It’s now been about seventh months since my Aladdin Music Show premiered. I gave the Aladdin Music Show a rewatch and my review is below.
Arabian Nights
At the time I recorded Arabian Nights I was still having green screen issues and was unable to get a decent video, so it was just a background of sand. It’s made more interesting early in the video because of the opening credits, but video is a definite issue here. It’s boring and something I definitely want to improve. Vocals are strong, but nothing fancy or exceptional. I give this a C rating.
As you can tell, I’m being more strict this time around as this would get a B rating under the standards used for Frozen. You can read my review of our Frozen show here.
For comparison sake, I will rate the numbers both on the standard I think I can set for this show as well as for Frozen. So, each song will get two ratings.
One Jump Ahead
One Jump Ahead would have been improved with more video of the singers, however, I worked with what I had. The video editing overall is strong and the vocals are on point, but again, I am sad to say that there is nothing special about them. Add to green screen issues with Fawkes’ videos and video not lining up with audio with the chorus, I give this number a C-.
As compared with Frozen, this would get a B- rating.
Friend Like Me
There are some issues with Friend Like Me as well. This is the most technically difficult piece in the entire production, and the vocalist and instrumentalists were mostly up to the challenge. I did clearly become fatigued in my singing closer to the end, and the number could have been more powerful at the end. I am also rethinking my choice of flute and clarinet as the accompaniment. Although they might have been a nice addition to the song, I think it would have been more powerful with piano back up. A mistake that I didn’t make in our upcoming Lion King production.
Video is also an issue with green screen issues mainly on the flute part, but on the other two parts as well. The green screen issues on the clarinet pass for special effects, but that is. not the case with the other two.
Given all of this, I’m giving this number a rating of a B-, mostly because of the technical difficulty of the number.
Using the same standards as Frozen, it would not perform much better however, at a B rating, due to the video and green screen issues.
Prince Ali
Vocals in Prince Ali are some of the strongest in the production, however, there are still green screen issues. These are a little more subtle than in some of the other numbers, but still noticeable. The vocals also don’t always line up with the video. This one gets a B+ for the current ranking, and also a B+ according to Frozen rankings.
A Whole New World
Easily the strongest vocals so far, the only thing that is lacking in A Whole New World is videos of the actual singers. The singers are also slightly out of synch in one spot. But, the video that is there is well done, albeit not as engaging as it would have been with the vocalists’ videos. This one gets an A-. For Frozen standards, it gets an A.
Speechless
Beautifully done, especially early on in the video, but it was clear that the vocalist became fatigued into the song. Second only to Friend Like Me in difficulty, Marissa was a good choice for Speechless though she struggles with endurance, especially closer to the end of the number. The video, however, is the strongest in the production. This number gets a B+, bumped up because of the video. By Frozen Standards, it would be an A-.
Finale
I love the idea of doing an end credits sequence that shows us who everyone is, and I think I will use this idea for Lion King as well by taking clips from the other videos to be played during the first end title. Although Lion King is partially edited, the end titles are not, so I think this would be a great edition. However, the finale for Aladdin did not turn out so great.
The audio on the recording sounds great, but there are video issues, both with green screens, backgrounds, and the use of Zoom. This one gets a D. In Frozen standards, it gets a C-, so only slightly better.
Speechless End Title
Although my vocals have a little more power at the end than the main title, it is still clear that I am fatigued. I am curious if the higher key would have been a better fit for Marissa and if I perhaps needed an even higher one. Either way, these are still strong vocals overall.
However, issues with the video for the Speechless end title pull down the quality of the number. Major green screen issues throughout, with my head having a huge dent in it because of it. The font for the credits is also too large. This gets a C+. By Frozen standards, it would be a B-.
One Jump Ahead End Title
For the main title, I said that the vocals were great but nothing special, and that was because there was an expressive element missing from the lead vocals. Surprisingly, that missing element is present in this version. While technically less accurate than the main title, this is some of John’s best singing. The video is simple, but no major green screen issues. There is one point where the cart runs through John and there is some feedback on a mic or something that makes it sound like he was hit by the cart–not something I noticed before. This is hilarious, and I almost prefer this version over the original. We just needed the rest of the cast in the video. This one gets a B rating–A- by Frozen standards. Way to go, John!
Summary and Final Scores
D-List Numbers
- Finale
C-List Numbers
- Arabian Nights
- One Jump Ahead
- Speechless end title
B-List Numbers
- Friend Like Me
- Prince Ali
- Speechless
- One Jump Ahead end title
A-List Numbers
- A Whole New World
As I stated above, I used different standards to rank each number. The reason for this is that the numbers are essentially ranked against each other. The quality of the Aladdin Show was better and more consistent across numbers than Frozen was. With Frozen, there was a lot of variety in rankings per video, whereas this was not the case with Aladdin, resulting in more B’s and C’s with Aladdin, rather than a wider spectrum.
Now, the overall ranking for this show is a B-, which is slightly above an average rating, which that Friend Like Me is the best representation for the overall level of this show. It has a lot of strengths, but there is also a lot of room for improvement as well.
As compared to Frozen, this gets a B rating. This lines up with such songs as Do You Want to Build a Snowman, Let It Go, Reindeers Are Better Than People, Fixer Upper, and Into the Unknown.
AC & the Virtual Virtuosos 
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