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March 01, 2007

Birth of a Superstar

I know that within just a couple of seconds of starting into this post several of you are going to be rolling your eyes, but I don't care. I'm addicted to watching the yearly transformation of ordinary American young people from caterpillar to butterfly on American Idol. Unlike so many critics, I don't view it as mindless fluff. I view it as a way for real talent to break into an industry that has become far too plastic and uninspired. Every year, the show discovers new talent and creates new musical stars. But I am of the opinion that this year American Idol has just discovered its first Superstar.

Melinda Doolittle made me cry last night. Her voice is so lovely, with a rare quality that pulls on your heart, and her phrasing is so moving and so effortlessly perfect that I just couldn't help it. It was sublime.

I love music and am often moved by it, but few musicians have ever moved my soul to the extent that she did. It wasn't the words of the song, but the quality of her voice that did it. I've felt this way listening to Barbra Streisand and most recently to the incredible duets of Celine Dionne and Andrea Bocelli. And if Doolittle had an album out today I would rush out to buy it.

So it is the richest of frostings on the most delicious of cakes that she is not only very talented, but she also appears to be a truly unaffected, sweet and humble person. A most beautiful soul.

If I sound smitten it is because I am. Many people have talent of one sort or another. Some of us are exceptionally talented. But when a true artistic genius comes into the world and has the rare ability to make others feel pure joy at the beauty they create, it is a gift to be treasured above all others.

Like most other things of beauty in the universe, good music is built on a mathematical foundation known as the Fibonacci sequence. Our souls seem to be uplifted in response to things that follow the sequence, including virbrations in music. I'm no scientist or expert in this area, but I've heard that the closer these vibrations are to the sequence, the more beautiful they sound and the more they touch the soul. As an artist I've long been fascinated with Fibonacci numbers and their beauty. I'm quite certain that something in Doolittle's voice is hitting the right sequence for me, as well. Right enough to bring tears to my eyes because of its incredible beauty.

Posted by Becky at March 1, 2007 02:00 PM