What’s This? Metal Vocalist Channels Patsy Cline…?
An appetizer for the Album of the Month
One day in late summer 2019, I was surfing around on YouTube, and on impulse, I searched “Floor Jansen” on the off chance there was something new from her.
The first thing that popped up was, in fact, something that had just been posted minutes earlier. It was a live performance that apparently had just taken place that day. I clicked and watched her sing an opera aria for an audience of seven people.
If you aren’t familiar with Ms. Jansen, she normally fronts Nightwish, a symphonic metal band. They typically perform in front of audiences of tens of thousands. So this intimate little scene was unexpected, almost weird, but wonderful. Nightwish are the subject of this month’s Riff Album of the Month, so I thought it would be fun to give you a little glimpse of some of Ms. Jansen’s other work.
After a bit of research, I found out that the setting was a Dutch reality show called “Beste Zangers” (Best Singers). The show's whole premise is unique, as far as I know. Established recording artists from wildly different musical genres take turns performing for, and then with, each other. They often go out of their comfort zone to try their hand at styles they don’t normally sing.
