singer doesn’t mean your don’t have to sing on pitch.

I agree.
This is what live rock concerts are all about.

No one is perfect and flaws are what make people who they are.  The only thing I have ever said about James needing to change is that he really needs vocal coaching.  He is very inconsistent and obviously doesn’t know how to properly warm up his voice in the mornings.  If he doesn’t get some training on how to take care of his voice, with the way he sings full blast he is gonna loose his voice.  They can help him learn how to change the key’s of his songs if he is feeling down in the weather or learn his voice to take a loud rock song and change it up to be more acoustic as well.  That is what they do.

With all due respect to my braintwin, I gotta disagree with you here. James maybe pulled together 0.5 good vocal performances in his entire Idol run. He got away with a handful of pretty good performances that were decent spectacles that distracted from mediocre, passable, or even a few truly awful vocal performances… I do agree with all those who say that a lot of successful singers are terrible live, and James has some other stuff going for him such that there’s a shot he can still do okay in the industry… time will tell and I wish him well. I just need to stop clicking on these live performances! 

P.S. It’s Sma11ie, but I guess posting via Twitter changed my name…? Also, I can’t post very much anymore because I can’t post at work anymore, boo.

I wasn’t going to comment on this thread, and didn’t on several previous Durbin threads but…you, didn’t, right?

siennalily 29 minutes ago: I thought that this would be much worse after reading the comments but I didn’t think it was THAT bad.  It’s got kind of a Nirvana vibe to it.  It’s Rock and Roll y’all.  It doesn’t have to be pitch perfect.

Nirvana, are you kidding me.  Just, no.  As a major alternative/rock/hard rock/metal fan I cannot stop myself from being appalled at that comment.

This vocal was not good at all.  Rock singers have to be able to sing live. He’s consistently had pitch issues in most of the performances I’ve seen of him on and off idol. The production on his album on the leaked songs is “pop” and the songs feel “rock-lite.”  So given these points, amongst other issues I have with the released songs (songwriting, music, etc), there is nothing for this rock fan here, and count me out James Durbin. I tried to give it a shot, that maybe your post-idol work would be better than what I saw in idol performances.

Really, really awful. I’ve tried to give Durbin the benefit of the doubt but his songs are awful and his live performances are even worse. I’ve seen many Idol alum do live acoustic performances (one of which who is always pitch perfect even when he ‘screams’ who shall remain nameless) and I think that Idol alum should be able to sing live even if they can’t deliver an album that sells. James failed at both.

raw emotion” “rough gritty” vocals are not the same as off pitch
vocals.  They are completely different things.  Also shouting is also
different than being off pitch.  Being a rock singer doesn’t mean your
don’t have to sing on pitch.

I didn’t think it was that off pitch myself but in any case the name of the song is “Screamin” so it wouldn’t expect it to be about pitch perfect vocals. Rock and Roll is about emotion and feeling and James brings that in spades.  Like I said I’m not really a fan but I can see him having a decent rock career.  I left my heavy metal days a while ago though.LOL

lol i’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry about heavy metal from James so there is that. The 4 songs we have heard so far are rock lite or sorta emo alt rock.

And the emotion and feeling is great but like I said before you need to be able to use the emotion in the song not let the emotion use you.

Also rock singers can scream in songs and still stay on pitch just fine. He just needs to work on his control and stay within his range

You guys are just blowing my mind with the comments about what a “rock and roll” concert is supposedly about.  I’ve ONLY been to rock concerts, many many of them and ONLY that genre, and this kind of singing gets the person booed off the stage.

When doing acoustic there is nothing to hide behind..no back up singers or other instruments.. maybe that’s why James is doing poorly on these acoustic performances..

Yeah I saw David perform with a swollen vocal cord and I never would have known it if he hadn’t told us at the VIP soundcheck. He still sounded fantastic.

Hmmm… well, it sounded a little better on second listen.

I always thought James sounded fine on Idol, except 2 or 3 songs, so I don’t know what’s wrong with all these performances.  If they were all shot the same day, then I hope the issue is gone!

<blockquote Nirvana, are you kidding me.  Just, no.  As a major
alternative/rock/hard rock/metal fan I cannot stop myself from being
appalled at that comment.

I’m a huge Nirvana fan too but maybe you should go and listen to some youtubes of them live if you think that Kurt Cobain had pitch perfect vocals live.LOL  I honestly haven’t even listened to Jame’s other songs but I was wondering about this one since it was a Cook co-write.  James has had precious little time to make this album (as is the case with all Idols immediately post show) so I’m not expecting a masterpiece here.  I guess when he does his second album we’ll get a better idea of what he can do.

This did not sound so hot. Clearly moving so fast on everything, recording, performing etc,. is not working for him right now. If they have been practicing the songs and he has been singing them full out, they either have to spend more time learning how to do an acoustic version and James needs to learn how to dial it back for those, or forget it and only do full-on performances. James is a good, if inconsistent, singer. He is a self-taught type singer and I appreciate that. But this is not gonna fly. I hope they learn from this and adjust. That New York trip did not go well judging by the performances. I do wonder if he has developed nodules from overdoing the high notes on Uprising all summer. If so, they need to address it. Paul McDonald has nodules, and I understand they have really been giving him trouble and is why he only sang one song last summer on tour. 
Well, whatever is the issue, needs to be addressed. 

Oh man.  Is this for real?

And I love David Cook—absolutely nothing about this song, at least lyrically, sounds even remotely like David. 

No one is perfect and flaws are what make people who they are.  The only
thing I have ever said about James needing to change is that he really
needs vocal coaching.  He is very inconsistent and obviously doesn’t
know how to properly warm up his voice in the mornings.  If he doesn’t
get some training on how to take care of his voice, with the way he
sings full blast he is gonna loose his voice.  They can help him learn
how to change the key’s of his songs if he is feeling down in the
weather or learn his voice to take a loud rock song and change it up to
be more acoustic as well.  That is what they do.

I agree with this.  He really does need to learn how to protect his voice.  I know on Idol as the season went on you could really see how it was taking a toll on his voice.

siennalily said: I’m a huge Nirvana fan too but maybe you should go and listen to some youtubes of them live if you think that Kurt Cobain had pitch perfect vocals live.LOL  I honestly haven’t even listened to Jame’s other songs but I was wondering about this one since it was a Cook co-write.  James has had precious little time to make this album (as is the case with all Idols immediately post show) so I’m not expecting a masterpiece here.  I guess when he does his second album we’ll get a better idea of what he can do.

Ya know what, when Kurt was bad, people often booed. I never said Kurt was pitch perfect, but the comparison is ridiculous, in my opinion.

Yes. Rock audience expects at least passable vocals (imo). Pop acts…not so much. Many fans of pop acts already know that their singer isn’t terribly good at what s/he does, but they go anyway, for reasons that are mysterious to me.

Ouch. That was painful. For his sake, I hope that James doesn’t have any more live acoustic performances. But since he probably will as part of his promo, I hope he gets some serious help with appropriate acoustic arrangements and vocal coaching. That was just plain bad. And being sick and performing early in the morning are not excuses for sounding like that. Skilled singers know how to sing through sickness and morning voice. And yeah, pitch counts, even in rock wailing. When he watches these videos afterwards, do you s’pose he thinks he’s sounding good or does he hear the problems we hear?

I know this is true. I remember the first time I heard Katy Perry sing acoustic, I was like – are you kidding me? But then Kesha came along and blew her out of the water. LOL! That clip that went around of Kesha in the studio before the autotune was beyond hilarious. Compared to that this sounds like Pavoratti. 

Love it! One Screaming(S) song, everybody out to comment (including me, first time on a JD thread), one action(S), almost same reaction(“S”)…!

Ya
know what, when Kurt was bad, people often booed. I never said Kurt was
pitch perfect, but the comparison is ridiculous, in my opinion.

Actually in my original comment I said that the song had a Nirvana “vibe”.  I’m not really comparing James to Nirvana or Kurt Cobain except to say that both of them are/were more about the emotion of the song than the vocal quality.  Believe me I’m certainly not saying that James is on the same level as an iconic group like Nirvana. And if I was lucky enough to have been at a Nirvana concert and someone booed Kurt Cobain I would probably jump them.LOL.

I never thought Durbin could sing during the Idol performances, and his showmanship is what got him through as far as he made it.  This is just one hot mess, as well as some of the others that I’ve heard.

The title he chose for his first album should have been the title of his second album.

I think that his interpretation has to do with his Asperger. The song is about screaming…so he screams… and it is probably how he feels about the issue.

The problem is that it’s not a therapy session.

I think that Idol alum should be able to sing live even if they can’t deliver an album that sells. James failed at both.

Well, I guess we’ll see about the sales. James is getting an almost shockingly strong push for a 4th placer not signed to a major label. He’s releasing on one of the most advantageous sales days of the year, and though it’s a crowded week the strategy is reasonably sound – his team is clearly counting on Nickelback and Daughtry buyers to throw MOABD into the cart while perusing the aisles at Walmart. He could put up some passable opening numbers, though fans should have their expectations in check.

But I have to agree that for an Idol alumnus, this is nigh on embarrassing vocally. Pickler is the only Idol I can think of who successfully overcame (relatively) middling vocals on the strength of persona, performance ability, or a nice rack. And Kellie, while perhaps not the strongest singer in Idol history, holds up well against the other country cuties out there. James is going to have to bring a lot more to the table to cut it in the extremely fragmented and insular rock genre.  

Love love love this performance, and so befitting, too!!!!! James’ interpretation of the song, the energy, just fantastic!!! Yeah, SCREAMING, ‘CUZ EVERYONE HATES US. SCREAMING ‘CUZ THEY CAN NEVER BREAK US. Love this song. A perfect song for us Durbinators, speak loud and clear how we feel!!!

Oh Boy, my five years old would get a time out for making those kind of noises…

Cripes that was bad

“Hmmm… well, it sounded a little better on second listen.”

Second listen? You are a brave, brave woman…

I guess I’m just really surprised that Cook was a part of writing this song. I’m more of a casual fan of his so I’m not an expert, but I just don’t hear anything of David Cook in Screaming.

Say what?

I agree! 

James has a great “studio” voice — he sounds so good on his recorded songs — these live acoustic outings do not play to his talents. 

Is James
Durbin the first high-placing Idol ever who cannot sing without Pro Tools?

I can’t think of another contestant in the last 10 seasons, who placed in the top four, who had such a hard time staying on pitch. Durbin’s issues with pitch control followed him from his time on the show. It’s obvious that there was a great deal of auto-tune that needed to be used on his album.   

If James is
going to be opening for a bigger act, on tour would he have the benefit of the
pyrotechnics & fancy lighting like a headliner would? His sales may dictate
a scaled down tour support including the band.

No, he wouldn’t. Durbin will be lucky if he gets a banner with his name on it. He will have to learn what it is like to be an opening act, like so many of the Idols before him. He is going to need to fix some serious vocal issues if he wants to make the most out of those type of opportunities.

Um…No.  I can’t respect any singer that needs autotune to make them sound good.  Sorry James, I did try.

I think it is fair to say that the trip to NY and singing these songs acoustically did not turn out well. It is not the worst thing I’ve seen an Idol do right before an album debut – I can remember some bumpy roads, and one epic disaster that Idols have made it through. Some people will write him off for this. I won’t write him off for the New York trip performances. But if there aren’t course corrections, there will be lots of problems, and that will be that. Then again, there is Kesha who slams notes down the toilet singing live and Katy Perry who thinks notes are like fireworks going all over the place – and it hasn’t hurt them. And I have heard metal bands that sound worse than this – lol. I will see what the rest of the album sounds like before making any career proclamations. So far there are three songs that I think are good. Let’s see what the rest sound like. I think he better avoid those little studio stages as much as possible. James seems to need to move a little to sing his best. 

ETA: On the other hand, this new Love Me Bad video is really good. Like it! http://www.vevo.com/watch/james-durbin/love-me-bad/USWV41100047?source=ap

Here is where James is losing me though.  I’ve been an Idol for for all 10 seasons and there are TONS of singers who come off the show who can sing in any setting you throw at them. As I said earlier I always defended James’ singing, but if he cant perform in an acoustic setting or being early in the morning is some excuse, well then no, I dont believe he is the kind of singer I believed he was. A truly, truly talented singer can sing any way live (see Kelly’s stunning VH1 Unplugged previews). James needs a proper vocal coach to help him and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Even some winners worked with coaches to help them to prepare for things after Idol. Applauding him when he sounds bad is never going to be any benefit to him. AOL Sessions and Walmart Soundcheck for example have been very common types of promo Idols have often got and both are stripped down performances, so I guess James isnt capable of handling that sort of thing? He HAS to have a big stage and he has to rock out to sound good? Huge disappointment to me if thats true.

The giant toy soldiers are coming for you. Hide your piano!

For what it’s worth, I am very impressed with James’ fans for not defending him just because, but recognizing there are some hurdles still, without writing him off.
Personally I’m a little intrigued, but so far these new recordings haven’t swayed me.

This song and James’ interpretation of the song really spoke to me. There is so much bullying going on in this world, in the physical world, the cyber world like the twitter world and blogs, it’s very unfortunate. This song really speaks out for many people.

Can’t seem to stop myself from checking out these live vids – guess I’m a rubbernecker. He should probably stop with these “acoustic” type performances as they are not helping him. The music is not loud enough to drown him out.

Aside from the vocal hiccups which IMO are nowhere near as bad as even some big names I’ve heard (you should hear Dave Mustaine on a bad night), IMO the main thing that makes James’ vocals so jarring in this performance is the acoustic arrangement. The only genre where songs have this much screaming is heavy metal. This song needs very loud & heavy electric guitar riffs for this amount of screaming. But it’s not like Blake & Dylan can shred up a storm in this kind of setting, so IMO this song shouldn’t be performed again unless it’s on a big stage.

Yes.  This really is a problem and not beneficial to the Idol.  For certain Idols, their backstories become so much a part of their appeal that a different (lower) standard is applied to them vs. others, which is a detriment to their careers.  Too much acceptance of flaws that will prevent them from further success.

It’s not supposed to because it’s not his song, it’s James’ song for James’ album, the songs on MOABD are supposed to showcase James not any other artist.

This was a joke performance, right?  Hopefully it isn’t intended to “highlight” James and to introduce him to the buying public…If that was the aim of the song it failed miserably in my opinion.

I am totally missing how all this pre-album marketing is supposed to be setting James up for a great debut for his CD.  As of yet I haven’t heard or seen anything from James that would set him apart as the next great thing to hit the “rock” market….in fact, as a consumer the release of all these album songs have done much more to turn me off than turn me on.  Who pre-releases a half dozen songs and a handful of live performances, which are pretty damn lame, a few days before the album….why bother buying the album when most of the stuff is available elsewhere.  Just weird.

“Screaming” is my least favorite song of James’ so far, and
it’s more the song rather than the performance even though that was really bad (I couldn’t listen to more than a minute or so).  In a recent interview, James made it seem like David Cook
was brought in specifically to write with him and no mention was made of the involvement of any others.  Yet, there are other composers credited on “Screaming”, so I’m not sure how extensive Cook’s involvement was in this song.  Perhaps, James had the most input?  Sorry, but if this is an example of James’ composing abilities, I think that he should sing songs written by others.

I think James will have some kind of career. But my sense is that he’s a showman more than a musician. I bet he’ll put on a great show for his fans – lots of piano jumping and fire bursts – and they’ll be happy. Certainly he has energy and enthusiasm.

I agree.  I think that James needs a lot of embellishments (visual/audio distractions) to augment his live performances.  He
clearly loves performing, and his fans love him despite his vocal
inconsistencies.

This guy is a walking vocal disaster. Why are they sending him to do live promo sessions? Are they determined to kill his career before it starts? He should just do studio music where they can auto tune the hell out of him.

There is definitely a real disconnect between James’ live
performances and his studio recordings which suggests that there has been heavy use of ProTools and other technology to smooth out his vocals.  I guess that what puzzles me is that
his management/label are allowing these poor performances to be public, because I think that they are not beneficial to him in making an impression on potential new fans, or launching his career.

Applaud? LOL, no. That’s exactly what went wrong on Idol, applauding crappy singing because of emotions.  what’s the point of being emotional about a song if it’s so painful to listen to people don’t want to listen to it or buy it.

Totally agree.  Regardless of what this song means to James, he’s supposed to be a singer about to embark on a professional career.  Great singers are able to convey their emotion in their
singing and make their audience feel something, and James failed to do that no matter what he felt personally.

The only emotion I felt was uncomfortable and second hand embarrassment.

Thing is, does James realize how bad these performances are?  I’m not sure that he recognizes that there are problems. He wasn’t called on his pitch and vocal issues while on Idol, so perhaps he needs coaching on when and where he needs to adjust his singing during a song.

This was absolutely vocal disaster O_o. No joke! After watched this, i’m beginning to appreciate Lee’s vocal ability.

lol  Everything in life in relative, huh?  ;)

Anyone aware of future durbin promo coming up?

Good question.  Any promotional appearances should be set by now (it’s a really busy release week).  I know about the CD
signing in Santa Cruz, but is James scheduled for any television promo next week or the following week?

ETA: There are no televised promotional performances posted on James’ website, but that could just be out of date.

Clip of the studio version (of this and more) can be found at:
CD Universe: Memories of a Beautiful Disaster (MP3)”
-
Different clips available via AllMusic.com
-
Source: IDF

Well, I keep thinking I should give him another chance and have a listen, but kinda regretting it now. That was not good…..

Thanks randomjoe, I do like Higher Than Heaven and as usual, about 4 or 5 others. I think rockers will like this album a lot. Lots of high notes, and hard rocking. Having grown up in a generation of hard rock, it will take a few folks back to their haydays of loud party bashes that made you move everything you have and then some. Higher Than heaven is my favorite and to me, today’s radio friendly sound. 

“I think the open-finger gloves make it a holiday tune.”

LMAO!

Poor Lane.

The song is way too literal.  BUT  I am not a teen age kid.  I can see how it may have some appeal.  And yeah, James has vocal issues but I am realizing that that doesn’t really mean anything.  A lot of the alt rock and current pop-rock people can’t really sing.  I still think James has a shot and he is only 22. He will undoubtedly mature as a performer and vocalist and writer.  

2 more great song releases & here we are again!  Has to be a manual for this! lol 

No punchlines, lots of punches today for Durbin & fans—another day in it.  Jubilation was in order for some here today anyway.  Didn’t listen—no need, (so many) negative responses CAN’T be wrong—will wait for recording.  Odd that this is the song that’s taking on bullying—much bigger hurdle than a song or 2 can address I guess.   Party on Durbs!   New article on AI from James today—nice read!  And this on twitter from him: “Damn Love Me Bad sounds awesome with full band electric!!!” Believe that’s a hint they’re working on it. Can’t fight the powers that released this but believe that James can/will fix it. More of the Love from your fans, James.

Hmmm I don’t hate this song but it’s probably my least fave from what I’ve heard from James so far.

And I think that acoustic performances don’t really fit him. I think he’s better rocking it out with electric music or something. I mean, I know James can sing. I saw him on tour and he was amazing…..but these stripped-down performances are not his thing.

Still looking forward to the album.

“Thing is, does James realize how bad these performances are?  I’m not
sure that he recognizes that there are problems. He wasn’t called on
his pitch and vocal issues while on Idol.”

So far from being called on them, he was told week after week after week that he was “amazing” and “perfect.” They really did him a major disservice by that, it still seems to me. He *does* have good performing talents, and you can learn to improve your vocals. But if nobody tells you you need to, before it’s too late and they send you out on a promotional tour with your rusty creaking vocal toolbox, they’re aiding and abetting your failure, if you ask me. Bring in the Sing-Off judges — or the SYTYCD judges, Nigel; I’m looking at *you* — and give the young, highly inexperienced performers a stronger foundation.

Not too good. Plus I want to contribute to get this thread close to 200 comments!

Gee, so many people saying that James has a history of pitchiness and vocal inconsistencies.  But, wait!  A rabid fan with music “credentials” has said that James has “perfect pitch”, so y’all must be wrong!  ;)  The Emperor truly has no clothes.  lol

Ok, that was bad, James and a stool don’t fare too well LOL.

The samples and credits are up at All Music: http://allmusic.com/album/memories-of-a-beautiful-disaster-r2320509 So James wrote Right Behind You, I love that song, my favorite so far.

The video is also up at VEVO and accessible to Canada Yes.
http://www.vevo.com/watch/james-durbin/love-me-bad/USWV41100047?source=ap
 

“So far from being called on them, he was told week after week after week
that he was “amazing” and “perfect.” They really did him a major
disservice by that, it still seems to me.”

I agree.  James seemed to have taken everything that the judges said as the “truth”, even repeating that Randy said that it was “his competition to lose”.  That’s why I wonder if he even has a clue that these recent performances were so bad.

Poor Lane.

Are you saying that Lane is his assistant?

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8637800

http://allmusic.com/album/memories-of-a-beautiful-disaster-r2320509

Samples are up at these two sites.  The cduniverse sample of Screaming shows how different the song sounds with electric guitars.  I think it’s just not a great song to sing acoustically this early on.  

One of the list of samples show the composers.  James is listed as the sole composer on one song…Right Behind You.  Since that’s one of the best songs on the CD and he wrote that one by himself I don’t think anyone can honestly fault any composition issues you have with Screaming on James.  Oh, and LMB video is up now:
http://www.vevo.com/watch/james-durbin/love-me-bad/USWV41100047

I think with James, the keyword is schadenfreude or maybe it isn’t. All I know is James gets more attention here than Scotty.

I hope all this “attention” translates to sales.
Being a James fan is NEVER boring!!

 (btw, LOVE the video!)

The bleak setting of that video and filming at night contrasting so dramatically with the pyro was very effective visually.

I honestly don’t think James sounds good with modern rock/pop songs. I said it way back when he was on the show. His 30STM cover was horrible, and if you listen closely to his Uprising, I mean, ditch all the loud cheering, bombastic backup band, he had the same issue then as his today’s LMB live performance. Verses in lower range sounds tuneless, and then jumping to screaming choruses is very jarring. Another theory I have is that James is a very good imitator, so the songs he really loves and has listened to a lot, he can cover it by just imitating the original’s phrasing and interpretation. But so far he hasn’t shown nearly as much ease in covering contemporary rock songs and his own originals as in covering classic metal. 

 I think rockers will like this album a lot. Lots of high notes, and hard rocking.

Yep all a rock music listener cares about is if the music is hard and there is lots of high notes 

Checked out all the song samples.

 I’m really impressed with James’composing skills. ‘Right Behind You’ is better than a lot of the other songs! (I guess he gets all the royalties from that license with the Army – Go James!)
‘Outcast’ sounds really good too, very distinctly Mars on guitar.
‘Screaming’-SO MUCH better electric.
His voice sounds great on ‘MAY’ (this one could really work well acoustic)

Anyway, can’t wait to hear the whole album!

Check out the song samples
ALL contemporary rock songs:

http://www.cduniverse.com/prod...

I honestly don’t think James sounds good with modern rock/pop songs. I said it way back when he was on the show. His 30STM cover was horrible, and if you listen closely to his Uprising, I mean, ditch all the loud cheering, bombastic backup band, he had the same issue then as his today’s LMB live performance. Verses in lower range sounds tuneless, and then jumping to screaming choruses is very jarring. Another theory I have is that James is a very good imitator, so the songs he really loves and has listened to a lot, he can cover it by just imitating the original’s phrasing and interpretation. But so far he hasn’t shown nearly as much ease in covering contemporary rock songs and his own originals as in covering classic metal.

I don’t know if I completely convinced that James is only an imitator… that to me is the difference between a ‘singer’ and ‘an artist’.  That said there are more than a bit or two that I agree with here. 

http://www.sixxsense.com/pages/mediavault/mediaplayer.html?uri=channels/380436/1542614

@ 14:10
of this interview Nikki Sixx encourages James to “do the right thing” to become a great rock star, essentially not sell out (and bashes Daughtry in the process) and James is rather meek
in his response.  Nikki’s lofty hopes for James are pretty ironic.  He must not have heard the first 2 singles that James has released.  lol

“Another theory I have is that James is a very good imitator, so the songs he really loves and has listened to a lot, he can cover it by just imitating the original’s phrasing and interpretation.”

That was most evident in James’ cover of Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) by Green Day, where his rendition was virtually a carbon copy of the original.

I think with James, the keyword is schadenfreude or maybe it isn’t. All I know is James gets more attention here than Scotty.

I think you are right and wrong and right again.  ;)  I was never a James fan during the season but I always thought he had a strikingly good voice.  I didn’t really agree with the “he was pitchy” critique during the season and thought much of that criticism was snarkiness.  For some reason, I was more turned off by his dorky tail scarf and childish demeanor.  Call me shallow and uneducated (I now know some of this is Aspergers related and I am better for knowing that.)  I come for James news because he remains a bit of an enigma for me — I am not quite sure where he is going and what he will end up as.  Some of these live acoustic performances show he has limitations (don’t we all), but they seem isolated in both time and circumstance.

Scotty, on the other hand, seems like an open book — I can predict pretty accurately what he will give me and I am untouched by his music and his charm.  The bottom line for me is that it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier to be a Scotty fan than a James fan, but the journey is going to be far less interesting.

The bleak setting of that video and filming at night contrasting so dramatically with the pyro was very effective visually.

I didn’t see much in the form of pyro. I just saw random fires burning in the desert.

I agree.
That was terrible.
 
But since that was on the EP and still under Interscope & Jimmy(?), I don’t count that. (I mean look at the cover of that EP-ridiculous!)

Perfect example of what they would have done to him. Ugh!

This is why idol contestants struggle after idol to find their place within the music industry

That’s not true at all and a bit condescending. There are any number of reasons for Idols struggling, but the fans don’t have nearly as much impact as you’re suggesting. If that were the case, all Idols would be mult-platinum selling forces of nature.

Scotty was just a kid with a typical country boy life in happy family.

He is not really an open book, honestly. There are sides in him many of his fans haven’t seen yet. So many things to expect out of this 18 kids.

He has always been a low-key person but his actions speak louder than words actually. So far, it seems like he delivers what he says.

Well for me it’s the opposite because I enjoy watching Scotty grow as a person and an artist. James, I don’t know – he’s unpredictable but not in a good way for me.

Still, I like James and hope him has a nice career.

Doesn’t pyro = fire?  If not, sorry that I used the wrong technical term.  

OK…I’ll say it.  James is the Susan Boyle of AI…right down to the “problems” with the social adjustments.  And just like Susan he is a mimic rather than an Artist.  He copies rather than interprets….I really don’t think he has the soulful depth to understand the nuances of voice, just like Susan, and he just sings away with reckless abandon thinking that he has hit the nail on the head when he is just flailing that old hammer.

And as far as being good fodder for discussion…of course he is.  He has a very polarizing personality and those type of peeps always have the most interest…just look at who is popular with TMZ. 

No punchlines, lots of punches today for Durbin & fans—another day
in it.  Jubilation was in order for some here today anyway.  Didn’t
listen—no need, (so many) negative responses CAN’T be wrong—will wait
for recording.  Odd that this is the song that’s taking on bullying—much

bigger hurdle than a song or 2 can address I guess.   Party on Durbs!

You’ve said it more directly DragonFly than my two-lines indirect-message! He doesn’t need my petty comment anyhow, he feels the music and he’s vulnerable in his own way and I give him props for that; hope he still “breathes” after the “stoned”-night for the vocals/song itself, even from remembering AI-moments…The 200 posts demonstrate he is one idol to pay attention to and and not to be ignored, an “it”, good or bad, exists and seen by fans and non fans, otherwise would have the same reaction/number of comments as Andrew Garcia, or even Paul McDonald gets.

But if nobody tells you you need to, before it’s too late and they send
you out on a promotional tour with your rusty creaking vocal toolbox,
they’re  aiding and abetting your failure, if you ask me. Bring in the
Sing-Off judges — or the SYTYCD judges, Nigel; I’m looking at *you* —
and give the young, highly inexperienced performers a stronger
foundation.

I would like to see some episodes of a raw AI show with no judges at all, only the flows of the performances with the introductory-videos, no cheesy, silly, smarty judge-comments from anyone but the audience’s raw filling, and maybe no “idol contestants struggle after idol to find their place within the music industry” at all if they don’t pass the people’s tastes/tests.

My problem with someone like Nikki Sixx telling James not to sell out, is that when Motely Crue was huge, and not “selling out” there music was popular and playing on the radio, so they where able to sell albums and singles.  Motley Crue’s or Nikki’s new band don’t have there music being played on the radio now, because the majority is not interested, hence they don’t sell many albums now.  Telling James not to sell out is fine, but it is not going to translate into sales for him, and ultimately being dropped from his label.  Sales = not being dropped!

This is not a good song, but the singing is a disaster. He needs training!

Excuses like “is a bad song”, “he has a cold”, “it’s early in the morning”, “he shouldn’t sing acoutic songs”, “he needs a stage”, and “the singing it’s bad but looks how he feels the song” are getting really pathetic. Now I feel bad for criticizing so much Lee Dewyze’s and Kris Allen’s pitch. LMAO Even Sanjaya would ‘ve done a better job singing this.

Performances like that are a let down even to the durbinators. Singing like crap will not help James gain anymore fans.

Again… somebody get him a vocal coach!

PS: David Cook grieving from the lost of his dear brother, in the winter, early in the morning and with a terrible cold would’ve sang the hell out of this.

I cant listen to the interview right now so I cant judge much from James’ response but IMO if theres any nonSeason10 Idol I can see James avoiding being a part of bashing towards its Chris Daughtry. I’d wager a guess that Nikki bashing him may have made him uncomfortable.

PS: David Cook grieving from the lost of his dear brother, in the winter, early in the morning and with a terrible cold would’ve sang the hell out of this.

Mmmmyep. I found myself late last night listening to some acoustic versions of Light On, which anyone who has an ear for music will know that song is a bitch to sing in ANY way. And my god did David sing the crap out of it. Hell Chris Cornell (IMO one of the best rock singers of our time) said he sang it better than he could possibly sing it.

But it’s not like Blake & Dylan can shred up a storm in this kind of setting, so IMO this song shouldn’t be performed again unless it’s on a big stage.

But the same was said of LMB, his single, that he has to get out there to promote. Electric guitars and big stages wont always be at his disposal. James needs to learn to adapt to various settings and someone needs to help him sing the song with the proper arrangement he can handle.

“Yes.  This really is a problem and not beneficial to the Idol.  For certain Idols, their backstories become so much a part of their appeal that a different (lower) standard is applied to them vs. others, which is a detriment to their careers.  Too much acceptance of flaws that will prevent them from further success.”

This is why idol is not taken seriously in the music world.  Too many times contestants are getting votes for reasons other than their talent and certainly that’s not unexpected in a reality show, but it does not help idol’s reputation when contestants win or come in at the top somewhere and can’t sing all that great or even good.  The really successful idols, so far, are great singers.

“right down to the “problems” with the social adjustments”

“Excuses like “is a bad song”, “he has a cold”, “it’s early in the
morning”, “he shouldn’t sing acoutic songs”, “he needs a stage”, and
“the singing it’s bad but looks how he feels the song” are getting
really pathetic.”

I think that James’ mother of all backstories – father died of OD when he a child, has both Tourette’s and Asperger’s and was bullied, had a child out of wedlock and then was in such financial straits that he couldn’t even afford diapers for that child, was laid off from his job 2 days before AI audition, sort of a quadruple whammy – has SuBo beat by a mile and sadly, it’s a big reason why people not only support him, but excuse him and make excuses for him that are not beneficial to him. 

Also I’m curious about the source of the allegation that James was “sick” when he performed these latest promos.  Is this speculation by fans?

Just wanted to throw out there that Allison Iraheta was sick as a dog when she recorded Scars. There are ways of dealing with sickness and singing and seems like with James there’s always something to excuse him. 

My favorite excuse is the one where he just doesn’t like what he is singing…that seems so very far-fetched, especially since these are songs handpicked by him to be on his album (he says).

So Screaming a song is considered singing?  Color me confused!

I have about 100 Ryan Star songs, and he could (sing) the tar out of Screaming.

WOW!
210 comments and counting!
Can we get to 300?
Yes, I think we can!

What is James’ promotion schedule of appearances for next week? 

“..210 comments and counting!”

Heh. GS61, here’s my final contribution – That snip of a snippet from the album is insufficient information – so at this point, I’m still in the same place I began w/the acoustic version.

1. That song has a shipload of writers on it – IDK who tweaked what, but I see no recognizable fingerprints, so far.

2. The bridge has possibilities, and I really like the guitar solo.

Guess I’ll check back later, when I have heard the whole thing.

Oh Lord! Sorry, it’s bad… And I have listened to the album snippets. Sorry again, they didn’t change my mind.

Too many times contestants are getting votes for reasons other than their talent and certainly that’s not unexpected in a reality show, but it does not help idol’s reputation when contestants win or come in at the top somewhere and can’t sing all that great or even good. 

Heh.  It’s hard to take the music industry seriously when it gets snobbish towards AI contestants, but also puts out singles by Paris Hilton, various Kardassians, and William Shatner. :)

American Idol was originally not taken seriously because it was a TV show.  I don’t even remember any backstories from Season 1.  But everyone remembers that Kelly Clarkson can sing.   I vaguely remember that Clay was a special ed teacher — because it went so well with that geeky cute image he had.  But I don’t think the backstory really came into its own until Season 3, with Fantasia being a single teen mom.  

James has a compelling backstory.  So did Chris Medina, but Chris didn’t make it to the finals and James did.  James can sing.  He just can’t do it consistently.  I agree with those who say he needs to be working with a good vocal coach, so that he can figure out how to work his songs in small, intimate settings.  Also, he needs to be sure he’s not damaging his vocal cords.

I’m not going to make any excuses for James, but this was one day, even though it’s three different performances.  Goodness knows, I wouldn’t want my favorite idol dismissed because of one particular day of his life!

LMAO ’210 comments’ are not a good indicator when almost 200 of them are saying the same thing:

bad song + horrendous singing = terrible disaster.

“The surgery was successful, the patient is dead”!

Some people are not meant to sing live.  So far I’ve heard 3 live performances and they are painful.  Maybe his album, with the aid of technology, will be better. Unfortunately, I’m not going to buy it to find out.  Good luck to JD, but he just isn’t my cup of tea.  If I want to hear off key singing, I can listen to Taylor Swift.

Thought I should add that I DON’T listen to Taylor Swift, but she’s available for self-flagellation should the need arise.

Well he’s definitely screaming. Uhh… is he trying to pitch as song to SNL’s Lonely Island boys ‘cuz there’s no way this song is supposed to be taken seriously

Wow. Not nearly as bad as the majority of the comments here make it out to be.  What happened to don’t listen/watch if it’s not your thing? 
What I’ve heard from James is quite good so far, especially given the short amount of time he had to create the music. I know he’s going to improve on his performances as he gets more comfortable with the new music- just like ALL artists do.

Wow. Not nearly as bad as the majority of the comments here make it out to be.  What happened to don’t listen/watch if it’s not your thing?  

But, how are we to know if it’s not our thing if we don’t listen?

For me, this is pretty darn bad.  But, I have some sympathy in that I think it could merely be a perfect storm of bad circumstances: really crappy song, not a song that lends itself well to acoustic performance + a really off performance by James.  

This is one of those songs that should never see the light of day.  I understand where they were going with the message, and that’s admirable.  But, the lyrics suck so bad that one of these multiple writers should have realized that and buried this shitty song forever.

The whole thing is bad, but I feel that the song itself is actually worse than James’ less than stellar performance.   

*danged if you do and danged if you don’t*

Sounds like an anthem for a school shooter.

Makes you wonder what’s in James’ head.

Edit: Seriously, try substituting “shooting” for “screaming”

“LMAO ’210 comments’ are not a good indicator when almost 200 of them are saying the same thing”

Honestly, I pass over most of the music threads here unless I’m interested in the artist. So that fact that 200 folks (not really of course) had enough interest in this dude to want to hear his music is kind of amazing to me! And it does take some energy to write “this sucks” so again it’s kind of a win for James!

Don’t think we’ll get to 300 though. ;(

I don’t see this as a “win” for James just because he has so many comments. I think the reason he has so many comments is because he was touted as the next big rock star to come off idol.  He was signed to a “rock” label which seemed to indicate they were interested in him as a “rock” artist, so curiosity is high right now for James.  He’s also a train wreck most of the time with his interviews and accoustic performances and people are curious about that too, but not in a good way.  

“I think rockers will like this album a lot. Lots of high notes, and hard rocking.Yep all a rock music listener cares about is if the music is hard and there is lots of high notes ”LOL!

DaisyMagnolia
This is why idol contestants struggle after idol to find their place within the music industry

That’s not true at all and a bit condescending. There are any number of reasons for Idols struggling, but the fans don’t have nearly as much impact as you’re suggesting. If that were the case, all Idols would be mult-platinum selling forces of nature.

That wasn’t what I was saying at all. What I was saying is that this show creates reality show conctestants not music artists. The shows goal is ratings not music artist that is completely secondary to milking them are all the money idol fans are worth ans selling ad time. The contestants learn to be reality show contestants not music artists. The show doesn’t really help them with that its up to the individuals to create a music career out of their run on Idol. Idol fans aren’t fans of their music (since generally they haven’t actually put out any original music yet) but of their backstory and what they think the music will be. This tends to then translate into what the contestant or TPTB think the contestants audience wants to here.

Look at James for example he didn’t jump onto the “Give Metal A Change” until partway into the show after defending a performance. The audience picked up his mantra and it became his tagline for the rest of the show. Even after the show ended he was all about making a metal album none of the rock light stuff. But in reality that wasn’t what was going to happen. James found out if he wanted a shot at a record deal he wasn’t going to be able to make his all metal all the time album.
Idols need to figure out where they fit into the grander scheme of the music industery.

I don’t get all the bashing of James singing here.  This is a song with a punkish vibe that involve screaming and him switching low to high register, and that’s not easiest vocals to do. This type of punk style song usually doesnt sound perfect by any singer, and usually come off obnoxious, but he does a pretty good job with it considering its like a relax atmosphere and not a studio version.  I think James is one of idol contestants who usually sing well live. (and he’s a rocker who usually have to scream.)  Kris Allen, Pia Toscano, and Kelly Clarkson are usually good live singers, but a lot of idol contestants are off their games when its not some overly practiced song live.  Even big stars aren’t always good live.  

Also, like I said in my previous post on this thread, I think the song is catchy and anthemic and good enough.  I like it and I’m not even a big rock fan. I like his other songs “Right behind you” and “higher than heaven” more though.  His CD is shaping up pretty nicely.  James is one of my favorites in season 10, but I’m not one of his staunch supporters who go on defense for him every where, but all this comments that he’s a bad singer just surprised me. This is not his best vocals considering the style, but he’s a pretty good singer with a special voice.  Here are 2 videos of him singing live outside, which is not the easiest setting, and he’s singing very well and sounding pretty good too.  And this was few years ago when he was younger before idol.

James singing “black velvet” live and coming first place at a contest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEXs1GnnzR4&feature=related

James singing a George Micheal song live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=MSlBm5eNBqM

Thanks so much randomjoe for the links.I agree falfor about this album will take us back to the rockin party days!! Higher than Heaven is also one of my favourite songs.

I heard it in the morning and thought it was just too early in the morning for me to listen to this type of music. Just listened again, and it wasn’t too early, its just horrible singing.

WOW,I can’t believe people didn’t get my ‘snarky’ 210 comments post!! lol
(Where I come from, that is considered a joke!)

Offensive.

Don’t really like her either, but she’s laughing all the way to the bank.

JOKE!

Good.
At least you’ll listen to the whole thing.
Did you get the ’210 comment’ joke? you seem smart.

“WOW,I can’t believe people didn’t get my ‘snarky’ 210 comments post!! lol(Where I come from, that is considered a joke!)”

Well… can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told by fans that I shouldn’t comment about something I’m not interested in… so I just figured I’d take that advice. LOL

;)

I just remembered that a drummer and guitarist quit their band and just joined to be Jame’s back up musician a couple of days ago. I wonder how they are feeling now. 
Well, thanks everybody for all the comments. I will skip listening to this one.

“I just remembered that a drummer and guitarist quit their band and just joined to be Jame’s back up musician a couple of days ago. ”

I think it’s been a bit longer than a couple of days lol.  James final auditions were on October 11 and it was a few days later that the first band picture was tweeted by a fan who met them in the airport.

I really like the song screaming, James is a true rock star.

Reading through this thread and various others, I start to feel like a devil worshipper. I mean this James guy is such a evil person:

- he forces people to stand up at his sets/concerts
- he makes the US Army waste money and forces his (bad) music on
  the poor troops
- his band members have to suffer through his singing (never mind that 
  they applied for this job in the first place)
- he stole Adam’s assistant/PA (or whatever function Lane has)
- he destroys things (what violence!) in his video
- and last but not least the football fans who cannot flee his video, if
  they want to see the game afterwards

And postings like the one from Miguel just leave me speechless. Well, actually I’d have an answer, but that would get me banned.

Read my post in the other video thread, you’ll feel better.

Well, this is really interesting.  After reading 240 comments, a huge proportion of them negative, I was prepared to really hate this song.  And….I like it, I definitely like it, maybe even love it?  He sings it with passion and conviction and I like how he screams and I like the lyrics.  What is wrong with me?  

It is simple, but I do hear some Cook in there, and I think he captures a feeling and makes me want to sing along.  I love the look in his eyes when he sings it, because he is feeling it and I just plain enjoy the defiant, angry, sick of being lied to feel of the whole thing.  The lie part sounds Cookian to me.  

This post is honestly not manufactured, I have not been a Durbin fan before, just have not paid attention to Idol, but this I am liking.  I would like to download this version, if I could find it.  Maybe it is because I enjoy raw honesty, regardless of the vocals?  I dunno.  Of course, the kid is no Cook, but few are, and I think this works really well coming from him.  

James needs to stop doing live promo.  He will kill his career with performances like that.  Why doesn’t James have a handler, someone who can get him in a good place before these live performances.  James can sing but it seems that everything effects him and throws him off his game.  It must be hard for James with his conditions.  But yeah I would love to hear Cookie sing this.