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View All PostsKara DioGuardi
A Place of Truth
Kara explains what makes a great song and selects her favorite lyrics from this episode.
Jun 13, 2011How about the drama this week? Who knew all that was going on. Johnny and Jes! Sounds like a good title for a doo-wop song.
I can remember the first sleazy hotel I pulled into when I first started going to Los Angeles to write songs. I thought I would just wing it and find a room after my session. I of course ended up on Hollywood Boulevard at one in the morning, desperate for a hotel where I could grab a few hours of sleep. When I finally got to my room, I was scared to fall asleep and kept waking up to check if my car was still outside...the things you'll do for your dream. I had to laugh when the show decided to give the contestants a dose of the reality of a songwriter in search of hits; nights in crap hotels seem to be a rite of passage. The contestants were definitely good sports and overall did a great job with this week's challenge.
I thought the contestants really started to inject their personal experiences into their songs, and that is the key to writing great songs. The best songs, which I call copyrights, are not just a bunch of words and melodies thrown together because they seem to fit. Songs are not a random occurrence. They should be coming from a place of truth, but still be relatable to the masses.
I thought Jackie's hook was really headed in the right direction, but the verses her team came up with needed to be stronger and that contributed to the song feeling more like music for a Hallmark commercial (which by the way, ain't a bad thing, but just not the goal here).
I thought you judges really missed the mark. I liked Jackie's song much more than Jes'. jmo
I LOVE Platinum Hit! It’s so great to see a show that’s dedicated to the craft of songwriting as opposed to just vocal performance. Each week the songs seem to be getting stronger and stronger (I assume due to their nerves calming down and getting into a routine).
One thing that I’ve been noticing each week regarding Nick (and I think you touched on it this week) is that he’s excellent when it comes to the craft of songwriting. He knows how to structure a song and write great melody. I think he does have a few significant issues, though:
1. He seems to play it safe – doesn’t really push the boundaries.
2. His music lacks in originality. Everything that I’ve heard from him I hear in every day songs.
3. For the most part, his compositions don’t elicit strong emotion. You can be great at the craft of songwriting, but if you don’t connect with the listener on an emotional level – make them feel what you’re feeling – your song isn’t really going to go anywhere. I think that’s why Adele is at the top of the charts today – she stands out from the Electro-Pop pack in the sense that she bares her soul, and you can feel it. She connects with her audience at a deep level.
Looking forward to next week’s show!
Jackie's song was the only one i could see rocking out to on a road trip, the other two were great songs but not for singing with the window open on a back road
Kara and BRAVO...will you please add an online polling system so that viewers may vote on which song they preferred . I am curious to see the correlation between judges choices and the viewers, who are the ones that ultimately determine if a song is a "Platinum Hit." I think it would be interesting and it may also help the judges, all of which are amazing, fine tune their craft. Maybe add a section that gives options of why the viewer felt one particular song was their favorite (Lyrics, harmony, instrumental. If this request is too complex, time consuming, annoying or just redick maybe Andy could just do it as a poll question one evening and you can see what type of response you get. Thanks in advance.
Long Live Bravo!!! and thank you for creating television that week after week consumes my life :-)
Dan, TX
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