which would you say is easier to bring up to scratch?

I think the evidence points to singing being easier to improve in a shorter ammount of time, as long as you have a nice tone and aren't completly tone deaf it is easy to improve technique. In general more straight actors dabble in musical theatre and are sucessful than singers.

Another thing thats been interesting is that in the Maria show the strong actress like Abi and Aoife have done considerably better in musical theatre than the strong singers like Helena and Siobhan.

Will something similar happen to the Josephs? Will Ben do better in musical theatre than Keith for example? (that is if Keith doesn't win).

I can't really see Keith in musical theatre at all. Not only do I think he's weak in the acting stakes, but I also think that he isn't that interested in that end of his performance. I think he should concentrate on being a straight singer and I'm sure he'll be a huge success.

I know what you mean. I can see him being more of a Josh Groban style singer (excuse the easy example). Whereas Lewis attends Itali Conti - a stage school, and Lee has understudied in major shows already. Keith has only attended a local performing arts college, if I am correct.

Maybe background shouldn't or doesn't matter if you are good enough for the role you are going for. Ben went to Itali Conti too and he went last night, so I suppose it all does come down to natural talent, not where you have or haven't been.

The funny thing is though, when ALW started going on about acting vs singing and why he was choosing the person he was choosing to save although I was convinced Lewis was going, part of me thought he must choose Lewis, Ben's not that great at acting (sorry Ben fans ) - then I remembered they both attended IC.

Strange.

Stage presence, star quality and acting ability cannot be taught overnight - in fact in the first two cases this cannot be taught at all, you've either got it or you haven't and IMHO Keith hasn't.
I definitely think that Ben will have a more successful stage career, out of the two of them, without a shadow of a doubt.
I think that Keith should stick to singing only and I hope for his sake he doesn't win ADWD.

I agree that Keith would be a better singer than theatre star. His voice is amazing can't deny that.

I think with the boys seeing as none of them were completely tone deaf to begin with their voices are easier to train than there acting skills. Just think of Ben his voice was soo much better than the beginning of the show whereas Keith who needed to improve his acting skills hasn't really improved too much and still doesn't feel like a contender even though he's in the final.

Why does everybody compare Ben to Keith?

Really? I think that and his performance is his strongest point. Certainly people who go to Italia Conti say that Ben is a much stronger actor than Lewis. I didn't think Lewis showed much acting ablity at all untill Oh What A Circus (partly due to awful song choice)

because they are both the complete opposites of each other i guess. Like Denise said the eyes go to Ben and the ears go to Keith.

I was just giving an example of someone who is a strong actor but would need to bring his singing up to scratch (Ben) and someone who is a strong singer but would need to bring everything else up to scratch (Keith).

I think because they are total opposites.

Ben is a superb actor and performer but not the best singer.

Keith has a fabulous voice, but the other aspects of his performance need work.

If you could put Keith's voice into Ben you'd have something very special

Sorry Jocko, you beat me to it

Sorry Innocent-fairy my daughter and her friends who actually go to Conti's with Ben and Lewis have all said that at school Ben has always been the better actor and singer and ironically Lewis the better dancer. To this effect we have not seen Lewis' dancing skills which is a shame. I hope he does well and comes 2nd to Lee.

Have to agree with most of this, Keith has an amazing voice but for me that's it at the moment. Would like to see him attend a theatre arts school (not an MT course at uni) where he could get a good training.

A singing teacher once told a friend that it was easier to teach an actor to sing than the other way round.

I thought he acted well in "Sweet Caroline", "Hero" and "Sorry seems to be the hardest word", and IMO he didn't do too badly in "I saw her standing there" either. But we must remember that was only my opinion, and I, after all am a huge Lewis fan.


I think Lewis' dancing skills have been shown a bit, namely in "Faith" and the group number "Do you love me?". I think you have to know he is dancing is his strong point to actually notice him; if you get me. Thanks for the inside info from IC though, loobyloo11
If you don't mind me asking, who did you prefer before Ben went? Him or Lewis, or someone completely different?


Last edited by Innocent_fairy : 03-06-2007 at 15:54

I think it depends so much on what the starting-point is and how much natural talent the person concerned has. I remember seeing a documentary about Billy Elliot (the film) and they were talking about how they eventually chose between the last 2 contenders, as one had done lots of acting and no dancing and the other lots of dancing but no acting... and the latter is the one they went for, but it obviously wouldn't have worked if he wasn't a talented actor. I think singing is comparable to dancing as something that needs a lot of training, whatever the natural ability. I think the problem is that there's generally no quick-fix solution. In the case of some of these boys, what they need most of all is a few years for their voices to develop, however good their singing is now!

I think Lewis' dancing skills have been shown a bit, namely in "Faith" and the group number "Do you love me?". I think you have to know he is dancing is his strong point to actually notice him; if you get me. Thanks for the inside info from IC though, loobyloo11
If you don't mind me asking, who did you prefer before Ben went? Him or Lewis, or someone completely different?

[/quote]

Its funny innocent_fairy I actually liked Lewis better than Ben in the beginning and "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" was one of my favourites in the show but as the weeks went on I saw an extra quality in Ben and his presence overwhelmed me. Although I have always wanted Lee to win I voted each week for Ben and Lewis because I felt Lee would never be in the bottom two. Saying that I didn't think Daniel would ever be there either and for me Daniel was the best singer; Lee the best all rounder, Ben the one with star quality and acting ability and Lewis another good all rounder. I personally haven't looked at this competition as just a singing contest. I will still be putting in a vote for Lewis next week.

Phil2003 I hope the younger boys in the competition go on to finish their training.

I quite agree. To be honest, I think the best thing for Lewis, Ben and Keith would be to spend the next few months or years training so they can be as good as they can be. I've seen several classical musicians win competitions as teenagers and give up on the rest of their training because they think they've made it, when actually what they needed was a few years in music college. I think the same applies here.

'Scuse me being all nosey Did you feel more inclined towards Lewis and Ben because they attend the same school as your daughter, or did you just like them because of their talents?
Last edited by Innocent_fairy : 03-06-2007 at 16:22

Hi Innocent_fairy i have sent you a private message.

Thanks, I recieved it and replied

Brutally honest to play Joseph you don't need to be a great singer, but you do need to be able to act.

Keith does have a beautiful singing voice but he doesn't always hold concentration during solo performances and tends to switch off in group performances. He's got too much to learn in five weeks.

I think he's got a fantastic career ahead of him as a singer.

It really showed in the duet this week, when Ben not only sang beautifully, but also acted him off the stage.

Though I worry about Lewis getting the part and what might happen, I worry even more about Keith.

At last. Signs that some people are actually considering all the requirements of the role. Inevitably, with the ADWD format, the concentration is on singing ability but most theatre fans will tell you that Acting ability is what makes the difference between a good and a bad lead. Any of the original Josephs could have actually sung the role (after all, look at the guys who have done it previously - one of the most acclaimed, Philip Schofield, wasn't even a singer). But, how many of them could act ? It isn't a skill you can pick up in 5 weeks, certainly not to a standard needed for a West End stage. I happen to think Lewis (who is spot on in terms of looks, age etc and has had theatre training) could do it and it would be great to see him get the chance. Lee would seem to be the safe, obvious choice - and probably will get the role (though I'd really like to know how someone so obviously talented has been passed over so often in the past ? Maybe a flaw we're missing ?). But Keith would, I fear, be a disaster - good singer he might be, over-confident in his ability he's definitely becoming - but he has no theatre experience and I think it will take more than 5 weeks to straighten out his diction (strong Scottish accent makes him difficult to understand when he's singing, worse when he speaks) let alone teach him how to act. Hope for the show's sake the voting public (some of whom would never even contemplate going to actually see a West End musical and therefore don't really care much what the outcome is) take all the elements into consideration when choosing Joseph or ALW will have a very short run on his hands.

Mmm yes, I agree with what people have said about Keith having a beautiful voice, but he's not entertaining.

If I wanted to to listen to a beautiful voice, I'd go buy a record.

If I went to see a MT show, I'd expect to be entertained.

Nuff said.

Because they are really great at one thing, Ben: performance, Keith: singing.

As for Lee and Lewis, they have both.