I tivoed this episode of George Lopez’s show tonight because I’d seen that Matt Morris was performing. I’d heard about him a couple of months before his now infamous performance with Justin Timberlake on the Haiti marathon on the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah”, and hadn’t had the chance to properly acquaint myself with his music.
Ever since then though, his star has shot to fame. Some people were saying that Justin shouldn’t have used that platform to launch Matt (who is his new artist and is signed to his Tennman Tunes label along with Esmee Denters), but why not? Dude has an amazing voice! Haiti benefited from that duet surely because people have been talking about it ever since!
Anyway, this performance was pretty darn good! I mean, he sounds great! If anything, I think his nerves showed through at times, but I can only imagine what this sounds like in a more controlled environment. Him in an intimate venue with a crazy band is probably the hottest ticket around right now. His voice just leaped and whizzed around these notes, it was pretty fly for a white guy. For real! The tone of his voice seems pretty effortless.
What ya’ll think? Bandwagon jumper or not, I’m pretty sold.
Related posts:
- Live Performances: Mariah Carey Does “Today”…Today.
- Maxwell Comes With A “Fistful of Tears” For Oprah & Haiti
- What Is A “Love Dealer” Exactly? Sounds Slightly Suspect Esmee Denters…
- “We Are The World” — We!? Not Me, Don’t Lump Me In With This Mess!
- Alicia Keys In The UK, Vocally, Is A Fail. Fashionably As Well? You Decide!
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
![Res Proves That Black.Girls.Rock On New [Free!] Album](http://thafeedback.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/res2-150x150.jpg)
February 5, 2010 Matt
I’m all for gays getting ahead in life, and I think he’s one of a very few who won’t be labeled by his sexuality, but this is just a mess, and if they don’t fix it before he expands, it could be a killer.
His vocal style is very pop with some r&b influences, yet he’s singing on a reggae style track with spanish at the beginning. He’s decked out in a Robin Thicke suit that covers his suit of tattoos that cover his arms. He’s clean cut from the neck down but has the scruffy beard.
His image is just as scattered as the styles in this song, and that’s hard to sell. It’s no doubt that he’s talented, and this highlights his vocal talent, but where would we find his album in the store? Pop? R&B? He doesn’t have to fit in a box, by any means, but some sort of loose definition would be a good idea.
February 5, 2010 Matt
oh, and I said it then, I’ll say it now…I don’t feel that a charitable telethon is the place to launch your artist. Even if that wasn’t their intention, they should have considered intention vs perception.
February 5, 2010 The IPS
Not that it matters, but I didn’t know he was a gay!
I feel you though, because the reggae song with the spanish did have me like “O rly?” LOL! It was like Matisyahu meets Jason Mraz. A little off-putting but his voice is super smooth and I’ve been listening to the album and it didn’t NOT fit the vibe, so I’m not sure how to process him quite yet.
February 5, 2010 FirstGentleman
I’m all confused. Gay + Spanish speaker + Reggae + R&B vocals x a White boy = ??? I agree with Matt as much as artist hate to be “labeled” we need them to be or else we get the aforementioned formula.
*Dead* @ Matisyahu cuz lowkey he does look like him.
and the end of the song about love sounds like a 90′s choir vamp when they’d use Reggae to make songs sound cool.
Glambert > Matt Morris
February 5, 2010 Matt
Oh, I have to disagree, Matt Morris > Rihanna > Baby Goats > cow bell solos > Lamby-pants.
February 5, 2010 FirstGentleman
(@ Matt) There is nothing “Fun” “festive” “over the top” about Matt…All the great white gay male singers have been. Elton, Boy George, George Michaels…he’s a dud for a white guy…unless he does a remix with lady gaga in a full rhinestone onezy I’m gonna be apethetic towards him at best.
February 5, 2010 Matt
*cough* stereotype *cough*
see…that’s what I actually do like about him…he’s not going to be a “gay singer”, he’s likely not to get labeled like that. Not all gay guys who sing need to be like Elton, Boy George, or George Michael, and I actually appreciate that he isn’t like that in the least. One of my problems with Lambert is that he seems to feel he has to be over the top to be successful, but that starts to make his career more about his sexuality, than his singing.
Matt Morris is just a guy singing, like many other guys who sing, and oh yeah, if you read up you’ll find he’s gay.
February 5, 2010 divaTy
If you’d seen Matt on The Mickey Mouse Club, there would be no doubt of his gayness. lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU1yi2JyON0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILoC778I0tg
I just hate that he’s being called Justin’s “protege.” He wrote all of the good songs on Christina’s Stripped, and some stuff on FutureSex/LoveSounds.
February 5, 2010 The IPS
YES, I KNEW I’d seen that name a long ago! He wrote on that JT record!!
February 6, 2010 kes
ummmmm…firstgentlemen, isn’t Adam “Madam” lambertginia also diverse? Wasn’t he suppose to be classic rock, then decided, “oh, I’mma sell out and jack Lady Gaga’s style?” Isn’t labeling what’s KILLING the music industry? Just people following formula? Maybe you should open your mind and look outside of all the flamboyant characters and see someone like Matt who is not one-dimensional like Miley Cyrus or Taylor “tone deaf” Swift.
February 6, 2010 Vaughn
I’m so mad I missed this, but glad it’s here! I thought it was a great performance, and the crowd seemed really into it. I don’t if that was authentic or staged by the producers, but it was nice to see, regardless!
I’m quite disappointed that there are 10 comments for this video and most of them have to do with a musician who doesn’t fit it a neat little box?
@Matt: I don’t think there’s anything hard to sell about his image. He’s a folk-rock singer-songwriter who’s also influenced by R&B/Soul. That is nothing new, and most male singer-songwriters have had at least ONE song that is reggae-styled. You know what have been much harder to sell? The shiny-as-a-cue-ball, bald head dude used to rock.
The only thing that matters is what effect the music has on you. For me, the guy isn’t really doing anything different BUT it’s working because I’m buying into what he’s selling. Since 2001, pop/rock singer-songwriters have been a dime a dozen, but Morris stands out. He’s got songs that have great lyrical content and structure. He’s got a fantastic voice, and in interviews, he’s able to clearly articulates his vision as an artist and his views on non-music related topics. I honestly can’t ask for more from a pop artist.
And although most popular artists are usually crap at scouting other talents (e.g. Usher and Justin Bieber, Lil’ Wayne and pretty much all of Young Money), this was a good call on Justin’s part in my opinion. I’d like to see Matt Morris around for a while.