| Though she conquered mainstream"pop"world,she has basically stayed"broadway" for all her career. |
...but her people hadn't had "enough".An Icon,a Legend.
Best selling female recording artist in America with more than 71 MILLION records sold.( 150 worldwide).
9 GRAMMYS, 6 EMMYS, 1 TONY, 2 OSCARS.
No wonder why many generations of artists have been looking up to her since her debut,in 1962.
50 years later,she's still relevant :Glee is the most eloquent proof.Longevity is not something every artist is able to achieve,right?
Streisand has on her side a tremendous amount of talent,attitude,beauty,shympaty,class,vocal power and determination.
Guided by an endless love for details,she is the perfectionism come alive:"When it comes to Barbra,nothing's left to case",told me once producer Bob Esty,who worked with her in 1979,1985 and 2000.
This winning formula caused her to be one of the best american entertainers of these last 50 years;with her music,her unforgettable movie roles,her funny -though extremely serious- persona,she gained a little-but undefeated-place in millions hearts all around the world.
Only one mole has affected her quite-perfect career for decades :stage fright.
Since she forgot some lyrics during her 1967 Central Park concert,she tried to avoid live performances.
She sung exclusively at events such as Oscars,Grammys,TV specials;rarely,she did short concerts in intimate venues with very little public.
Those unique occasions to see Barbra performing live were almost related to celebratory events(the Bergman tribute concert,1980),charitable events(One voice concert in 1986,to raise money after the Chernobyl disaster),political events(in1978,to celebrate the 30th birthday of Israel as a nation,in 1992 for Bill Clinton' campaign.).
She overcame completerly her fear with her first full lenght concert tour in 1994,called by british media "Tour of the Century"for its undeniable exclusivity.After that first successful experience,she toured again in 2000 and 2006.
Everything about the concers was at top : orchestration,settings,videoclips,skits,and of course,Barbra'voice.
That helped people to remember how good she was not just as performer,but also as actress and comedian.
Her interest for politic,human rights and actuality made her even more relevant in public'eye:they had the chance to see,way stronger than ever before,she wasn't just a pop icon:she was a convinced activist.
One thing left her people odd : she was reluctant to perform her biggest pop hits live.
Broadway repertoire (People,Somewhere)and movie soundtracks(Evergreen,The way we were) were composing the setlist,leaving outside popular songs as Woman in Love,Stoney End,Memory,Guilty(her successful duet with Barry Gibb), Enough is Enough (her iconic collabo with Disco Queen Donna Summer).
Before 1994,because of her minuscule live activity,public was not surprised to hear Barbra belting out Academy-award winning song Evergreen from A star is Born the few times she was in stage. But at that point,which nearly 2 hours of show,they started feeling like some pop hits needed to be bring back.
We had almost givin'up,but Barbra,at the age of 70,wasn't at all.
Eventually,she gave us a glimpse of pop shiness during her 2012 newly "Back to Broadway"tour.
This is a medley of Guilty(which she had sung only few times before) and Enough is Enough,dedicated to her late colleague Donna Summer,whom she has never performed the song with live.
Finally,Enough is Enough,Babs.
Hope Donna's smiling from up above.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfI0AQgetyg
