Haley Reinhart: Bennie and the Jets

I think I stopped watching American Idols since....I don't know, season 5? And that was a decade ago, think probably almost two. It has been a long time.

I was bored and somehow my brain had a little miswiring and all of the sudden, American Idols came to my mind and I googled it. The first video that came out was the Top 10 best performance of all time, and among my favourites is this, Bennie and the Jets sang by Haley Reinhart.

I've no idea who she is, but she's apparently an awesome singer! I mean, watch her performance, can you see how beautiful is it?

You see, this is the difference between the Western singing competitions when compared to China's.

A lot of people commented that after you've watched Sing! China, X-factors, AGT, BGT and American Idols and the likes became so meaningless that it didn't worth a second of your time. I whole-heartedly disagreed.

The difference between the Western and Chinese culture actually has its roots within the difference in their attitudes, and this, by extension, affects how people sing.

The Westerners tend to sing the songs and do their best to enjoy themselves, without the competition being a huge motivation but it is apparent the competition goes second for them. The main priority is to enjoy themselves, and you can many of the artists' performance - there is very little fear of being different, of being substandard, that however appalling some of them can be, they acted like that stage is theirs and it does not matter the response is cold, all it matters is the few minutes they get to enjoy themselves. Consequently, you do get lots of idiots who just wanna grab your attention, but within that mix of interesting bag, you do get a few individuals who shine unusually and blindingly bright. And this person, even if he/she is only 1 out of a 100, is extremely inspiring.

The Asians tend to treat competition very seriously, and has that target as number one, and therefore while their performances impress, it's because they are a product of undeniable hard work. You're impressed by how much effort they are willing to put in, but not the fact that they enjoy themselves. If you watch their performances, majority has a storyline or a plot, or tend to be deeply emotional that intend to emotionally support their deliverance. You very rarely, though not impossible, see contestants who truly enjoy what they do on stage, and who reacted like it did not matter what people care. Their concern is to impress, and to grab the people's attention and recognition. Unlike the Westerners - the aim is not to enjoy, but to be recognised. While I do admire a lot of what they do, a lot of them lack inspiration. You watch their performances and you're impressed with what they're capable of, but you hardly would be inspired to be them. On the other hand you may feel stressed that everybody has some talent, but you are just ordinary.

Anyway, watch it. It's an awesome performance!