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Hmm...God Bless the Child just touches me. Kat seemed very connected to the song and sang as if she not only embraced the lyrics but lived them. That line she hits "Money you got lots of friends,crowding around your do-o-o-oooor" just kills me, and her falsetto when she sings "neeeeews" makes my heart jump out of my chest (especially on that little snippet I saw of the Notre Dame performance of the song). Even that one part where I thought she could have been a little softer, vocally ("speeending eends") grabbed me emotionally.
Plus...there was a certain tone she had that I don't think we've ever heard from her since. She has almost a gospel-inspired vocal, very soulful but more pure than anthing I've ever heard. I remember my state of mind when I heard those first notes out of her mouth. All I could think of was how naturally the words flowed from her mouth. It was as if singing was her true mode of communication and not talking. That moment was one I'll never forget. The first time I heard Katharine McPhee. God Bless the Child is just so special to me that it makes sense for me to prefer it. It's not that I don't care for STWOM, but it just doesn't quite POP for me like some of Kat's other performances. I'm actually not quite sure why. Second and third to GBTC would be SIFFY and SOTR, followed by UYCBTM, AIFIL, CROCS, WWTLF, IHN, BHATCT, SOTR #2, and then STWOM.
There was another post I made in a "fave kat performance" thread that repeats a few of the things but further explains what GBTC means to me... Even though we never heard her sing the whole song (), My favorite song by her is definitely God Bless the Child. It's difficult to state my reason, but here goes. Season five of American Idol began, and it was more of the same...Delusional kids who can't sing a note in tune, some half-decent singers that the judges let through despite not being terribly impressed, teary-eyed backstories with lackluster vocal performances to accompany them, a couple of young voice prodigies with big voices and boring personalities, some really good singers with some great power, range, but...they all sang the same songs over and over and over...either that or they took up a classic and showed they fit in just fine with the music world...fifty years ago. I remember when Katharine McPhee walked into the audition room. I wasn't expecting much, as the San Francisco episode had been mildly entertaining at best. The word "vocal coach" made me hang my head a little, but there was something about Katharine, an intelligence, a maturity, a little humor (when she failed to convince me her mom was a stage mother ). So I picked my head up and just listened. All of a sudden, the room seemed to pause. She started singing, and her tone was just so pure, so mesmerizing, so unlike anything I've heard before. The way the words just flowed from her with little effort, amazing control...It was just "intense." I had heard the song before but not like that. At the time I ignored it, but I always remembered "that girl whose mom is a vocal coach." Now that I'm feeling ridiculously sentimental, I'll continue. I'll admit it would have been a three-way tossup between God Bless the Child, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and Since I Fell For You, but that was before I found that little clip of Kat singing GBTC at Notre Dame, and I recalled how I felt when Kat walked into the audition room and wanting to feel that way again. I just experienced these chills that sort of resonated through my entire body, and I was just happy and...emotional. Does anyone ever get the feeling that GBTC is a personal song for Kat. For me, I don't think it was random. I feel like she was leaving a "clue." She seems to connect with that song more than any other one I've heard from her, and it gives her a soulful vibe that just enhances that pure voice she has. Maybe I'm over-sensationalizing the song because I think it helps solve "The Mystery of Katharine McPhee," but I can't help but think that her choice to sing that on her audition was somehow significant. I guess only Kat knows...