Nicole Scherzinger stepped out from behind the judging table and hit the stage on ‘The Sing-Off’ last evening. The singer performed Diana Ross’s classic ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’ alongside The Persuasions. Check out the performance below:
With the exception of Scherzinger’s screaming, that was a solid performance. It baffles me that as such a talented vocalist that she would consider that amount of screeching to be musical in any way. She can do, and has done, a lot better.
37 COMMENTS
CHECKMATE
December 21, 2010 at 2:10 pm
bogus
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YOOS
December 21, 2010 at 2:12 pm
i love Nicole. she amazing,
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Stoney-Brie
December 21, 2010 at 2:13 pm
this was rather good!
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Singersongwriterproducerengineer
December 21, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Hey everyone. Yeah, not really that good.
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SAM
December 21, 2010 at 2:53 pm
wow
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beystanbish
December 21, 2010 at 3:59 pm
ummmmm No. Stick to singing them pussycat dolls songs bb.
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FeelsGood
December 21, 2010 at 4:11 pm
This was a very good performance. It was really decent. I think Nicole sounded amazing!
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jaz
December 21, 2010 at 4:11 pm
i love NIcole’s voice
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JORDAN
December 21, 2010 at 4:25 pm
The reality of that performance is that Nicole is NOT screaming, as a vocalist (trained might I add) I can tell from the sound quality that everything she is BELTING (correct term for what Nicole produced) it is TECHNICALLY SUPPORTED! The tone is right, the sound quality is right. She herself is trained classically so she knows how to support those super high notes she belts.
Werk.
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brazio
December 21, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I enjoyed this , I thought she and The Guys did a great job!!!
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STONASH7
December 21, 2010 at 4:33 pm
terrible performance from both sides…men amd nicole
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m
December 21, 2010 at 5:11 pm
This is the Marvin Gaye/Tami Terrell version of the song. Not Diana Ross’s!!!!!
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martin
December 21, 2010 at 5:26 pm
You’re a dumb ass trent!
Nicole did it very well!
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CHOCOLATE_BOX
December 21, 2010 at 6:00 pm
This girl is hot beyond believe….Her voice was mesmerizing… I think I’m in love…..
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Robier
December 21, 2010 at 6:45 pm
@JORDAN….. U ARE CORRECT
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jaimzkehoe
December 21, 2010 at 6:57 pm
i still think marvin and tammi terrel the originals did it best
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Chile Please!
December 21, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I was LMAO last night watching this…….& did you peep how she messed up on that one note a little. She be screaming too much & not singing…..very beautiful chick but singing is not for her. She be trying too hard & she fails. S.B. Her boyfriend Lewis Hamilton is EVERYTHING….Move over Nicole Schkehroisheriohaxlndrf I’m coming for your man Honey!
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Beyonce Owns Your Fav.
December 21, 2010 at 7:56 pm
The guy with that glasses singing background is my Grandma’s best friend husband.
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GangsterA
December 21, 2010 at 8:04 pm
nicole killed it her vocals are hot and she looks amazing
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Kitti Cat
December 21, 2010 at 9:46 pm
SHE WAS AMAZING!!!!
That was a really good performance.. much better than Ben and btw.. I love Ben
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MUSIC LOVER
December 21, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Nicole is fucken hot and she sounded great! Get it girl!
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Bob
December 21, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Nicole was fantastic and she more than held her own with those notes. It is not screaming when you can hit the notes. She is so talented.
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alexis
December 21, 2010 at 11:35 pm
actually he song was done by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.
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Chimier
December 22, 2010 at 1:09 am
#FAIL
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Leah
December 22, 2010 at 3:37 am
Jordan, you’re right on the job! Teach this idiot on how not to judge! Nicole’s performance was simply Superlative!!!
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JonathanGardnerTV
December 22, 2010 at 4:36 am
#1 MARVIN GAYE & TAMMI TERRELL RECORDED THE SONG FIRST BACK IN 1968
#2 Diana Ross recorded a re-arranged, grander and longer version of the song for her 1970 debut solo album “Diana Ross”
#3 Mark Ronson re-created the original Funk Brothers instrumental for the Marvin & Tammi original for Amy Winehouse’s song “Tears Dry On Their Own”
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gabs
December 22, 2010 at 6:54 am
Omg you idiot. That isn’t “screaming”. Those are musical notes that are VERY hard to hit. They do it in classic rock songs all the time. Nicole did great. It wasn’t meant for her to outshine Diana Ross or Tammi. Jeez. It was an acapella contest and she wasn’t going to outshine the group that was competing either.
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Lonn
December 22, 2010 at 7:30 am
Actually, its a combination of both Marvin & Tammi/Diana’s versions. I like how Nicole interjected Diana’s version into Marvin & Tammi’s. It was a great preformance from her, which I was never a fan of. She just proved to me that she not only can sing, but she can SANG!!! (Not Scream like the author of this story referred to it as such.)
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Rod
December 22, 2010 at 7:37 am
I appreciate your site, but this is the Tammi Terrell/Marvin Gaye arrangement.
And her vocals are actually quite good, well within her range and pitched for her tone.
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Adam
December 22, 2010 at 9:33 am
Nicole’s voice isn’t suited for melodic, soulful Motown songs.
Her voice wasn’t supported, making her high notes sound shrill.
Had she been trained, she’d NEVER sing high notes with her head held back like that.It takes the voice box “out of the breath”, as some call it. The preferred technique for hitting high notes is called “lift & tip”, where the chest is lifted & the chin is tipped slightly. This, along with diaphragmatic breathing & lower abdominal contraction will give the high notes fullness & resonance.
Here’s a clip of how a truly classically trained pop/jazz singer hits-and sustains-high notes-in her 60s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vOrILQS0Hc
(Sarah Vaughan, performing “Send In The Clowns”-LIVE)
Yes, Sarah Vaughan is a LEGEND, but, unless the new crop can create the kinds of magic created by the legends, the superlatives heaped upon chicks like Nicole is just hyperbole of the worst kind.
That marginal “singers” like Nicole constantly brag about being classically trained just demonstrates how many poorly-trained voice teachers there are out there, taking advantage of the ignorance of their students.
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Kirk Bonin
December 22, 2010 at 2:41 pm
She does an admirable job with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”……….she emulates the Diana Ross with respect.
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Aryo
December 22, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Thats Why Im a fan of her!
She’s So frickin talented! love u nicole!
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Aryo
December 22, 2010 at 3:08 pm
btw, her new single Dont hold your breath is gettin released in a few weeks!
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Raymond
December 22, 2010 at 10:03 pm
This is not Diana’s version of the song, it’s Marvin Gaye’s and Tammie Terrell’s version. Only DIANA! can do Diana’s version.
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CBScherzyTeyana
December 22, 2010 at 10:13 pm
omg are yall high or what? nicole killed it¨!!! she didn’t scream too much at all.. she’s just an amazing performer and damn her voice :’) love her to death
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Ineedtohearyousing
December 22, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Chimier…excuse Nicole for not being the cracked out Whitney, or the “singer” Mariah is today. Whitney and Mariah will always be legends; they had their time. Why don’t you let other talented singers shine for once?
And Adam…why do I feel like you’re feeding us a crock of bull? Probably because you are
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Rick
December 24, 2010 at 6:52 am
The poor poor author of this article, if you know nothing about music, or at least soul music, maybe you should find something else to write about. There was no “screaming”. She sounded amazing, on key and stylistically appropriate for the song. Perhaps she should have sang it like Streisand. Would that have been more to your liking. It would have sounded ridiculous. You go Nicole, just ignore the haters and naysayers and do what you were born to do; sing and entertain.
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