Hi folks

Are you still there? I feel kind of funny, because I don’t think I’ve ever really awarded a prize before, at least one that was anticipated. I remember getting butterflies waiting to see how I did at music festivals and the like when I was young, and it’s strange to think that I’m on the other side this time. I apologise if the wait has been on the long side!

Boys, at this moment we are going to postpone your result until the New Year. We need to devote ourselves to the ladies at present. We will have a better idea where the males fit in, in the New Year.

As I’ve said before, the competition was of a very high standard. Crucially, there was also a wide range of interpretations of the songs. Now, we didn’t know exactly what we wanted before the competition started (hence the competition!) but I think we came closer to knowing at the listening stage, and the decision was influenced by that.

Just to clarify our intentions; we are going to have two singers over to Glasgow for five days or so. They will practice with the group, and go on to record demos of some the film songs in our studio. This is part of the ongoing process to prepare the songs for final recording.

In the meantime, we will have a great chance to see what the singers are made of, and judge their abilities and talents, with a view to further participation.

Like I said before, I think the way the ‘God Help The Girl’ Forum took off was terrific. I hope the involvement doesn’t end here. By putting your voice and your personality up on line, you’ve become a pool that we will look to during this long process. I just wished you lived around the corner! That would be easier.

Already I’ve been in touch with a few of you to do some ‘reading’. It’s possible at a later stage that we might have a few more people over to Glasgow to follow up on that as the drama aspect of the project comes to light.

But at the minute, there is the music! With around 240 female entries (including video), if you were invited to sing again by myself or John, you were very close to being picked. The two singers that were picked were chosen for pitch and tone, for their flexibility, for the style they displayed, for the strength of the voice and for the potential we saw in them.

They are Brittany Stallings and Dina Bankole.


thanks
stuart

hey kiddos

just hanging out here in glasgow. it's overcast and autumnal. i'm listening to status quo and jackson browne and the beat, but just as a short break from listening to you.

i'm feeling you, I'm feeling your online presence. we're not deliberately taking a long time, but we are deliberating. the consultation process made it's way south of the river this afternoon, when I was in the presence of Judge Jackson and QC Bob Kildea.

I’m sorry if I have left the guys rather on their own over this one. I’ve been concentrating on the ladies. Your due time is creeping up, fellahs! (and the numbers of you who are entering.)

I’m still going to need a bit of time, I hope you don’t mind. I may have to do a ‘tiny’ bit more setting of tasks, but not much.

In the meantime, hope you are feeling good, whoever you are, wherever you are...

stuart

hi folks, specifically the ladies

today is the last day for entries to the singing competition. we will retire for a while and consider all you have done.

i must say that I've come to enjoy the process, and the spirit in which it has taken place has been very homely. to me it felt like the beginning of the book 'charlie and the chocolate factory', with people checking in from all round the world. if i'd been any good i would have had a huge map of the world with little flags to show where you all posted from.

we will have a good think, and further listens, and we may ask some of you to sing the song you didn't already sing, so that we may hear more of your range and style. (this may take a little while, before we get some of you over to Glasgow!)

A couple of other things...

Be assured that we have been listening to the entries sent by email, even though correspondence may not have been entered into.

Also, that those in faraway time zones were allowed to post during October 1st, their time!

Also, please note, that although the 'media' record for the 'God Help The Girl' group might show that our listening habits were sporadic, we were in fact scouring the entries through a series of pseudonyms! Nothing was missed...

If we contact you it will only be from 'God Help The Girl' though, or a 'banchory.net' email address.

In the meantime, thank you for taking part, and thank you for reading!

stuart

Hi folks,

Just in case you thought we had abandoned you, we are still pouring over your efforts keenly! The standard has reached quite a shocking level - consistently high! I am amazed and surprised. I can only guess at how hard this is to do, coming cold to a track, having no say in the pitch or arrangement or tempo. But you really are doing a great job.

We are enjoying the videos also. It may have taken extra balls to get on camera, but it does help us pick up on your personalities, so the extra effort is worth it. It’s a friendly little move!

Don’t be perturbed if you think your track doesn’t reach ‘hi-fi’ quality. We can pretty much tell what kind of job you’re doing whatever you are recording on, though it’s been pleasant listening to the array of ‘smooth production jobs’ that have been presented so far. It is flattering that you have gone to the trouble of making such a nice noise!

There have been some technical, and otherwise, questions asked. In the forum, John will go through some of the most common ones - but may I answer one first?

Ok fellahs, we’re hearing you. We were going to leave this till later, but your interest has inspired us. We have a work in progress version of one of the songs, called ‘Perfection as a Hipster’. Gary Olson, from Brooklyn’s Ladybug Transistor is this week’s guest professional.

Gary has very kindly laid down a vocal on the track, along with our own Catherine Ireton. Have a listen on the audio player, and if you’re up for it, download the instrumental here and plug yourself in. The lyrics can be found here.

I know you’re only getting one track to work at, but somehow I think you’ll manage o.k..

If you’re wondering about your motivation for singing (and hey, this is musical drama after all!) you are the custodian of a a charity clothes shop. You are leaning on the counter on a sleepy Tuesday when in walks Girl 1.

A little unkempt, but still obviously something pretty special, you watch her move round the isles of clothing in a catlike way. Not only do you get to dress her up in the best things your boutique can offer, but you have to scrape her off the ground and revive her when she passes out in the changing room; the hero momentarily; her adventures that morning must have proved too much.

She recovers, leaving as quickly as she arrived, though better dressed. She’s off down the street, while you desperately try to negotiate the morning off with your old-lady co-workers. They just don’t understand your hurry!

You have until October 12th, men. Good luck.