Adam Pascal- Pity The Child

[alicenicolexxx]

This is amazing i cant believe i saw this live he is goosebumps good :)

[SingingFool123]

omg watching this one and the 2008 one, you can see the difference with his voice, he got so much better and much better trained. but i love him in both <3

[cortezthemusic]

Olly higs suck a dick covered in shit

[OllyHiggs]

pity the singer!! 

[havin34]

I've seen The concert of which you speak, it still doesn't negate the fact that this is Murray Head's song. No cover version can supercede his version. As I wouldn't and don't like One Song Glory sung by anyone else BUT Adam Pascal...Hope this clairifies things at least from my end.

[havin34]

This guy sucks...Yes he has a good voice but this is Murray Head's song...Hands down!!!!! Better recognize...

[TheVeggiegirl326]

@havin34 this was a rehearsal, first of all. he wasn't singing in full voice. pick up the Chess in Concert DVD and then tell me that he sucks.

[waveatatteredflag]

Yo @teamlowry

Totally didn't realize YOU had posted this. Thanks man! Haha i watch this vid all the time, love it so much, had no idea... lol it's Andrea btw.

[EdwardHyde91]

I love that song *o* It ist so great, but sad, too. Poor Freddie...

[EdwardHyde91]

I love that song *o* It ist so great, but sad, too. Poor Freddie...

[MissSai99]

Great rendition of this amazing song. However, I still firmly believe that the absolute best rendition of this song was performed by Colm Wilkinson for his album 'Stage Heros'. Seriously, listen to Colm's version and you'll know exactly what I'm taking about. Simply put, it's brilliant.

[spike284]

@MissSai99 When it comes to voice work, no one will ever beat Colm. He has an amazing range and ACTS while singing.

[monica367]

he's such an amazing singer!

[KentuckFan]

I want to hear Adam Lambert sing this. (He performed it as a teen.)

[rent8907]

out of all of the preformances i have seen of this song Adam has the best emotion

[rent8907]

is there a way anyone could download this version of Chess?

[KJBigBelter]

GENIUS!!!!!

[alycat518]

just made my day...period.

[WhyDoUNeedSmack]

EVERY ACTOR uses lyrics, moron. Get a fucking education about stage acting before you go around talking about something you people obviously know nothing about. EVERY ACTOR EVERY ACTOR uses lyric sheets from time to time. You people know nothing. IGNORANT

[Romeogirl1]

@WhyDoUNeedSmack is ur youtube accnt name the lyrics from Rent?

[bmc102392]

I don't think any of you realize how difficult this song is to sing... the fact that he can hit those notes with that amount of power is amazing in itself. Try belting C's like that and then get back to me. And unless you have perfect pitch don't talk about him being flat. Thanks.

[festher2]

@bmc102392 Perfect pitch has nothing to do with flat tones... ^^

[bmc102392]

@festher2 I meant to say perfect intonation... whoops. i always confuse those terms.

[logues85]

@bmc102392 and @festher2 I agree with you, festher2--perfect pitch has nothing to do with having a good ear. you can't train perfect pitch, but you can train a good ear.

and @bmc102392, i have sung this song bunches of times. if you have the voice for it, it's technically difficult to find the placement, but once you do, it's not that bad.

[bmc102392]

Whenever I need reminding of how amazing Adam Pascal is, I watch this video.

[soulXmeetsXbody]

One day I will marry Adam Pascal...one day...

[DancingCatOfTwilight]

@soulXmeetsXbody no i will! lol

[procrastin8r89]

@soulXmeetsXbody haha, yes one day.. *hugs* sorry but i've met him and his WIFE too lol

[trad0v0]

This video shows the reson why Adam was casted as Freddy at the big concert in 2008. I love his PTC as much as his One Song Groly in RENT.

[fjerrsyn]

Jeg synes "Pity the child" er bedre på Svensk.

(I think "Pity the child" is better in Swedish.)

Other than that, this version is quite nice, at least in the begining. It's when he use the "high pitch", the song becomes weird and "sucky".

[MWK1303]

I find this version far to weak he sings like he still is that child and not the man he became. very flat a bit boring.

[Nirvana04Kurt]

i think its amazing to see how much hes improved over the years, his range especially. his rent years were good and then here he sounds strained and flat, given the rehearsal did sound much better than this. but then in 2008, holy tampon that was amazing.

[MWK1303]

So how bad was in the beginning then.

[skazkish]

I'm not sure which version I like better vocally, but his subtle emotions here just floor me.

[procrastin8r89]

@skazkish amazing right? i wonder if the song really went deep for him even more than he shows it (as he does with everything he sings) ..because i know his parents are divorced and remarried

[macaines71]

Folks...

His 2008 Royal Albert Hall performance of this song is simply the best performance by anyone...ever. Sorry all you Murray Head fans.

It's more refined, given it's five years later than the above video, and he takes it at a slightly slower tempo which makes a huge difference in its effectiveness...and he he simply blows it away.

I found it here

[macaines71]

blip[dot]tv/file/2429062

[AliaSparrow]

Wow, when I saw him at the Rent tour, I was disappointed with his acting. But here in this video (especially at the last part) he sang with authentic emotions.

[Mickeivar]

is he really that good? I liked him in Rent but here he seams just to rush through the whole song. I'm not trying to upset anyone btw... He's a good singer!

[myfebsong]

Isn't he just awesome at getting those different emotions across. I love this.

[vandrizzle]

3:11 WOW!

what's that note?

[kriiszk]

that's c"

[buckeyebabe14]

Aww, Adam Pascal is amazing :)

[rozirda]

I've just been exploring around here to see if I found someone whose "Pity the child" I'd like more than Adam's - and I didn't. I love everything about his performance here, though I have the Chess in concert 2008 dvd (which obviously has clearer picture and better sound) and he's simply breathtaking in it.

I adore the way his eyes move in "and probably queer" :D

[CloudcoleVII]

Ever hear Philip Casnoff?

[GirlwithaFedora]

yes!!! i loved how he says it too! have you seen the whole movie? i LOOOOOVE this movie - highly recommended.!!!

[goteam12]

@rozirda stig rossens version i think is better

[superstar19ize]

@rozirda there is nobody that can sing it better. Hes EPIC

[jpg0901]

Adam's awesome on this...

[procrastin8r89]

isn't he?! this one and someone saved my life tonight. just unbelievable. these are the performances that made me fall in love w his voice. ((i met him twice yay!))

[jpg0901]

@procrastin8r89 yeah, I know how that feels...lucky you got to meet him though...

[badnomad]

Any idea how we can watch the entire 2003 Benefit concert? Is there a DVD out? I could not find it online.

[Mariah1250]

No, there isn't, but you can get the 2008 version. There's some cast changes but Adam is still Freddie.

[myfebsong]

The 2008 Chess DVD is awesome.

[nathanchrist324]

They chose Adam Pascal for his lack of classical training. Sure some of his techniques are less than techniques, but I can't really argue with his voice.

And I hope everyone knows this is a REHEARSAL.

This is not the actual performance from the benefit. Check your local PBS listings. There will be many reruns of the actual performance (which is awesome).

So from know on let's make one thing clear: this is rehearsal footage.

[teamlowry]

no.

this is the 2003 (again, 2003) Chess CONCERT. I would know, I posted this. You're confusing yourself by thinking of the new version recently aired on PBS, with Idina Menzel and Kerry Ellis, which also included Adam Pascal.

[locorossco]

If you can't memorize a song in one night, show business is not your business. Many times you are asked to memorize 2 or 3 songs in a night or 2....songs you've never heard before. And yes, you get more than a weeks notice before you do a benefit. They do have rehearsals for those as well *gasp*

[blackpython]

Every performer had a script with them throughout this concert. This is because most of the performers in this show were also doing a show on Broadway every night and the director understood how difficult that was to have to memorize a whole separate musical. At this time Adam was playing the Emcee in the Cabaret revival. I don't wanna start a fight or anything but if you're gonna call out him for using the script, call out Julia Murney, Raul Esparza, Josh Groban and Norm Lewis too.

[hottieho13]

or maybe *gasp* it's called a "Staged Reading" just thought you should know.

[byDesign99]

BRAVO!!!!!!

[sparkler1000]

No one sings this as well as Murray Head !!! There's a lot of good versions out there, but I still prefer Murray Head's to anyone of them...

[jlmelgarejo]

The PBS staged version that recently aired with him and Josh Grobin (whom I am not a big fan of) is simply amazing.

Adam sings the song much better. He builds the song a little slower and does a better of job of relaying the meaning.

If you haven't seen it, set your DVR's. I think it is on Great Performances.

[androidabc]

wow i didn't realize that adam pascal was in two chess concerts, 2003 and then the recently aired 2008 one (on PBS 6/18 i think it was).

the story was very different from the one my high school did some 8 years ago when i was there.

in the version we did, freddie beat anatoly, but in the PBS one (which i hear is the more legit one?) freddie loses and ends up working as a reporter lol...

[ladyvivamus]

... yeah, they bastardized it for American audiences, and then made it so only the Broadway version could be performed in America.

... needless to say, I'm glad this concert was NOT the American version of the story...

[RichPersen]

Absolutely brilliant. Please see the PBS "Chess in Concert" to hear this again.

[Felicity1247]

Damn, that's hard for a guy to sing! I don't know who's better... Adam Pascal or Anders Ekborg? Ekborg's version is a little bit over-done, so I guess I lean a little towards Adam here.

Go Adam!

[WeeJemma2K8]

He brings that to a whole new level :D

[ESetzler]

I got mixed up, this wasn't a rehersal. The book? Even Pavarotti used music for benefit concerts, especially when he hadn't sung the role in awhile. The emotion behind the voice is what made this for me. I've heard the original Murray Head recording and I think this is better. The other sounded dated and "pop" to me. Besides, you just can't beat Pascal's voice for being something different from all the Disney soundalikes that are on the radio right now! I love the rough edges! :)

[EasyAsLife93]

OMG i love adam so much!!^^ and this song is so sad...but he´s great!! :D WONDERFUL

[rentfan]

I heard that this guy from Abba wrote this play forgot his name though.

[Namaechan]

Björn and Benny :P They wrote the music.

[Kamotgus]

Björn Ulvaeus  and Benny Andersson wrote the music. Both were former Abba members...crap this already got commented on. Oh well still going to post it.

[gilmorefanforever]

Adam is like... god. I adore him. *hugs Adam* To an unhealthy level.

[Namaechan]

I always did prefer Anders Ekborg singing this... But then again, he was the first one i ever heard sing it, so i might be biased xD

[pquackey]

adam lambert HAS to do this song!

[BlakeRPeters]

Good job on the high note...but I just think this song sucks.

[batmandannyb]

listen to the origial cast recording.. although the song is flawed, it's done REALLY well on the original CD, and some parts are great. i do agree, however, that parts of the song are imperfect. it depends on your mood and your tolerance for length, keyboard orchestration, etc.

[locorossco]

Could have at least memorized this song, tho.... most concert performers memorize their big songs......because it's twice as effective when they don't have to pull out to read the lines every other phrase

[tockyta]

If you watch the rest of the show, you'll see that they're all on book, because it was a benefit concert as opposed to a full-blown production. I think he's pretty unobtrusive here, too -- some checks at the beginning and one at the end, but nothing at all in the middle.

Personally, I'd rather have the book in his hands than for him to forget a line (which AP is a little prone to doing).

[locorossco]

Very easy song to memorize. It would make the whole thing that much better. Just singing a song well isn't going to get you anywhere in this world.

[anitalarson772]

Yeah, Adam's career sucks.

Not

[defyingglory]

no one said anything about his career...

[anitalarson772]

Yes they did: "Just singing a song well isn't going to get you anywhere in this world."

[locorossco]

"Yeah, but what have you done for me lately?" A good voice is 1 thing - acting a song well is just as hard(or harder) than singing a song well. If you're holding a book, your acting suffers - I'm not saying this is a bad performance - but I will say that it is a staged reading. If he worked on the song enough to sing it that well, he might as well take the extra hour or less to fully memorize it. If he would have, it would have been even better (and honestly I attribute it to laziness)

[anitalarson772]

Who cares what you think?

[Namaechan]

This is youtube; who really cares what anyone thinks.

Now shut up, the guy has a point. I'll say this though, the whole thing was for charity, they just didn't have that much time to put it together.

[anitalarson772]

Sorry, sweetie, I won't shut up. I'll address any comment I want to.

Adam's not lazy, he had to do a whole show, not just one song. If you've had a couple of days to put together a 2 1/2 hour show, even if you didn't need it, you'd hold onto that book, too.

[Namaechan]

THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID! *cries in frustration*

I never said he was lazy, i said, and that is if you READ my damn comment, that it was a charity production, and that guy whom i responded to had a point, but if they'd been given more time to practice, it would have been a lot better!

Thanks for putting me in a bad mood. Really. *doom cloud* My poor keyboard...

[anitalarson772]

No, locorosso said he was lazy, which is what I addressed.

Namaechan, you told me to shut up, which is very rude. If you stop being rude, you may be less inclined to be in a bad mood.

[Namaechan]

Naw, see... that all depends on where you were brought up.

Besides, words and phrases change meaning and degree of seriousness all the time, so worrying about being rude or not is somewhat redundant.

Just say what you mean and get done with it, i say.

[Felicity1247]

locorossco: This sing isn't the easiest to memorize because of the frequent changes in half steps and big jumps of notes. Give him some slack.

[locorossco]

Felicity: Are you kidding me? The melody is very easy. The only difficulty is that it is a "Story" song so it has a lot of words - but they flow much easier than say..... MedoLark lol. No excuses. He is a good singer, but as you can see from him lifting his shoulders just before every high note - he is far from having perfect vocal technique. If he memorized his lyrics I'd have given him a lot more props, but I have very little patience for laziness.

[souljer0]

the melody isnt complicated but its REALLY high at the end. C's man. C's.

[locorossco]

It's actually CSharps (D Flat in the key) but that's not the issue ~ it's looking at a book in the middle of a song. Have you guys ever seen a show in concert? People read from the script, but they MEMORIZE the songs.

By the way, Adam although not a classically trained singer 'covers' those C's (as he well should) if you know how to cover, those high notes are significantly easier. You'll notice the difference in the sound of the C Csharp C Bflat at the end is different than the Bflat after.

[Felicity1247]

No need to bash him, despite all that! He's a good singer; even you admit that. So stop picking out all the flaws and just listen to it without watching, if that satisfies you.

[lightscameraaction24]

i think he's always had a problem with memorizing songs, I remember he needed to use music for extra concerts for Rent such as on Rosie O'Donnell etc. It's just one of his quirks, still gotta love him.

[Felicity1247]

Well, memorizing songs aside, he's still a good singer. No one's quite the perfect performer. I think Idina Menzel (not to insult her) has problems memorizing things too.

LOL, I just started an argument... Don't know why that's funny.

[phatchrulesforever]

Are you dong this? Were you there during this whole production? Do you know the background reasons? You know nothing of what went on backstage during the whole process, so you can't say a single thing to criticize him! And can YOU tell me why he has been in show business with LEAD ROLES if he's not worthy of being even in the business by your standards? It's a concert so nobody cared if he used a book! WOW! Pick your battles! 'Cause I don't see your behind up on stage!

[therapture1]

ah crap.

Just reunied it for myself by thinking he kind of sounded like Bon Jovi when he gets going...

[jastully]

then you ruined it for me too lol :P

[therapture1]

cripes I bet this is fuckin hard to sing. He's awesome.

[TinorialPeredhil]

WOW. Wow, Adam. WOW. This was amazing. I think I stopped breathing momentarily.

[emeralddawn13]

Every time I hear him in this I squee inside.  :D He's amazing.

[imarory]

I cannot even wait until they release chess in concert. I just wish they would set a date already! I want this on my ipod!!! Adam is a god

[kittypurrrr]

Wow. If they ever makes Chess into a movie (doubtful, but still) he should play Freddie.

[trinityj1]

I want this so bad I can taste it. They should use this entire cast, except Anatoly's wife; she wasn't up to par.

[TinorialPeredhil]

You mean Sutton Foster?

[androidabc]

is this the actual performance, cuz it looks like he's using lyric sheets?

[teamlowry]

yes. the performance wasn't a "show" per se, so much as a concert benefit, which allows for sheet music.

[MusicIsLove121]

He looks good in black. And his voice is super amazing.

[MichaelCrawfordsFan]

Wow. I've seen this song yet! THANK YOU :)

[Cblotnicky]

O my GOSH! I knew he was an amazing singer, but I had no idea that he had such a crazy range! Thanks so much for uploading :)

[mindthegapealing]

How the hell did Adam Pascal get that voice? Gracious God somebody posted this amazing performance with good quality. Thank you very much for it.

[teamlowry]

my pleasure.

[laurenbiv]

Thank you so much for posting!!!!!!

[stylegirl62]

amazing. u r so awesome no one has posted this!!!!! Adam Pascal is awesome too,