But...
(There's always a but...)
And I know this isn't going to make me popular, but...
The "Cinderalla story" that I believe aided his win significantly has a few problems. I so wanted to believe the whole unassuming, shy cell phone salesman blowing the world away with his undiscovered operatic singing abilities. I still want to believe it. But, sadly, it's not entirely true.
In 2001 Paul Potts sang the part of Don Carlos in the BATH OPERA's production of Verdi's Don Carlos. This is from Paul Potts' biography entry on the Bath Opera website:
Paul Potts (Don Carlos) is a relative new comer to Grand Opera after an apprenticeship in Gilbert and Sullivan in Bristol.. His claim to fame is his 1999 appearance on Michael Barrymore's My Kind of Music. This was followed by singing for Bath Opera in Turandot as Prince of Persia and Herald. He has since performed with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and spent three months touring Northern Italy as a soloist, training under top teachers Mario Melani and Svetlana Sidrova. He has been invited back for a concert to be recorded and also for a masterclass with Luciano Pavarotti. Future plans include a summer tour with the RPO.
So, he's been professional trained and he has been singing professionally for some time.
The Sun had an article yesterday about the controversy. Here's an exerpt:
But yesterday angry viewers told how they felt DUPED after details of Paul’s classical training emerged.I'll bet anything that the show's producers knew all of this all along. They had to. I'm also sure that they intentionally crafted Paul's image to be just what we thought it was. Just what I wish it really was.Far from being a shy amateur, Paul has received extensive singing training.
He was a regular with Bath Opera, where roles included the lead in Verdi Don Carlos.
He spent two summers touring northern Italy with a major opera school and took master classes with top stars.
He even got to sing in one hosted by his idol, Luciano Pavarotti.
Paul isn’t even a newcomer to TV talent shows. In 1999 he won £8,000 on Michael Barrymore’s My Kind Of Music.
The Sun was flooded with calls from readers who felt conned.
Matt Young, 33, said: “On the show there has been no mention that he performed in front of Pavarotti.
“It is dishonest of the programme makers. The show is supposed to be all about undiscovered talent but it seems Paul’s talent was recognised a long time ago.”
Julie Shepherd, 29, of East London, said: “My husband and I are absolutely fuming. We feel duped. We voted for Potts and are thinking about asking for our money back.”
Last night Paul defended himself, claiming he was just an “ordinary bloke.”
He said: “I am not a professional. I’ve never been paid for my singing, all the training I’ve received I paid for myself, and I grafted hard to do so.
In total I have spent about £2,000.
“The judges said I was an ordinary guy doing an ordinary job and that is absolutely true. I have worked at the Carphone Warehouse for three years.
“The tour I did in Italy was part of a course, it wasn’t professional.”
It's too bad, really. It made a cool story.
He has had classical training (DUH!) but has only performed in the operatic equivalent of "community theater."
That does not make his a professional.
He took lessons and performed in amateur productions. Whoopity-do. He’s not a professional. My uncle has had golfing instructions and golfs in amateur tournaments. He’s not a pro golfer.
Sorry, you are wrong. He is a talented amateur with extensive training, an unpaid performer who won a competition or two. NOT a professional opera singer.
That was a tour he saved up and paid for, like fantasy sports camp.
So let’s see.
If I buy a $20,000 bass boat, does that make me a professional bass fisherman?
If I take tennis lessons from Andre Agassi for a year, does that make me a professional tennis player?
Now according to Mr. Potts, he paid his own way for all of his training and was never paid for any of the performances that he participated in.
Yes, he did seek out and received professional training for the passion of his life, but that does not make him a professional. He may very well have been able to make singing his profession, but along the way life intervened and prevented him from realizing his dream, which is not that uncommon.
What we are seeing in the person of Paul Potts, is the real life equivelant of Roy Hobbs. He is a person who was bestowed a special gift and before he was able to realize the fruition of that gift, events beyond his control overtook his life and doomed him to a mundane existence(hey, this is beginning to sound like my life). With this talent competition, Paul got one more chance to reclaim the life that he so dearly wanted to live. Believe me, stepping onto the stage for his audition was the equivelant of the rookies league for Mr. Potts. Just imagine for a minute how much pride he had to swallow and what a chance he took. The humiliation would have been eternal if he had faltered in anyway.
No, Paul was exactly the type of contestant that the sponsors of the competition were looking for. Bemoan the fact that he received professional training. Anyone who has ever hired a coach or paid for lessons has had professional training. I am willing to bet that most of the contestants that entered this competition have had some sort of professional training. And before you toss Connie into this mix, she was probably the only true amatuer in the entire competition. I am willing to bet that she will have more coaches than she will know what to do with over the next 10 - 15 years.
.....working for the phone company
youd think a pro would at least earn a living wage from his expertise