👀Former ROCK Radio Personality REACTION - Courtney Hadwin - What's Love Got To Do With it 

As a guy who tried to learn to play a guitar...on my own....I am here to testify that it is very difficult. Keeping your fingertips in shape to be able to play without pain can be a trick in itself. So I give her Kudos for her guitar playing skills. However, The performance was not a guitar solo. I too, was not impressed with the choice of song. It doesn't fit her style of singing. That would be like Elvis doing RAP music. Courtney has a distinctive voice style. She will never be an Adele, Whitney, or Celine. Nor will she ever be an Angelina Jordan, who CAN do many different styles of music.

@@pikeevans8559 IMO, your comment is completely inaccurate. Courtney has a broader range and greater creativity than any name you mentioned. Just because you’re more famous, doesn’t mean you’re more talented. Courtney could basically pick her genre and would be a mega-star. Her transitions between styles and types of music are seamless and she is the only artist I’ve heard that can do so without the least bit of loss to the quality of her music.

@@pikeevans8559 Who said anything about a guitar solo. That's a whole other topic. My reference to her guitar playing was only to suggest how talented she is and that she can do anything great she puts her mind to. As for her style of singing goes... she has many. It seems because of her stint on AGT when she chose only upbeat songs with a rock stage presence, people who don't know any better have her locked in a box. If you follow her then you'd know her early on performances where mainly contemporary pop and some classic ballads while she was finding her style. If you think that her studio versions of "Sign of the Timesf" a Harry Styles cover ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x9Phi6Yrg2k.html and also "Someone you loved" a Lewis Capaldi cover ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eR9UxcsjUSM.html are also not suited for her, then I have to completely disagree with you. I think very highly of Angelina Jordan, but as soon as you brought her name into the conversation I knew what your comment was really all about. It's not hard to notice a fan of another artist trying to compared them. I used to do it myself. Courtney is as great a singer as any new artist there is out there today. A completely different style for sure. More amazing is she is way better a performer than most performers there are out there today. And still so young. Others her age don't compare with her stage presence and confidence while performing on stage, that's for sure. She is right up there with most all time performers from past years too. And many artists from the past knew how to entertain an audience. She's not one of those who basically just stand and sing waving their arms at times to show emotion. She entertains you on stage. Makes you want to do as she does. That's a concert I want to go see. Otherwise I can sit in my home in just listen or watch on YT.

@@edwarddevogelear4432 ...didn't say she wasn't talented. I said the song didn't fit her voice. As far as talent is concerned.....That is usually determined by record sales or views. Courtney has 11 million youtube views for her golden buzzer video. Angelina Jordan who was also 13 when she got the golden buzzer has 50 million views. She also has a recording contract with Republic records, Angelina channel has more than a half billion views, she has just under 2 billion views on Facebook. I wasn't able to find out whether Courtney had signed any record deals, or her number of views on Facebook. Angelina has her own RU-vid Channel, and has more than 130 videos on it.

@@bertpainter8385 ...My reference to a guitar solo was just a reminder that the performance also included her singing. I understand that you are apparently a big fan of hers...Like I am with Angelina Jordan....So I get where you are coming from. Her voice to me is like that of Janis Joplin. I can't picture her singing Adele songs or Whitney Houston songs, or even Patsy Cline songs. I haven't heard her sing any of them...so maybe I am wrong. I watch RU-vid music videos almost every day. I just ran into one of Courtney's the other day, on a reaction channel. To me I see Courtney more as a rock singer. No use to argue over it...because it like arguing whether Sushi is good. I listened to her version of Someone You Loved. Here is Angelina's version for you...ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YTyO_8YQAu8.html

That was an excellent explanation of how all singers are pitchy to some extent, Rick. And so true. Many have no clue which singers are the best singers due in part to the use of autotune today, and also don't realize that the singers who are believe to have perfect pitch, don't. They are great singers because of how they sing with emotions and techniques. And like you mentioned how having a great vibrato makes singers sound even better to the listeners ears. A great singer today won't show any signs of being autotuned, but most likely they are. Some great singers even get upset when producers autotune their live performances. I'll leave this link for those who enjoy this topic and how this channel shows most of the best singers in the past 50 or more years are also pitchy, but that being said has nothing to do with being off as a singer. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OBk7BnIA12c.html Although, singers such as Adele use there passion to get the feeling of being one of the best singers ever, but are at times very pitchy. I hope interested people take a look at that video and the others this channel offers. He always uses computer programs to accurately show so many past singer like, I know you'll like this, Elvis Presley, along with singers like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra etc, etc. And like we discussed many times how a blues or jazz singer manipulates notes purposely with bends, slurs, and vocal distortion that we love so much as rock/blue/classic performances.

Well said guys. The thing I love about Courtney is the edgy imperfections in her at home performances that she shares with us. When I look back in time to my teenage years Tina and Janis wouldn't be the same with auto-tune and computer enhancement like the crap that you have now. Some people enjoyed this video because she had over a million views not bad for the at home session. Also ditch the eight ball in the side pocket. MORE COURTNEY HADWIN PLEASE !!

@@zxzx2323 I hear ya! I have an Autotune unit from when they 1st came out in 99' Antares Atr 1A. I would only use it double tracking the vocals panned hard left and right. 1 track dry and the other with autotune on the dry vocals. The purpose was to get the full vocal sound, sort of like the fullness the group Boston had. Not the same really but it worked and saved time trying to sing the track 2 or more times. That's was a good use for autotune. Never meant to use it to correct someone really. Even Cher said in an interview that they wanted to play around with it when she recorded "Believe" just playing around and they like the robotic sound effect they got from it like a vocoder. Then they all started with it as an effect at 1st. Then it morphed into what the inventor (Hildebrand) had intended it for. I know a number of singers in my past. Some I've recorded and they could really sing well, but when you listen to them without music backing them (A Capella), they didn't have the chops Courtney has when she sings A Capella. When she's just singing on those lives we used to get from her, or some of her TikToc and Instagram clips singing of more current songs, it was easy to see she could easily sing what most other singers are doing today. Some lose sight or can't foresee the end product of what any song she lets us hear online will sound like once it's fine tuned and then produced in a studio by a pro. Kinda like that clip "Monsters" she posted a while back. I'm sure when that was 1st conceived it didn't sound like it did now. Always said I would love to be a fly on the wall in the studio with them to watch the process and listen to the excitement they goe through while recording. Or even the probable rare times of disappointments too.

Great point, Ed! I'd love Maunalee to react to Courtney's "Nutbush City Limits" cover at the age of 12 in The Voice Kids UK. It is one of the VERY few Courtz pre-AGT tunes that I'd recommend to a reactor like Maunalee. I think she'd love it! Courtney Hadwin - Nutbush City Limits: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aUgke-UydXo.html

Over 500 million views on her AGT audition video alone.

Currently over 2 billion views in total worldwide.

This is why music is personal. I liked it better when she plays guitar on that one. But I know she only just learned to play guitar. And also know as a beginner, just learning guitar, especially, trying to sing and play at the same time takes lots of time and practice to get proficient at it. But for 6 months or so of just learning to play she was pretty damn good. And for this video that Maunalee reacts to, where Courtney finger picks while singing is very impressive for someone who is just learning on guitar. Many guitarist can't finger pick at all who play most of their lives. Talent grows talent. Meaning some people are just naturals at whatever they choose to do. While others struggle no matter how long they try.

@@bertpainter8385 As before, totally agree with your fingerpicking assessment. Amazingly clean and precise, using multiple fingers.

@@bertpainter8385 "Hard to handle" and "Love hurts" set bar high for her.

@@ouioui_lounge True, but I don't feel like that's the case here. Courtney was exceptional here in a different style than when she rocks out, which is what those who followed her only on AGT know about her. Nothing wrong there. But, I think when you are as talented as Courtney is, anyone with an open mind to real talent will recognize any style she chooses is exceptional, just in a different way. For me, I'm no fan of Dimash at all, but I know he's got some pipes on him, just not what I want to hear. But I'd never say I don't think this was that good or he was better elsewhere. I just say he's not for me. Some comments here and also Maunalee are suggesting this wasn't that great. Or at least that's what I get from what's been said or written. Which is why I commented some are being narrow minded. I had to read it again to be sure I phrased it right. I'm good with how I said it. And stand by my opinions.

@@bertpainter8385 I mean just like Led Zeppelin IV and Pink Floyd's "Dark side of moon" set bar high for them. Maybe she needs a "Nobody's fault but mine"

TC, I revisited the link you preferred for What's...It, because I respect your opinions. To me it seemed that she was still learning the song and could not put the same level of confident passion into it. She even stayed on some notes that should have been more varied--just an artist still learning a song. I really looked hard for something that I thought was better and couldn't find it. I guess pitch imperfection is only a factor for me if the variations don't add color and character to the song, as I expounded upon in my previous overlong comment. To paraphrase Simon Cowell, Courtney's performances can appear musically "messy" to some, but that's what makes them so great.✌️

@@rickrhoden1 Hi Rick, Thanks for your well thought-out response. As I've mentioned in a couple of my comments on here, it's not that I didn't like this version of WLGTDWI; I did like it. It's just that I liked the other version better. That's where I differ from Maunalee: She didn't like it, I liked it. Where she gave it a mediocre rating of 6, meaning she didn't like it too much, I'd probably give it a 9, which means I really liked her performance. However, I'd give her other WLGTDWI version a 9.5. If you take away the guitar-playing, which was MUCH better with this version, I feel that her singing was better in the other version. I actually agree with Simon's comments that none of Courtney's performances are supposed to be perfect, that rock n roll is supposed to be a bit messy, etc. That's why I like both versions and, even if the one I like better didn't exist, I'd still like this one, while still recognizing a few off-pitch notes. So, Maunalee wasn't wrong about her pitchiness at parts remark, but I thought she was off with her mediocre rating. In short, agree that rock, and Courtz's, singing doesn't have to be perfect to be good, but one can't "un-hear" off pitch notes, even if you like her overall performance. So, given a performance that is more on-key, I'll choose that one 9 times out of 10.

@@TCubillas We certainly agree on most things. The one minor issue is differing assessment of 'bad' pitchiness, as related to my concept of 'good and bad' off-pitch. I don't hear significant 'bad', which could just mean I have a bad ear (which easily hears the off-pitch "waves" when tuning a guitar), so I've checked with other Courtney follower comments and don't find pitch complaints. So, I would be interested what others think. I remember an online audio graphing of an Elvis vocal. There were all kinds of surprising squiggles, vibratos and glissandos above and below pitch, some gloriously obvious to the ear and some not. The graph then depicted the application of autotune to the same vocal--basically sucked the life out of it. I have never heard a credible complaint of pitchiness about Elvis (with exception of a voice coach who observed minimal off-pitch in an exhausted Elvis' live performance but said "it didn't matter"). I guess that reflects my assessment and priority of pitch in a live performance, depending on the genre and relative to other factors. Probably/hopefully my last nitpick on this topic.

@@rickrhoden1 You really do have a way with words Rick. I think we watch the same channel in "Wings of Pegasus"? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4Hv9CkSWZR8.html He does an excellent job of showing exactly what is going on with a singers pitch and also pitch correction. His software he uses is excellent. I tried to download the program "Vocal Pitch monitor" on my PC that he uses to isolate any vocal performance in a song a few weeks ago to check a few singers and just play around with the other software that show the graph of any vocal track. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get my pc to work with it. It's too old and won't do the latest upgrades. I'll have to try again on my other PC hopefully in the near future. I'm sure I said this before, I had my Cousin who owns his own studio to look at Courtney's audition years back when others were saying the same about her pitchiness. He isolated her vocals just like that channel does. He also showed me how Melodyne 4 works and how autotune snaps vocal notes to a grid by scale or chromatically, which was an education to see physically on a screen. Having the original Antares ATR 1A autotune rack mount hardware unit from my recording days in 1999, I learned somewhat how it autotune works, but never seen it physically in action on a graph within a software app. My cousin didn't need his program to tell me right off the bat that no auto tune was being used on Courtney back then and that she uses blues techniques that today's listeners will confuse with off pitch notes especially with her growles. I know you know this, it's sorta like when playing a guitar solo and you play a part out of sync with the beat (bascially just going off time) and it still works as long as you come back home to the beat. Vocals can do the same with bends and even hitting notes, except it's can be out of the key itself. Unfortunately, especially today's listeners are so anal retentive that they have to have things in a box neatly packed and don't understand how other styles are used vocally. I'm not referring to you "T" if you're reading this, just many purist out there today. This one spot 6:32 is where on 1st listen back when this came out I initially wasn't sure about. But after a few more listens I realized it was where her voice went from what they call her head voice to false seto, and sometimes singers will get a crack in that move. Once I get both those programs working I'm going to attempt to make a video and put it up.

@@rickrhoden1 Hi Rick, sorry for the slow response. Busy few days, and now I'm traveling through the end of the week. Anyway, to answer your points: I don't use any graphing software nor do I consider myself an expert in voice/singing. However, I do feel I have a pretty good ear when notes are "off". For example, I know I'm a horrible singer when I hear myself sing, so I stick to singing in my car, in the shower or when no one's home. 😬😁 I definitely heard Courtz's singing being a little off at times during this song. The couple of worst pitch issues are at 6:25 and 6:33 of Maunalee's video. Now, I want to stress that, despite the pitchiness at times, I still like this version. However, despite not playing her guitar as intricately, I much prefer the other version because I don't notice major pitch issues. A couple of comments ago, you correctly pointed out that she delivered a more powerful performance in this version than in the one I liked. However, that should not be an excuse to be off with one's notes. For example, when I hear Old Town Road and Love Hurts, two performances which are MUCH more powerful, I don't hear any significant pitch issues. So, I know she can do it. Bottom line, given a choice between a more powerful performance where a singer will have pitch issues, and a slightly more subtle one where he/she sings without those problems, I'll take the latter. In the end, though, I'll take OTR or Love Hurts, hands down (power AND no pitch issues). You also stated that you've checked for comments from Courtz fans and did not notice anyone mentioning that Courtney has pitch issues in this song. Unfortunately, like most fan bases, the majority of the most ardent fans are careful not to utter even a peep of a constructive comment with fear of disappointing the singer and the rest of the super fan base. So, that you could not find another comment about her pitchiness, doesn't surprise me. I maintain that, sometimes, it's good to, constructively and nicely, point out issues an artist may be having because, in the end, if she sees the comments, that'll prompt hin/her to try to correct those issues. Otherwise, if he/she is always ONLY reading how great he/she is, etc., he/she is being done a great disservice. Sorry for the War & Peace, Rick, but your responses are good so I wanted to take time to reply in kind. As I said, I'm traveling on business through the end of the week, then on away on break over the weekend, so my replies will be much slower.

She didn't need VIDEO EDITING to climb is truth, nothing but truth. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E2p2fsu482A.html

nfp, more natural???

Fortunately I've never heard anyone in all the reactions of this song by her say she was anything but wonderful and so enjoyable to listen to. But we each like what we like. Using the adjective "BAD" is a stretch for sure. Also, saying she tries to hard???... is something this young lady never does. She's absolutely herself and as natural as one can be. You would have to know more about her to get that about her. It's why she's so unique to others. And I'm not trying to be negative towards you in saying this, just saying what I know.

A barefoot versatile girl singer delivered messages to you. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iH_cqAYjDL0.html and a both stage presence and singing cover "We Found Love and Hate" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iH_cqAYjDL0.html She didn't need VIDEO EDITING to climb is truth, nothing but truth. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E2p2fsu482A.html Playing guitar does affect her. Check out her Courtney Hadwin - What's Up by 4 Non Blonds guitar version ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2hRUqRqah-U.html VS short TikTok acapella version ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Yk_idpLCg2M.html acapella version is much better.

Lee, to each his own, but before you make your ballad assessment permanent I hope you will listen to this Elvis ballad by Courtney at only 11: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8-2llJk04u8.html

Everyone's tastes are different, but I wonder whether you've heard either her "SIGN OF THE TIMES" rendition - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-x9Phi6Yrg2k.html or her "SOMEONE YOU LOVED" cover - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eR9UxcsjUSM.html If not, I would hope that these two performances would change your mind about Courtz only being a C-rated ballad singer. In fact, Maunalee previously reacted to both of these and gave it her highest grade. Nonetheless, I understand if your tastes are different than many of us on here.

I couldn't disagree more. Courtney may always be first and foremost a rocker at heart, but her vocal versatility is simply astounding. Maybe the only singer I've ever heard that can move between rock to ballads and everything in between and never lose a bit of quality to their music. Her transitions are exquisite. Your preference in music may make you lean in one preferred direction or another, but I don't think it has anything to do with Courtney being better in one style over another. As to the Janis Joplin comment, Courtney has long since passed the level of talent that Janis Joplin had. As great as she was, Janis spent her entire career in one single narrow genre of music, whether by choice or talent limitations. Whereas, Courtney is at least the equal of Janis in Janis' chosen style of music, but can do so much more with the tremendous range she has. Courtney has been compared to nearly every great artist from Mick Jagger to Tina Turner, James Brown and a host of others beyond Janis and non of the comparisons work because Courtney is totally unique in her sound and style. We've never heard anyone that sounds like her before. I guess that true originality and uniqueness is so rare that it is really hard for people to wrap their head around it when they actually hear it.

"Rolling in the Deep" might be best for you, because she could sing this song on her living room floor without shoes. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WXEgQBOXnNo.html