I love how these two women clearly have respect for one another as performers to do a duet together, a lovely one at that, yet all the bitchy fans can't seem to accept that they are both phenomenal talents.
They are both amazing, just different. Idina's voice is more nasal but full of emotion and Kerry's is more classically beautiful and smooth. I love them both!!!!
i find it so... unique how idina has on the white dress and yet has the dark brown hair and kerry has the black dress yet with blond hair. it just makes the song so much more "majestic" not to mention how they turn to face the back and such... kudos!
I just watched the official DVD and at the end when they turn and face each other, kerry smiles at Idina and holds the look a little longer. It's the perfect end to the most fantastic duet I've heard in a long time
Both have really beautiful voices! Amazing song! Yesterday I was in the Musical in Bielefeld, germany. It was amazing. With Roberta Valentini (played Elphaba in germany) as Florence and Karin Seyfried as Svetlana. And I fell in love with that song because of these two.
I hate it when people compare these two, you can't say one is better than the other. They are both outstanding, and their voices work so well with each others.
wow. wowowowowow. i'm actually speechless. I love them both hugely i just can't compare them. their voices are so different and yet they sound fantastic together. *goosebumps*
I didn't know that. That's actually really sad. People are so dedicated to one or the other that it blinds them from the real talent the other has. I was an Idina fan first, but once I heard Kerry I thought she had one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. I love and am a devoted fan to both of them.
I am a grobanite that's why I went to see chess. I was truly delighted not only to see and hear Josh but the rest of the cast were fantastic, wonderful to hear Marti (nice to see a scottish face) and the first time I heard Kerry. The girl has a fantastic voice.
I feel that the most important thing is for a singer to embrace his/her voice and to understand that with hard work and great technique, there truly are NO LIMITS. And ALL the amazing ladies who've conquered the role of Elphaba have achieved this! At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what their voice types are. They have all put their hearts and souls into their singing and toiled long and hard to get where they are, and this is truly admirable. Brava to them all!
I'm doing other things atm so I was just listening to this.. I actually turned back to watching it at the end because I wanted to know which of the two was singing!! Their unison was absolutely PERFECT.
Ohhhhhh WOW! I'm singing this in a concert in a couple of months...SO THRILLED to find my 2 IDOLS performing it-came across it totally by accident! Thanks so much for posting! :D xxx
at 1:54 to 1:55 omgd chills went alll over my body kerry voice jst seems to do that all the time amazing singer best elphiba and better singer out of the two but idina did well allso but for me kerry did it x
Two girls at my school sung this for the talent show and my only comment is that this is the most beautiful song I have ever heard that wasn't written by Stephen Sondheim.
LexDuarte yah you have to think Benny and Björn had their voices in the back of their minds when they wrote this. It’s the most ‘ABBA’ song of the musical.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT! I was excited to see Idina and Kerry sing together!!! And bless the RENTfest too! Josh was an added bonus for me, didn't really know who he was lol, but he was great!
That would be amazing! I saw Kerry on Dec 22nd and i was blow away by both her and Dianna! Im kicking myself i have heard nothing about this...although i do live on the Wirral and nothing gets by here. *Erm the Wirral is the bit beneather Liverpool and above Wales* Anyway, this song sounded amazing, nearly brought me to tears and i have no idea what the story is about...other than chess Championship and a love triangle. But, i think that both Kerry and Idina a AMAZING
I love how everyone is bashing Idina and Kerry. When its a video which not the best sound quality (no offence! so glad you posted it!) and its digital. I bet if we were there we would be speachless after hearing them. They're both amazing! My Fav. Elphies! GO DEE! GO KERRY!
Watched the DVD of this peformance and wow. I am personally a Kerry fan. And that has come from seeing them BOTH live, I think that judging from youtube videos is not such a great thing. But I was actually glad to see Kerry and Idina perform together. I think it is a shame Kerry only had minimal singing in this show. Her 'Someone Elses's Story' is devine.
Man I was there! YEY! I LOVE Idina's kinda half belt thing she's got going here - and love how she makes every part her own (That final MORE security was WICKED! - ha pun!) not too keen on her change of the rhythm though in the first verse, but it seems very structured change so maybe it was a different arrangement she learnt from? Their voices go well together, Kerry's silky smoothness goes with Svetlana, and Idina's more alternative stand-out vocals. They compliment each other :-)
I feel there is a "bigger picture" to this conversation, and I wanted us all to "zoom out" of this very specific, narrow discussion to see it--that is, a person's voice type has NO effect on his/her singing ability or talent. Sopranos are not automatically better singers than mezzos; mezzos are not somehow inferior. In fact, sometimes, I wish I were a mezzo because of the glorious richness mezzos have in their lower range and the great potential they have to reach incredible highs AND lows.
@islaroses I agree. I love them all. Their differences are what make musical theatre so alive and rich. Viva la difference. I would love to be one day just like any one of them.
@mermaydlondon I agree! Her voice is really great! But I like the way Idina acts!! She does some crazy eyes during no good deed that makes the song so much cooler!! But i love them both!! Two great elphabas!!
Also, for the record, none of the previous Elphabas I have heard are "altos," but maybe in the future a contralto WILL conquer the role, and if so, power to her! Vocal labels and designations are so trivial at the end of the day. Anyone, bass or soprano, can become an incredible singer. When I say that I am a soprano, all that means is that my vocal cords are short. Literally. (Basses have the longest vocal cords.) I applaud all these singers who defy categorization and refuse to see limits.
This IS the best video of this I've ever seen. Can you say perfect angle? Idina doesn't look so far away and you've got both of them in one continuous shot. And you don't move around so much. Sound is as best as could be too. You should put "HQ" in your video title. It's true and more people would be tempted to watch it. Thanks for posting!
omg how amazin are they .... talk about the ultimate sing off lol they voices compliment eachother sooooooooooo amazingly! and i love the way this vid has been angled (clear from were the camera was postioned in the audience) but dont u think it is realli arty lookin? i love how idina is in the background and how contrasts are made as the turn themselves to face the bak !!! i just think it was beautiful for this song? does any1 know wot i am talkin bout? it does makes sense!!!! promise
I love Idina's vibratto (not sure if that's the correct spelling) on 1:02 "understaaaaand the man" I didn't hear that on the dvd. But anyway, it's beautiful!
I actually agree with you! I find a lot of ill-informed posts on RU-vid concerning vocal technique and classification, but I agree with you that neither Idina nor Kerry is an "alto." Idina straddles the line between a soprano and a mezzo, but I think she's closer to a mezzo. I also feel that Kerry is probably a bigger-sized soprano; her voice does not sound particularly mezzo-like at all.
@KatieElise88 The Sutton Foster/Julia Murney duet. I know I may not be supported in my assessment, but they used to have that performance on RU-vid. They took it down because of legal reasons, but you have to trust in the genius of Julia Murney. I think they have a rehearsal version online. Not quite the same, but still fierce!
I think both are amazing!! Kerry has a more traditional and beautiful west end voice whereas Idina tries to make the song her own a bit more! They sound so great together!!!
I apologize for the tangent I introduced to this discussion. I deleted all my comments except the first to avoid confusion. I still stand by everything I said--I've researched the voice EXTENSIVELY, everything from operatic vocal technique to the physical anatomy of the voice. I can name the different muscle groups in the larynx and list their functions. I have subjected myself to hours upon hours of ear training in order to discern the most subtle of all technical processes. HOWEVER, [scroll]
ok, I have always loved Idina, and I thought it was weird that two Elphaba's were singing in the same show, but when it comes down to it.....they are BOTH AMAZING! FYI Idina is flat on the the first "well" 1:39 but i understand she was sick. even the best singer can't be perfect all the time
personally i think kerry has a better quality to her voice... but i'd still go with idina being my favorite... her voice is more memorable bcuz it isn't perfect... i guess for me what makes a great singer isn't how polished their voice is, but just how memorable they are... and to me you could play a 5 second clip of idina singing anything and i'd know it was her... i don't know if i can say the same for kerry but that's just my opinion
I think the "nasal" quality of Idina's voice goes a long way towards making her sound younger. Remember, she is very close to forty, almost 10 years older than Groban and Ellis. You really would never guess it when listening to, or watching chess. She and Josh Groban made a very believable couple (w/o any cougar overtones).
YAAAAY I'm from the Wirral too-what are the chances lol?! You're so right that we don't get to hear about anything, I was mad I didn't know about this too when I found it-Idina AND Kerry, like, wow! We should start a Wirral Wicked society! haha :D xxx
compare, the version of her sing the "prayer" with Josh Groban to anyone else he sings with, or compare Him and Idina doing "You and I" from Chess, to say Elaine Paige and Micheal Ball, you'll see my point. I feel Idina blend very well with Kerry Ellis, Adam Pascal, Traci Johnson any of the Fyerios she was with in wicked, but she is a pop singer, Josh Groban is classical and I don't see her as that versatile, and it reflects in the performance
There's 2 possible reasons. Maybe they just decided to stick to the original version of the song rather than the re-arrangement. OR, the fact that Idina sounds absolutely horrible when she tries to belt high notes (listen to her first "Me, more security" - she goes terribly sharp) and they didn't want to risk it.
Mic problems - I'm not bashing Kerry and saying she isn't powerful but Idina DEFFO had mic problems! People saw her in the rehearsal with mic problems!
don't even go there you can think idina isn't talented but you really can't bring religion in to any of this now i love idina and i' m a jew so both of these statements offend but especially the second one look back in to history there are so many talented jewish people
