MovieChat Forums > Rocketman (2019) Discussion > Letting the actor sing is a huge mistake

Letting the actor sing is a huge mistake


I just watched the trailer with the actor butchering Tiny Dancer. What the actual fuck?

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Agreed. When I heard that version of Rocketman I was like - hooooleee shit. This guy can NOT sing like Elton John at all. However, I love that arrangement. I'd like to hear Elton's original voice set to that new arrangement of Rocketman.

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A Canadian Youtuber did a lot of the singing in "Bohemian Rhapsody," surely there is an Elton sound alike out there.

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Mark Martel! But yeah, Elton's young voice is like a laser beam. I'm sure there's someone out there that can pull it off, though.

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You're right -- vast difference between the young and old voices. There are some good live recordings they could have used. And yes, I'm sure there's a good Elton soundalike out there somewhere.

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It took me 5 minutes on Youtube to find somebody good enough here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoJLkp8D-jY

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That guy sounds incredible.

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Yeah, it's a shame these producers couldn't be bothered to do a search of Youtube, they could have salvaged the vocal aspect of their movie with this guy.

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I guess he wasn't turtle-y enough for the Turtle Club

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He doesn't look like him, but his singing is so dead-on it makes your eyes pop out.

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Check out Kenny Metcalfe perfectly performing Tiny Dancer, even the impossibly high chorus vocals!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skhbE5mlAPQ

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Why they wouldn't have him do the vocals for this movie is beyond me. He absolutely nails it. And they could use his hands for the piano playing close-ups. Those are Elton's "stubby little fingers," as he used to term them.

This guy is amazing.

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I always find it odd when they make these films about singers. I want to hear the actual voice, I don't care if they lip synch it. Although in the film about Joy Division "Control" I did notice the guy playing the singer had a better voice than the original but that is rare.

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Control was probably one of the best biopics ever.

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They did it really well right down to the overall depressing vibe, I got a sense of how the singer himself might have been feeling about everything from how they made the film look.

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Yes well most of the songs are sung by the friends and family in the movie as it is a musical similar to mama Mia and stuff like that,Elton only sings about 20% of the songs himself and only during story relivevent moments

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I thought that they rushed through the songs. They cut out a lot of verses in most of the songs. If you are going to do a full out musical they should be true to each and every note. I also wish they did a recreation of the Pinball Wizard song from Tommy. I loved that movie as a kid. Too bad they didn't make this movie more like Tommy. Just all music from beginning to end. People probably wouldn't like a full out musical of Rocketman though. Straight guys have a thing about musicals these days. They fear if they like it, others will think they are gay or something. lol

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That's funny. I'm a horny old goat and I love musicals. Not every single one that comes down the pike but the good ones are so refreshing. Singin' In The Rain. My Fair Lady. Damn Yankees. Guys and Dolls. The list goes on and on ....

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A horny old goat...lol.

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The last good musical I've seen that I can think of is The Producers.



I guess I did enjoy the new Aladdin.

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La La Land

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I also wish they did a recreation of the Pinball Wizard song from Tommy

They did didnt they?

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I actually wonder why they did that. The actor really mimicked Elton's phrasing closely, so closely that at times I forgot I wasn't listening to the original recording. So... why have the actor sing, if he's going to sing it Elton's way? If you do that, what you've got is songs that sound almost exactly like the original, only not quite as good!

This isn't a big deal, not like it would have been in "Bohemian Rhaphsody". Face it, Elton had a fairly ordinary voice, although not as ordinary as Edgerton's. Freddie Mercury's voice and style were unique, if they'd let an actor try to mimic his singing, there would have been hell to pay.

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Yep. I was willing to go see the show until I gave the soundtrack a quick listen... The singer sucked ass. Some of the arrangements were nice changes to the original, but the vocals of the actor were garbage. If they weren't going to have Elton's voice a damn good impersonator sing those songs then they might as well have just skipped pretending it was about Elton John and made it more like Moulin Rouge. Most humorous part of the whole thing, is Elton has been doing interview yammering about how great the singing is and occasionally dissing Bohemian Rhapsody because Malik was lip syncing... This is clearly a case where lip syncing was warranted.

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Of course Elton is put there saying how wonderful everything about the film is, he wants it to do well so he's plugging it.

He wont tell the world about what he hated for some time, after the DVD has been released at the earliest.

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I guess I didn't realize Elton was so desperate for the money that must surely follow if the film is a success.

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Elton isn't desperate for money.

However, I'm sure he'd like everyone in the world to see a movie about him, and talk about him and praise his songs and say what a fascinating life he's led and agree that he's the most interesting person ever. Because rumor has it, Elton has just an eensy bit of an ego.

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I wouldn't be so sure about that. Maintaining the lifestyle they live is expensive. He hasn't had a hit in decades. It adds up eventually.

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Actually, in the years since I wrote the comment you're replying to, I have heard rumors of Elton having money problems - that his farewell tour wasn't insured for pandemics and that he lost a ton of money and was having to cut corners.

I haven't heard anything since then, but it's not the sort of thing that celebrities want the public to know.

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I can't believe they are actually selling a soundtrack with that Taran guy singing when anyone can pick up Elton's Greatest Hits for the same price.

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I'm glad that they had the actors sing. I really liked all of the actors singing.

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I'd suggest seeing the movie before forming your opinion. If you still feel the same way, fine.

I'll admit i had the same feeling but i saw it anyway. I'll say that in the movie, there are a lot of places where in the drama of the moment he is feeling out the song as it comes to him and he sings in a weak voice that strains on the high notes. But when the film breaks into full production numbers or performance pieces he lets loose and rocks it sounds great.

It was a creative decision, inspired by Elton John, to not user recordings out to have an actor try to sound exactly like him. Rather, he wanted a real performance by the v actor. He coached Taren to feel free to interpret and sing his own voice but to work on getting the feel and energy.

I thought it worked well. I can always listen to original recordings if i want to hear Elton John.

And just think, if the movie versions are a hit, Elton and Bernie could get new song writer Grammies!

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It's funny because Taron Egerton's singing sounds fantastic in certain songs during the film, and other songs... um, not so fantastic, in my opinion. I think he sounds phenomenal in "Your Song" and "Take Me to the Pilot", for example. But I agree, "Tiny Dancer" definitely wasn't his strong suit. There's a few other times where I cringed at his singing during the movie - can't recall what the songs were though. Still love the film though, even if his singing voice was a little inconsistent.

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