28 replies to this topic

[TWoP Gadget]

Laura & Sophie

To look at Laura and Sophie is to see two high school teenagers who should be enjoying their summer vacation from school. Instead, Laura is missing her high school graduation to spend the summer with her best friend Sophie and pursue their dreams. With Laura still wearing braces and Sophie barely legal to drive, these teens are unlike anything else in country music.

[ChelseaNH]

Probably the best straight-up, pure singing of the night -- but still very young. I don't know that they've got staying power.

[Skittl1321]

I thought these girls were fantastic. I didn't mind that they sang more to each other than to the crowd- because most of my music listening is in the car. So I don't need a performer- I just want to hear good music, besides which- that sort of connection will look great in a video.

16 is young, but the other girl is 18- lots of musicians seem to get started around then, and we are getting more and more younger girls on the radio too. Definetly my favorite.

[SecondWife]

Good harmonies, but I just don't think they are ready yet. I do think with a little more time and some good vocal coaching they could be something really special.

Interesting song choice, but at 16 and 18, do they REALLY know how hard it is to be a woman? I doubt it.

[djuna]

I particularly enjoyed the song choice after they explained that they don't date.

[DPONGRACZ]

I was really impressed with these two. Whether it's because they were really good or just because so many of the others were not, I'm not sure. I thought that they had very strong, lovely voices.

[ideefixe]

nteresting song choice, but at 16 and 18, do they REALLY know how hard it is to be a woman?

But really, the philosophy of the song is geared towards 16-18 year olds. If anything, they made it seem legit, as an older performer had to make it seem ironic.

[Occasional Hope]

I did like the way they looked at each other and made it sound like they were treating the song with a kind of girly female solidarity, but overall I'm in the camp of "they don't have enough life experience to convince on a song like this." Actually, do they have any real life experience at all? As djuna pints out, they don't even date. They could appeal to the Taylor Swift crowd (and although they weren't great this week, they were certainly better than Ms Special Guest Star herself). They need to pick songs with suitable lyrics, though: I really couldn't take them seriously on this.

[CaffeinatedTV]

I second (or third, or fourth, or [insert appropriate numerical term here]) the sentiment that neither of the girls has the life experience to truly convince on "Stand by Your Man." That being said, I'm not entirely sure NBC's goal on Nashville Star is to be convincing; look at Laura and Sophie as the collective equivalent of American Idol's David Archuleta of S7. Young and oh-so-adorable (to some, not me); almost a novelty act, if you will.

Unfortunately for them, their tendency to sing to each other will only increase the novelty opinion. They're like one of those sister acts -- matching outfits, bright red suspenders and ruffled shirts, mock tuxedos, tap shoes, and two identical canes with which to shimmy across the stage. For their sake I hope they can fix this to some point; for my sake I hope they rely even more heavily on this tendency...if only for the secret mental funnies it brings about.

[ideefixe]

Miranda Lambert sang The Fightin' Side of Me on the first season, which was an wildly unlikely song choice, but she managed to pull it off.

Laura and Sophie are far from a novelty act, unless of course, you think Alison Krauss is an novelty act. They had the most achingly pure country vocals of the night.

Iris De Ment would be a good songwriter for them to investigate.

[CaffeinatedTV]

Laura and Sophie are far from a novelty act, unless of course, you think Alison Krauss is an novelty act. They had the most achingly pure country vocals of the night.

I admit that their harmony and voices were excellent; that's not what I was getting at. I'm just saying that there are (or at least used to be) a lot of sister-act-type duos with great harmonies who are perceived as corny or novel.

[vallegirl]

To further that idea, they specifically are cultivating a weird "twin" personae where they dress, move, and are trying to look alike. They may have achingly pure country vocals, but they are working a whole sexless Tatu (or whatever their weird capitalization is) vibe and that distracts from whatever talent they have.

Edited by vallegirl, Jun 13, 2008 @ 1:11 PM.

[SamB]

I seriously thought they were twins until it was stated they were friends. Admittedly, by then we had been told their ages, which probably should have been a clue, but ho hum.

I thought they were pretty good. Not as good as the judges praised them, but they're certainly very talented.

[CaffeinatedTV]

Heh...so the matching outfits last night didn't do much to combat the novelty sister-act vibe.

I'm a little torn on how they should go about song choices from here on out. I agree somewhat with John Rich (what is that pig doing in the air?) that they'd seem much more authentic if they sang something more suitable for their age. At the same time, though, I feel the same way about them that I do about Taylor Swift -- they're going to need to prove themselves on some country standards to win my respect. They tried to do that on "Stand by Your Man," but while it was good I don't think it was quite good enough for the song. Anyway, I'm rambling, so...yeah. All of that.

[Occasional Hope]

I think they have potential, but they need several years' seasoning before they're ready, IMO. However, I realised tonight that they are actually the only act this year to have sung two straight country songs out of two, so that makes me root for them a little more. It's just unfortunate that the specific country songs they picked were not the right ones for them. I think Taylor Swift is seriously overrated, but it might not be a bad idea for them to pick one of her songs, because it would be young and contemporary. Some of the songs on Blaine Larsen's first album would work, too: My High School, or How Do You Get That Lonely.

A possible negative for them is that I suspect they may be sharing/directly competing for votes at this stage with Pearl Heart, who have a fairly similar vibe (young girls-next-door). think these two have the most obviously overlapping set of potential fans, apart from Gabe and Charley, who's been cut already.

[sundodger78]

I think L & S are going to sing another country song for pop week: Loretta Lynn's D-i-v-o-r-c-e. It's to high light all the livin' they've done. It also shows they can spell. Our education system didn't leave these two behind.

Edited by TWoP Gadget, Jun 21, 2008 @ 1:03 PM.

[mooncreek]

They should survive this elimination, meaning they will likely make it to perform on Original Song Night. I fear that will sink them - unless Jeffrey "guides" them then too.

[PreviouslyOnTV]

I don't get this criticism from the judges that they look at each other too much. So what? If I went to hear them sing and all they did was look at each other while they sang it would still be a good time. Mentored or not, I thought their performance was the best translation of pop into country of the night.

Last show I went to, Ben Folds, spends like 90% of the time looking at a piano. Still awesome.

[copssister]

There was some discussion in the show thread this week about whether Laura or Sophie has the better voice. The video links there didn't include this one from a few years back, which spotlights both of their voices. Nashville Star has really blended their voices into that Judds meld, which isn't what I prefer. I hope they're able to sing a song by The Wreckers or SheDaisy soon - that style seems to suit them and is much more current than what they've been given through these first few weeks.

[Tallulah2]

They both have very pretty voices, but they are definitely much stronger together than apart. Their voices just mix really well, and make them more interesting than either of them could be alone.

[HerRoyalHighnes]

Are they at odds with each other? Last night, it looked like Sophie kept trying to look at/reach out to Laura, but Laura didn't seem connected.
Although Laura didn't take Alyson's hand when offered to her, but did take Sophie's.

(If Laura is NOT the one with the braces, switch the names, k? HA!)

[kassa]

I think the panel seemed to think they were at odds -- somebody told them to "get over it." I think they need to go home soon and do some living and grow up. I thought they sounded better separately than together, and that high harmony is killing them. It can be effective as an accent within a song, but not the entire tune of the song! A little goes a long, long, way.

[A Beaverhausen]

ITA to your whole post, kassa. I really don't understand how they got this far. Aren't there any other young country duos out there who have stage presence and can actually sing together?

[HerRoyalHighnes]

Aren't there any other young country duos out there who have stage presence and can actually sing together?

Yes, they were on CMT's Can You Duet weeks ago, and were FABULOUS!

[boomersmommy]

Loretta Lynn's D-i-v-o-r-c-e.

That would be Tammy Wynnette.

[sundodger78]

You're absolutely right boomersommy. Thank you. I should have written Loretta Lynn's The Pill. Another age appropriate song for the children. Especially having learned one of their boyfriends almost ruined their friendship for 6 months.

[lunadick]

Thankfully the saga of those two is over. I don't want to be negative, but as a parent I would be embarassed if my children acted the way those two girls did in a mall, let alone national TV. Sophie needs to work on her skills and finish school while the other one can find a nice job and maybe buy her Dad something nice to wear. I hope those two learned something from the other contestants work ethic, that is what can turn promise into success.

[Rachel RSL]

All they really did was roll their eyes. Once. After being criticized non-stop week after week after week by the same people who put them on the show in the first place. Frankly, after all the abuse they took from the judges, I'd be proud that all my daughter did was roll her eyes. If it were me, I don't think I would have been able to refrain from punching John Rich in his big fat head. In fact, I still hold out hope that one of the other contestants will do it fo me.

[A Beaverhausen]

By the time they were kicked off, I didn't care about the eye rolling and I wouldn't have cared if either one of them had given Rich the finger, because I am just so glad that I don't have to listen to them yowl through another song.