I'm back! DS have delightfully unbanned me after they put a Ban Amnesty on. I was the one who started this thread.
Interesting to see which direction Nicholas takes next. I remember sending his management a lengthy email about two years ago, which read like this:
Quote:
“Hi. I have a message consisting of several thoughts aimed at Nicholas McDonald and the team he works closely with on producing music which is released into the public domain.
I speak as someone who is not a professional reviewer of music, nor someone who has any qualifications in music. I am basing my views based on past & present X Factor contestants and their activities and in many cases lack of success after the show which, as a fan of the show, has tended to disappoint me.
it's a question of what can be done differently. In Nicholas' case, technically his voice is about right, the only problem is it can sometimes come across as quite bland and it shouldn't have to. In regards to the debut album, the obvious use of reverb and autotune resulted in, in my opinion, an album which came across as cheaply produced. I don't think Nicholas needs to use autotune, or at least much of. His success with voters on X Factor was due to his performances of ballads but there's no reason why that can't be his niche. Looking outside the show there isn't really a need to alienate the group of people who voted for him on X Factor - the "older generation" as these are the people who generally vote the most on X Factor. The likes of Sam Smith have proved that there is a place for ballads in the charts - the key is it being memorable, mass appealing (something that will appeal to everyone), well produced and it being clear that emotions are being conveyed through the song, as well as a certain message. A mid-tempo song which doesn't come across as bland but is at the same time capable of displaying Nicholas' great vocal abilities is something that could work very well with the right execution.
There's nothing I like to see more than X Factor acts having success in the real world. However, this success doesn't come without support from both fans and the record company. I don't think Nicholas should be marketed as a teen popstar - I think his vocal abilities are too good for that. I think he should be marketed as an artist who can sing pop and swing - I know there were a lot of 'Baby Buble' comparisons on X Factor but I do think it makes sense to an extent - we haven't got an artist like that - a young male who can perform big band, both the upbeat songs like "Feeling Good" and the slow songs like "Dream a Little Dream" and this is something which, as Michael Buble has shown, is mass appealing. With the right material, I believe he is capable of succeeding in the charts and winning over the critics who weren't a huge fan of the last album - it can allow people to sit up and say/think "Wow, this kid can really sing" instead of making comparisons to previous X Factor acts who have not performed very well in the charts - Leon Jackson is the prime example of this.
Feel free to respond if you wish to continue correspondence.”
