Have you seen this guy? Britain's Got Talent...

MileMarkerZero · Post by **MileMarkerZero** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:06 am

Amazing. Simon Cowell speechless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oxTy7KIAaA

He won the whole bloody thing...gets to sing for the Queen.

It's inspiring to see someone take their game to such a high level for no other reason than just the pure love of the music.

djwesp · Post by **djwesp** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:21 am

They wouldn't cheer him like that if he was singing opera on american idol. This exemplifies the arrogance of Americans and just how out of touch we are. Do you think a crowd here in the states, could welcome opera or other classical forms like that?

(Ducks from the "flame" throwers)

djwesp · Post by **djwesp** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:10 am

the elephant wrote:He is a fraud. He came clean on British television. He is essentially an out of work pro who did stuff in Germany. He lied. I do not know the details offhand, but can get them if you like.

He does have some formal training I know.

He also performed 4 performances with an opera troupe, that was non-paying.

djwesp · Post by **djwesp** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:11 am

Here's what I was referring to:

Verschwiegen wird die Vergangenheit nur gut versteckt auf der Homepage der Sendung nicht - nur hier ist von seiner italienischen Ausbildung die Rede, und auch davon, dass er Â«in vier halb-professionellen Opern im Vereinigten KÃ¶nigreich und einigen KonzertenÂ» aufgetreten sei. Weiter heisst es: Â«Seine stolzeste Performance war mit dem Philharmonic Orchestra vor 15'000 LeutenÂ».

Oh well.

Don't even begin to try to rationalize his actions or excuse him.

Nah, Not doing that. I just assumed people understood that he had at least a little background in opera. That was in the articles I've read about him as well, although this is the first time I've seen or heard him (on the clip)[/quote]

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:45 am

He was on the Today Show this morning and it was mentioned that he had no formal training and had basically just sung for his own enjoyment. Guess he lied again. At any rate.... I think he's a great singer... and I don't like opera!

Norm in Bellevue · Post by **Norm in Bellevue** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:58 am

I sang leading and some supporting bass roles for six years in Germany. This guy wouldn't get hired in a "D" house. And if he did, with his lack of basic vocal technique, he wouldn't last one season. But hey, the masses bought into Andrea Bocelli. Why not this guy?

BVD Press · Post by **BVD Press** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:24 pm

You guys sure are hard on the guy!!

He is not refined, etc. but the show was "Britain's Got Talent". He has a lot of talent and a with some refining I would assume he would do quite well. If anyone feels me like throwing me a $2,000,000 contract please feel free!

More info here:

http://tinyurl.com/3968tj

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 3:47 pm

the elephant wrote:
BVD Press wrote:You guys sure are hard on the guy!!
I should not be hard on someone who is misrepresenting themselves? Remember, "misrepresenting" means to lie about himself. He is a liar. As Dan just posted, he did it again here in the US after the truth came out in Europe. He must be a liar that is also very stupid as well.

Regardless, the guy is a major liar. So I should go easy on him? A simple yes or no will do.

I think we all know how you feel. You have stated your opinion on the matter. You seem a bit agitated. Calm down.

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:06 pm

Are there any ethical standards for being a contestant on a show like this?...short of not being convicted of a felony? If no, then I have no problem with what he did.

This is one of the reasons I don't watch any of these types of shows. Its as much about who has the best story as who has the most talent....if you have a heart warming story to go along with some talent, you win.

BVD Press · Post by **BVD Press** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:31 pm

the elephant wrote:
BVD Press wrote:You guys sure are hard on the guy!!
I should not be hard on someone who is misrepresenting themselves?

That is not what I said. No where did I say you should not be hard on him. All I said was "You guys sure are hard on the guy!!"

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:31 pm

tubashaman wrote:and i still do not see what it has to do with tuba

That's why this thread is in "Off Topic".

I haven't tried translating the German text posted earlier; Cliff's Notes, please?

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 7:32 pm

the elephant wrote:Uhh . . . what gave you the impression that I was "agitated" or anything else beyond calm?

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:53 am
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 5:25 am
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 6:48 am
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:25 pm
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:26 pm

the elephant wrote:As far as your trying to "guide" my behavior here, read my signature line and please act on it. Thanks for your comment.

Works both ways.

Leland wrote:
tubashaman wrote:and i still do not see what it has to do with tuba
That's why this thread is in "Off Topic".

I haven't tried translating the German text posted earlier; Cliff's Notes, please?

Moved: Have you seen this guy? Britain's Got Talent...
[ Goto pageGoto page: 1, 2 ]

It was on the main forum earlier when tubashaman posted.

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:16 pm

the elephant wrote:Did it occur to you that I might be going through a serious bout of insomnia and that I was CALMLY surfing the net most o the night? do you really think that I was up all night over this?

I even posted about that earlier in the thread. Uh . . .

Are you trying to start something with me? How about you PM me if you have a problem with what (and when?) I post. We can CALMLY discuss it. I will probably be available all night again.

PM sent.

Leland · Post by **Leland** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:20 pm

Never mind, I googled it for details (his name + "fraud" got plenty of hits.. lol).

So... did an educational tour, sang with Pavarotti (couldn't that be like a tuba student playing with Pilafian?), won a talent contest for cash eight years ago, etc etc.

Out of work, sure.

Better at his talent than almost anyone else was at theirs? Sure.

Is this show supposed to be about undiscovered amateurs?

His day job was selling phones, not singing opera.

Did he claim to never have any training whatsoever? If so, then yeah, I'll call him a liar, too.

CJ Krause · Post by **CJ Krause** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 12:42 am

i wouldnt normally chime in on this but on his interviews he said he had around 30,000 in debt he had to pay off and some of that was vocal lessons. it lists where he trained and how much he paid. he took voice lessons, he has a degree

alot of the people on these shows like the one going on in the US have been doing their job at their talent for many years. he even said he did opera w hardly any pay or no pay.

i listened to the interview on his myspace and the gal made a passing comment about his training and Paul said nothing and she kept talking. he did not say he did or didnt on the interview. she really didnt let him comment on it.

the guy has a good voice and can hold pitch well and did a great job of winning an audience.

on his myspace page before he started this, on his who he would like to meet he had the Queen and the Royal Family. he will get to meet and sing for them.

he had a goal, he went for it and he won,,, AMEN

Doug@GT · Post by **Doug@GT** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 6:51 am

the elephant wrote: The guy â€¦ is a liar.

What he told you was true...from a certain point of view.

Naturally, his real goal is to become Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Doug@GT · Post by **Doug@GT** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 7:27 pm

the elephant wrote:Obi-Wan Pott?

He thought he could sing just as well as Yoda. He was wrong. The orchestra was more machine than man, twisted and evil.

poomshanka · Post by **poomshanka** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:38 am

I don't necessarily have a horse in this race, and in fact, know nothing of what dribbles out of the idiot box other than what clips I catch on YouTube. Honestly, although I've heard of American Idol, I'd never even heard of this show before the Potts post here.

His story piqued my curiosity, however, and in digging around I found some interesting stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

In the expanded comments section on the right-hand side of the page, there's some trivia on Paul's career towards the bottom. I can't personally vouch for some of the fact-ish observations, but one thing said made sense to me - a voice like that didn't happen in the shower. Obviously he's had some training, regardless of whether or not anyone thinks he's the next Pavarotti, couldn't get hired in a "D" house, or is just deluding himself and throwing gobs of money away chasing a pipe dream. I know I spent over $100K studying with Tommy Johnson and Jim Self, but that didn't make me into a studio tuba player.

Another article:

http://talent.itv.com/page.asp?partid=332

Just a guess, but something tells me that if this guy truly was a wolf in sheep's clothing, he never would've passed through the vetting process to get on the show. No doubt he signed disclosure papers detailing his past experiences, especially given that they'd be relatively easy to fact-check. As for the other contestants on the show who weren't just brought on for Simon to tear apart, I'd imagine many of them have had training, performed in public, and perhaps even made some money doing so.

The question here would be to identify what the standard for "amateur" is as set forth by the show's producer's, then determine whether or not Paul willfully failed to disclose certain aspects of his career to sneak in under the radar. If not, then take his story at face value. The clip I saw said nothing about him being self-taught, only that he was selling mobile phones and had a dream of singing opera. In his Today Show appearance, it was actually the host who suggested he'd had no formal training, and although he didn't launch into a list of the classes he's taken and the folks he's studied with, it really was *her* statement.

Yeah, the media eats up stuff like his (Cinderella story, rags-to-riches, diamond in the rough, etc.), and whatever spin's been put on it extends far beyond whatever simplicity might be inherent in his story. Personally, I think he's just a guy whose path, like a lot of ours, has had some odds twists and turns in it. Good on him for following his dreams.

As always, just my $.02, your mileage may vary...

...Dave

sc_curtis · Post by **sc_curtis** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 6:08 am

poomshanka wrote:I don't necessarily have a horse in this race, and in fact, know nothing of what dribbles out of the idiot box other than what clips I catch on YouTube. Honestly, although I've heard of American Idol, I'd never even heard of this show before the Potts post here.

His story piqued my curiosity, however, and in digging around I found some interesting stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

In the expanded comments section on the right-hand side of the page, there's some trivia on Paul's career towards the bottom. I can't personally vouch for some of the fact-ish observations, but one thing said made sense to me - a voice like that didn't happen in the shower. Obviously he's had some training, regardless of whether or not anyone thinks he's the next Pavarotti, couldn't get hired in a "D" house, or is just deluding himself and throwing gobs of money away chasing a pipe dream. I know I spent over $100K studying with Tommy Johnson and Jim Self, but that didn't make me into a studio tuba player.

Another article:

http://talent.itv.com/page.asp?partid=332

Just a guess, but something tells me that if this guy truly was a wolf in sheep's clothing, he never would've passed through the vetting process to get on the show. No doubt he signed disclosure papers detailing his past experiences, especially given that they'd be relatively easy to fact-check. As for the other contestants on the show who weren't just brought on for Simon to tear apart, I'd imagine many of them have had training, performed in public, and perhaps even made some money doing so.

The question here would be to identify what the standard for "amateur" is as set forth by the show's producer's, then determine whether or not Paul willfully failed to disclose certain aspects of his career to sneak in under the radar. If not, then take his story at face value. The clip I saw said nothing about him being self-taught, only that he was selling mobile phones and had a dream of singing opera. In his Today Show appearance, it was actually the host who suggested he'd had no formal training, and although he didn't launch into a list of the classes he's taken and the folks he's studied with, it really was *her* statement.

Yeah, the media eats up stuff like his (Cinderella story, rags-to-riches, diamond in the rough, etc.), and whatever spin's been put on it extends far beyond whatever simplicity might be inherent in his story. Personally, I think he's just a guy whose path, like a lot of ours, has had some odds twists and turns in it. Good on him for following his dreams.

As always, just my $.02, your mileage may vary...

...Dave

Agreed. Very well-put.

Albertibass · Post by **Albertibass** » Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:16 am

well its not paul potts, but this one was really good, and im pretty sure she isnt a fraud.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En0A8KGMgq8