Performance Critique: INOCHI 2019 Sing Cover

The last time I did a performance critique was over a year ago for a single cosplay performance that was hit-or-miss in some aspects. The intention was to save these performance critiques for actual cosplay performances, but these have been hard to come by for one reason or another. However, during that time, I've made the leap into singing, sing cover, J-Song, or karaoke competitions (they have many names but are more or less the same), so with Pokémon and my cosplay involved, they can be considered an offshoot of that. That being the case, now I'd like to critique one such recent performance from Sunday's theme event; this is graciously aided by a video recording of it from a really, really good friend.

It should be "ore, Masara Taun no Satoshi da!"...
(I'm Satoshi [Ash] of Masara [Pallet] Town, lit.)

The performance was of the "Best Wishes" opening, which I've already discussed its details previously. Although the performance itself worked out well overall to an extent, I have to say the beginning got off to a slightly shaky start. Since I was singing something in Japanese, I had to introduce myself in Japanese as well. My command of Japanese is not very strong - I've acquired the usage of some common expressions but nothing too cohesive - so the way I introduced myself (as Ash, the character I cosplay and for whom much of the lyrics refer) made it seem like I was introducing the wrong thing. My friend realized this and corrected me when I came back, but by then it was too late. At least I can keep this mind for future performances, and it wasn't something that was highly factored into the performance.

I've listened to my own performance over and over, and I find myself somewhat surprised at hearing my voice over the recording. It sounds more raspy than I thought it would be. In the practice sessions I've conducted prior to the performance, I've listened to my own voice, and it seemed to be just fine. The problem with this, of course, is that what I hear is effectively what others hear. Vocal training could help with this, but this might be something hard to fit in with all the other things I currently do, including Pokémon and cosplay.

"nee, dokomade susunderu kana?"

A plus point of last Sunday's performance is that I sung more or less on key, except maybe on a few low sounds. Many, many years ago, I took part in choir, so this musical background assists with this competition - which is one of the reasons why I made the leap to this kind of competition. Overall, I sung within my tenor range, but that's kind of a necessity with this song, being that its original artist (Rica Matsumoto) is female, but the singer is supposed to be voicing a boy... ah, it's complicated. The point is that I did OK. I may have something up my sleeve, though, the next time I get to sing this.

"mimi wo sumaseba, natsukashii koe..."

As mentioned above, my Japanese language skills are somewhat lacking. Thus, whenever competitions like these demand a song that is fully or nearly fully in Japanese, it becomes a bit of a challenge. The greatest challenge personally would be memorizing the lyrics, as with my current Japanese skills, some things sound poetic while others sound esoteric. Fortunately, this particular performance was nearly perfect, after having listened to it again and again. One of my peers who spent time in Japan even complimented on the pronunciation of the lyrics and said that it was more or less authentic Japanese. That seems to be a big plus for someone whose Japanese is scant.

There is still one difficult portion of the song, though this part is a bit controversial as well. The final "... daijoubu!" line in the second chorus is noted in the lyrics as "zettai ni daijobu!", but in the song as I've heard it, it's several words sung together really fast, which comes out to "hitori ja nai kara nakama ga iru kara daijoubu!" Being that for me this is Ash singing, I didn't want to use the wording as noted in the lyrics, but at the same time, this never seemed to come out right for me. I devised an alternate solution, which is to use the initial syllables up to the final word before "daijoubu", leading to the expression below, which is supposed to elide all the prior words, though it does sound a little odd. I may need to try something else.

"hi-ja-na-ka-na-ga-i-kara daijoubu!" ???

As in my previous critique, the images above are the actual frames from the recorded performance, which I also would like to upload on YouTube in a channel for this blog... though I've still not gotten around to this project. As for this particular performance, it was slightly troubled and wasn't prize-worthy, but it's still a great one in many ways. I should know - I keep replaying it to see and hear myself sing. A repeat performance may need to be in order, and hopefully by then it will be leaps and bounds better than this one. Some criticism is always necessary, and I'll of course furnish it when able, just like for this one.

One year ago: Getting Social with Cosplay
Two years ago: Console Renewal?