A singer from Kazakhstan gives high scores only to “his”
The competitive part of any music festival usually drowns in the trail of secular news and the antics of big pop stars, but with close observation, you can discern the trends of the future pop industry among young talents. ZD tried, but there were very few reasons for optimism.
Around one of the members of the New Wave jury, Dimash Kudaibergenov, there was a little excitement, but not a fan’s one, to which Dimash was probably already accustomed, but rather critical. Both the press and many impartial fans could not fail to note that the young pop star from Kazakhstan gives compliments only to his fellow countrymen from the Mezzo quartet.
It is possible that Mezzo deserves high marks. Respectable, vociferous and confidently balancing on the verge of classics and pop music, supporting the international course towards crossover as a new stage. But the bad news is that almost all the participants in the competition, to one degree or another, are drowning behind the old-fashioned stage. Of course, you can console yourself with thoughts of old-fashionedness as a new fashion, but all these consolations seem to be from the last bit of strength.
It is naive to believe that contests are some kind of places of musical power, where new meanings and stars are born. However, it was once so. You can recall Smash !, Dima Bilan, Anastasia Stotskaya, Jamala, Ivan Dorn as part of the duet “A Pair of Normal”, who shone brightly on “Wave” and then built an impressive pop career.
Recently, little has been heard about the participants and even the winners of the competition. Even the clothes they choose are often much more modern than their musical material. This year, voices and charisma in the spirit of “Song of the Year” are again beating for the jury points and the audience’s sympathy. There are three vociferous girls (Denitsa Karaslavova from Bulgaria, Sevil Velieva from Russia and Natia Rigvava from Georgia), a macho club (Alfie Arcuri from Australia, Saro from Armenia, Spaniard Jorge Gonzalez and Italian Fabio Curto), two groups (disastrously unfashionable Cheichai from Belarus and a little more advanced Grinkevich from Russia), as well as the Russian Maxim Subachev under the nickname Max Box, as if on his own mind.
The latter can probably lay claim to the title of the intrigue of the competition. If the group “Friday” was going now, he would have every chance to become its main voice. He has interesting vocals, a very informal approach to music and alien charisma. Not bad for a career start these days, but not at all for a talent competition where octaves and dedication to tradition are still valued. Saro from Armenia perfectly demonstrates both, and Mezzo from Kazakhstan seems to be specially invented to impress those who think that the voice is the main thing.
The funny thing is that many of the celebrity participants of the festival are much more passionate about musical fashion than the young contestants. Beats, basses and all sorts of bells and whistles for the vociferous competition girls and the macho club seem to be completely uninteresting. However, anti-fashion always has a chance to become a fashionable avant-garde. At least dreaming is not harmful.
Newspaper headline:
Badly forgotten old
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