Oh dear God, why does Kanye West do it? Why does he insist on singing live when he can't?
It's simply mortifying to watch him straining his way through "Love Lockdown" on last night's Saturday Night Live. Mercifully, he doesn't bother trying to reach the high notes; we are spared that embarrassment. But, it has to be said, deliberately leaving the high notes to be sung by an offstage female vocalist is probably just as cringe-inducing.
Matters get even worse during the rendition of "Heartless." Just as the viewer is distracted by the rotoscope video into thinking the performance isn't that bad, Kanye switches to singing "Pinocchio Story"- far and away the worst track to ever bear his name. "There's no YSL they could sell/ To get my mind outta this hell."
Along with the poor singing and lacklustre dancing, Kanye looks awkward, uncomfortable and vulnerable during both performances; leaving viewers with only one question: why in God's name does he do this to himself?
i liked both performances, he gets into it and gives it his all. U guys jus hatin
December 14, 2008 at 8:32 p.m.
notahater
I thought he was just terrible also! It was mortifying- he needs a studio to make him sound good- if he was trying out for American Idol- he'd get the door.
True, he's off key and out of step one too many times, but can we please give the man some credit for: 1. the 80's fro-hawk 2. A cherry red mic that looks like a kid's toy 3. Over-sized 3D glasses 4. Competing with brilliant screen visuals Is Kanye's shtick is too ironic for it's own good, or are we just hungover on the vocoder?
December 14, 2008 at 9:36 p.m.
Buffala
Everything is great about Kanye until he opens his mouth. That has never changed.
December 15, 2008 at 1:59 a.m.
A.G.C.
It's sad think of how many people will have to look back and realize they spent the prime years of one of a handful of artists of the past few decades that's actively expanded the concept of American music complaining that he couldn't sing.
Singers should be able to sing. Would you let someone that couldn't boil water cook ya meals? Even with the back round singer and effects he still is pretty bad.
ugh. kanye sucks. SO hard. i don't understand why people like this. he used to rap and had an alright flow. now his flow sucks and he can't sing. even with auto-tune. isn't auto-tune supposed to make you sound like you CAN sing? he even screws that up. and the 80s fro-hawk looked ridiculous in the 80s and it looks ridiculous now. all i want for christmas is for kanye to go away.
He performed last night at KROQ's xmas deal, and it was v similar, jacket and all. I always think he's good, but I can't really justify that opinion at all.
December 15, 2008 at 2:42 p.m.
Sucker
anyone could sing better than that good for his ass! cocky mo-fo finally or soon will get whats coming
December 15, 2008 at 7:45 p.m.
shoob
What A.G.C. said. Kanye is an artist, and those things that make you cringe, double take, or think twice; those are the things in art that interest me. Life is imperfect. Why would you want Kanye to be?
December 16, 2008 at 2:16 p.m.
WOW
When you hold yourself in a certain regard (as Kanye does) you simply can't have performances like that and then walk away happy. Kanye thinks so highly of himself that he has completely lost the ability to know what his limitations are. He thinks he can do it all. Clearly, as proven in his last performance, just because you think it doesn't make it so. Talk about second-hand embarassment.
December 17, 2008 at 10:37 a.m.
Oh crap!
Wait, I thought it was a new Apple iPod ad. Now I wish I hadn't smashed my iPod with a hammer and bought a Zune.
December 20, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
dantheman
lolol
"all i want for christmas...is for kanye to go away!!"
this guy sounds like diarea on the track lol
He is so cocky. He thinks hes the shi*, and by watching this video I agree with him that he is shi*, THE SHI* haha
December 22, 2008 at 12:44 p.m.
Clari
DAMN KANYE...that performance made me cringe! Every second that passed seemed like torture not only to me, but to him as well. And the dancing?!?! Really!? He reminded me of my toddler trying to impress me with her dance moves...it was so wrong! Right now I am listening to the Graduation album in the effort to get this bad, bad SNL image out of my head!
December 23, 2008 at 9:20 a.m.
Stew
How the hell is this guy still getting gigs on tv. Not to long ago that would have been a performance one would have seen on The Gong Show, only he would not have been allowed to finish. Cher was cringing! My band National Ghost is waaaay better, but we are stuck playing local bars while our CD sits at iTunes waiting to be discovered. Whatever...
December 23, 2008 at 4:30 p.m.
Cherk
Nice shameless promotion, Stew. Readers must be thinking, "Wow! National Ghost? I'll check them out at iTunes right now!" Every band that's "waaaay better" than these poor schmucks is stuck playing local bars and waiting for their big break. It's part of the business. The sad reality is that, once a band makes it big, there's always a sizeable group saying, "I like this band a lot better when they were playing local bars and the fame hadn't ruined their sound."
I digress. Back to Kanye: It's amazing that in a world with automatic pitch-adjustors and hoards of backup singers, this poor sot still can't manage to sound musically competent. If he's so technologically savvy, as is shown by his elaborate stage decor, why doesn't he use it to make himself sound a little less like an American Idol reject?
December 23, 2008 at 11:46 p.m.
Mike Wash
I really liked tht performance too i mean yea he's no american idol but have 2 admit for a rapper thts not horrendus plus i tink kanye is just branching out from you "hardcor" hiphop and tryin to diversify it a little bit, i think he's making a nice try dn i thought tht it wuz a great performance he rlly got into it nd you could tell
December 24, 2008 at 9:53 a.m.
lukusluke
I want the live band performance with the in-studio voice audio
December 28, 2008 at 2:04 p.m.
whaaaat
Wow, that was some awful sound coming out of him. I love the studio version of the songs though. If all singers had to sing live, we'd be hearing a lot more off notes, that's for sure.
January 8, 2009 at 2:10 p.m.
Haterade
I think most of you miss the entire point of these performances and the new CD. Kanye is vulnerable. He is flesh and blood. He can be hurt. He can regret, bleed, and pine for unrequited love like anyone else. He accepts this. Bearing his soul and revealing his obvious shortcomings on the world's stage humanizes him in a way few other artists are willing to attempt. I believe Kanye is fully aware that he's not the best vocalist, dancer or performer on tour today. That's what impresses me about his willingness to go live. That takes heart.
January 26, 2009 at 12:03 p.m.
K.Mitch
I dont really know what to say about that "Love Lockdown" performance...dey effd up lol. BUT I quickly fell in love with the heartless/pinnochio story performance. Not only did tha live percussions and other instruments kinda drew me in but he really sung that song with his all and I loved it. Shoutoutsz to Kanye straight up
Kanye West »
i liked both performances, he gets into it and gives it his all. U guys jus hatin