Opera Singer Reacts to Amber Riley I Will Always Love You | GLEE | Performance Analysis |

[@toughtaurus7270]

She's exceptional, and was SO under-utilized on that show! The best singer on that show by miles and for days!!!

[@jgalvan96]

Her performance at the Olivier Awards for Dreamgirls is another must watch/listen/embrace/experience!

[@mikhaellockhart4925]

Factsssss

[@HaughtBreakerNic]

Ok no one has told you yet so I will. First dude is Sam. Sam and Mercedes (Riley's character) dated until he moved away. She got a new boyfriend Shane (second dude she's talking to that's crying). Sam ended up coming back and they ended up kissing. Mercedes tells Shane (that's why he's crying in that scene) and they break up. Sam assumes that means he and Mercedes can be together now, but Mercedes basically did a "I need to find out who I am" thing, he walks away, and that's when the song starts. The sad thing about this performance is that it aired just a few days after Whitney Houston died. It wasn't intentional, this was a Valentine's Day episode, but it just ended up that way. (They did a whole Whitney Houston episode 2 months later.) Jennifer Hudson did a tribute to Whitney Houston performance of this song at the Grammy's 2 days before and there was a lot of comparison going on between the two.

[@jessicasopranonotes]

oh wow! Thank you for the storyline, that helps so much! what a coincidence of the timing of this episode. Amber did a fantastic job!

[@ikexbankai]

@@jessicasopranonotes yeah a lot was going on. I remember watching this episode live the night it came on. Sam was one of my favorite characters.

[@ikexbankai]

This was truly when Glee was at its height. I never got better than this season. And the singing!!!! I mean the singing. When they did the A cappella “How Will I Know” to start the Whitney Houston episode I was floored and I was also so happy because I thought the a cappella version of that song sung by Ms. Houston was my little secret I had on KZbin lol

[@crispri3919]

@@jessicasopranonotes Amber riley sung "never loved a man" with shoshana bean to

[@charleneWL]

Lol I love it !!!!

[@antoniomiranda1565]

Her singing “and I am telling you” at the Olive Award is out of this world, you should check it 😉

[@xkeyairuh]

I say anytime someone's voice can just send chills through you in their singing, I applaud over twenty times. Her voice is absolutely beautiful and I wish they had her sing more on her own in the show.

[@jessicasopranonotes]

I agree! I hear she didn't sing as much in the show which is a bummer to hear 😕

[@xkeyairuh]

@@jessicasopranonotes Nope, they always had her as backup vocals instead which sucks.

[@28553]

I love everything about your reaction to this performance…. You have a beautiful voice as well ♥️

[@jessicasopranonotes]

Thank you so much!!

[@thaissatrench8986]

Okay I’ll explain what happened. Sam (the blonde guy) and Mercedes (ambers character) had a “summer fling” (as she likes to say) and in the end of season 2 Sam left Ohio because of his family’s money problems. In the beginning of season 3 (the season she sings this song) he comes back after Finn and Rachel bring him back but then Mercedes already has a new boyfriend, Shane. Sam wants to be with her, but she always said she couldn’t. Then in they sang a duet together (human nature) and kissed at the end of the song. In this episode (the Valentine’s Day episode) Sam gives her a gift and she says that even though she and Shane broke up because she told him about the kiss, she and Sam can’t be together. That’s why he was looking at her with that sad expression and walking away at the beginning of the song. She apparently sang this song to him. And then in the end, he leaves the choir room because he started crying.

[@physes1139]

See THESE are the glee covers you tubers need to react to. So many people give glee covers a bad name when some of them are literally GOLD

[@steveeverett1736]

Lea Michele and Naya Rivera were the two most used voices on Glee, so yeah, Amber wasn't used as much. You should google the clip from Glee with Naya and Amber doing River Deep (Mountain High), the full clip

[@jessicasopranonotes]

will do!

[@chancoo2896]

Pure talent a very underrated singer on the show she should've got her own spin off show the only reason I watched the show was to watch Mercedes (amber riley) solos or songs

[@cazgalsworthy770]

Just love watching your excitement, great reaction

[@djake1107]

This starts as an intimate rendition like Dolly sang it an ends with a Whitney finale. A great great performance 🥰😍😘

[@jordanlandfair9068]

Amber Riley was actually Trained in Opera before the show and during the show she got to experiment with R&B, Gospel, and Pop sounds

[@jessicasopranonotes]

I had no idea 😱

[@crispri3919]

@@jessicasopranonotes You can see her sing operatic vocals in the "not getting married today glee" video. She made it do what it do in that video though she only sings one part in the song.🤣

[@28553]

Actually Amber never trained in Opera … I’m her mom I would know this …she had some mentoring from a wonderful opera singer just one day at a summer camp program but no training …. Not sure where you got this information…but she loves the opera …appreciate this whole reaction to her performance…most of her training was from myself as her vocal coach and teacher… and just the gift God gave her..

[@lutzluvr425]

She gives me chills every time I watch her sing this.

[@MarcoKitzer]

You should react to try a little tenderness She was on fire that day.

[@vincemarpa4160]

More Amber Riley reactions! ♥️♥️♥️

[@lonnymead8976]

Truly amazing...! Sadly, I have not watched Glee but, this young lady sounds amazing. That’s another level singing... I loved watching how much you enjoyed this performance... Good stuff Jess!

[@lovepanic2738]

Amber is fantastic. I highly suggest looking up live performances from her. Also, she just put out her own EP under RILEY. Here is some info from a recent article: "Powerhouse singer Amber Riley has finally released her debut musical project. The songstress, who stole our hearts on Glee and stole the show across the pond for her Olivier-winning turn in Dreamgirls, has revamped her image, switched her style up and dropped her first name, now going by the mononym RILEY. That change comes with the arrival of a self-titled EP that shows us a whole new side of the singer than we've come to know."

[@lonnymead8976]

Thank you...I will check her out...I believe she is a powerhouse!

[@lovepanic2738]

@@lonnymead8976 She played Effie in Dreamgirls on The West End and won an Olivier Award (Apparently England's equivalent to a Tony award) for her performance.

[@butchwiltshire6686]

Such a timeless song....loved it when Dolly Parton wrote and recorded this in the 70"s...then Whitney Houston took it to a new level....This young lady sang her butt off in this version.

[@thisisme5504]

Yes more Amber reactions please.

[@graysang5386]

glee's "river deep mountain high" performed by amber riley and naya rivera is good as hell to react to! ❤

[@vivianederhi]

It was a real delight to hear her singing ! I loved it

[@ahmik.8901]

Such a beautiful voice 😍 I've never seen her before, well I've never watched Glee to admit. Thank you for reacting to her, I found another singer to put on my favourite list. 🤗

[@jessicasopranonotes]

Yay! Yes, she's incredible!

[@uchihablanco77j]

MORE GLEE REACTION PLS AAAAAA VERY NICE

[@fayc_fayc2115]

you should react to Amber Riley and Naya Rivera's River Deep Mountain High and their The Boy Is Mine. Their duets were always incredible

[@debanderson5796]

Amber has a God gifted talent for sure.

[@michaellie3495]

You look stunning!

[@jessicasopranonotes]

Thank you Michael!

[@st4rboyshaun]

Can you react to Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) “Don’t Rain On My Parade” “Songbird” or anything by here haha

[@jbaethke]

She sang Never Loved a Man with Shoshana Bean at Shoshana's concert. Since you like both of them I think you'll enjoy this a lot. Here's the link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4HLkHd-iLiEiK8

[@jessicasopranonotes]

Thanks Jennifer!

[@LucasOliveira-uj7xc]

Love your reaction, as always! Please react to Amber Riley performing And I'm Telling You at the Olivier Awards, it's amazing ❤️

[@karolinaadamus5149]

I wonder what you would think about Lea Michelle's To Love You More performance from Glee.

[@yomomma4352]

Ik I’m late but they guy she was talking to his actor is Chord Overstreet he’s a singer also irl and makes good music

[@L0C0vision]

You have the most fantastic and expansive vocabulary for music stuff (clearly I do not!). I learn new phrases every time I watch a reaction. However, my most favorite moments are when you are delighted and nearly at a loss for words. That's when I grab a pad, because you are about to explain exactly what took your breath away and why!!! So much fun. I've never seen Glee before, so I'm off to Google more performances by this amazing young woman.

[@steveeverett1736]

then google her with Naya Rivera doing River Deep (Mountain High) on Glee

[@L0C0vision]

@@steveeverett1736 THANK YOU!!!!

[@jessicasopranonotes]

such sweet words, thank you Lorraine! I was truly at a loss of words for so much of this performance 💛

[@tylerhackner9731]

Love her talent so much!

[@Matthieux971]

Love her and her crazy voice !!! Glee had a lot of good singers some exceptionnal, could you check out Alex Newell in the future ?? I'm sure you will love it !

[@chancoo2896]

I'd definitely recommend try a little tenderness and colourblind glee covers by her it's absolute pure gold almost better than the original in my opinion

[@wannabetrucker7475]

Gotta go back and rewatch Glee now. 👍🏽👍🏽

[@stuartjefferson5263]

Did you know ambers is actually classically trained she sang and opera song on glee to

[@jessicasopranonotes]

I literally had no idea! would you tell me the name of the song?

[@stuartjefferson5263]

@@jessicasopranonotes of course here’s the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2SufaRrrt9oqrs the clip is pretty short but the time stamp starts a 0:50-1:16 ☺️

[@stuartjefferson5263]

@@diegoalexiscastanedalara1852 omg can u comment the link

[@TwoRiversFarm707]

Chord Overstreet (the blond boy) played her boyfriend in a season or two of Glee. His dad is country singer, Paul Overstreet. Paul and his wife must be pretty cool, because their kids are named Chord, Nash (Nashville?), Harmony, Summer, Charity and Skye. Country hippies, who knew?

[@battlegirldeb]

If you react to another Glee song please let it be HOW WIll I KNOW. It was done by the shows 4 Divas.

[@lawrencemendez2778]

Oh im so here for it lol 🥳

[@__Dana__]

and I think Amber has said she sees the notes in her head (unless I’m mixing her up with someone else that was The Terrell Show skshsksk)

[@roojieq86]

You should cover the opera song she sang on glee!

[@lindachambers3166]

He, was crying for her, losing her!

[@AngelPR1995]

Please react to All caming back to me know or To love you more from Glee. Btw greetings from Dominican Republic 💕

[@BAMOORE94]

The fact that this came out 2 days after Whitney passed.

[@nicolesalmon4583]

Amber can sing the dictionary to me and I'd be pleased. Weird that her real name is Amber but the show chose Mercedes for her🙄

[@hirotanakawa6868]

Love your reaction! ❤️ Can you give reaction and vocal analysis on Céline Dion "Can't Help Falling In Love" live 1993 (the one where she has short brown hair and black dress) P.S. you're gonna be blown away

[@Mimi2155141122]

Sorry in advance this is so long. Amber is amazing and I’ve loved her sense the first episode of Glee. Everything you’ve said and those who’ve commented says it all. Mercedes, I have a love/hate thing going on. She can be great but at times she’s incredibly self-absorbed. I want to let you know about the drama that brought Mercedes to the point of singing this song. Sam is the blond guy and Shane is the guy in the letterman’s jacket we see her briefly talking to. At the end of season 2, she and Sam are revealed (to the viewers) to be secretly dating. When season 3 begins, Sam’s family has moved away due to his unemployed dad finally getting a job in Kentucky. Chord Overstreet, the actor playing Sam, declined to return for Season 3 in order to focus on his own musical career (he’s Nashville royalty, his dad is a well known singer songwriter and Chord has grown up performing). He returned because they asked him to and he felt like he’d been to accomplish several of his personal goals. Mercedes is dating Shane when the first episode of season 3 starts. In the 8th episode of the season, Sam comes back to Lima and lives with a couple of the glee club’s members. He makes it clear he wants to be with her but she insists on staying with Shane. As time goes by, the temptation to be with Sam causes her to cheat on Shane. This song is sung just after she breaks up with Shane after telling him she cheated (the little clip we see in the song). Just before the song she tells Sam about the breakup and that she feels awful for what she did to Shane. She tells him she doesn’t know who she is when it comes to love and until she does, she can’t be with him or anyone else.

[@johnlathers4430]

Apparently, this episode aired only a few days after Whitney passed.

[@koml9455]

Very good rendition. Try Sohyang's rendition from Begin again Korea.

[@ThomGoth]

I'm a new french subscriber and i love your videos. Sorry for my english, but i think you can be shocked by "I'm telling i'm not going" by Amber or "To Love You More" by Lea Michele, and i think it can be interresting, watch your reaction and point of view. Enjoy !

[@neomontiel2654]

try regine velasquez the song of her version i donna miss a thing

[@BAMOORE94]

Please react to glee how will I know.. I think you will love it

[@__Dana__]

he wanted to be with her but she turned him down that’s why he left the room crying lmao

[@jessicasopranonotes]

hahaha I had this crazy made up story in my head where the guy was in the wrong. Turns out it was the other way around lol

[@JenniferBrigitteOpticalVortex]

@@jessicasopranonotes Sam loved her and was the one who uploaded a video of her singing that got her a record deal. He truly loved her, which is why this scene is so devastating. Sam + Mercedes forever!

[@WonderfulWorldOfStuff]

Jess, is it just me or are her in-breaths (if that's a word) quite prominent throughout? Is this normal & are they usually edited out in the studio, her voice is gorgeous, I just kept being distracted with the intakes being so audible. (is it just me?) Not throwing negatives, spectacular cover (listened twice before leaving a comment, still feels like a valid question). | Much Love, Peace & Respect | Stay Safe Ya'll

[@jessicasopranonotes]

Great observation! Yes, breaths are usually heavily edited in studio versions. They chose not to do so here and they are prominent. It's great for me as an analyzer but I can totally understand how it can be distracting.

[@amannsns5326]

React to her and i am telling you and i'll stand by you

[@darrencriss5529]

react to Naya Rivera - Alfie

[@Ovan61]

👍📺👀

[@jacopodemuro6548]

React to Beyoncé “Listen” at Oprah pls

[@jessicasopranonotes]

OMG so crazy, I literally just recorded and edited that video!

[@kimberlycole8402]

And she was a reject on x factor. I know I couldn't believe it either

[@IamEriclis]

Please reac to beyoncé sing I care live coachela

[@azzurraluzzi1510]

React more glee plssss

[@Heather-zh7cs]

That was Sam and they dated for a good bit in the show

[@dianesparrow1592]

I have never watched Glee. Amber Riley has a beautiful voice. Although my favorite performance will always be Dolly Parton's on the Porter Waggoner Show. Dolly had been on Porter's show for at least 5 years, and told Porter she wanted to leave and go out on her own. Porter was very difficult, so Dolly wrote this song to explain to him how she felt. Dolly left his show and he was very unkind to her. Dolly always remained a true and kind friend. Btw, she wrote Jolene the same day she wrote I Will Always Love You.

[@bjebel1]

Amber sings it better than Whitney. Yes I said it.

[@jessicasopranonotes]

Everyone's entitled to their opinions!

[@hayderfyhf5f448]

Please reaction to ailee

[@franciscojavierp.7162]

Like I said on live chat, if you like the long phrases, you have to check Diana Navarro kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZfcZWCLfdBqe6c I have the same problem trying starting a comment, I don't know if I have to chage something on the configuration, it's a bit bizarre because I could start a comment at Diana Ankudinova channel without problems. Could JC Hus help me? Thank you very much for your reaction and for let me meet another great singer. Greetings from Spain

[@vriesvakkie1]

I say Glennis Grace.

[@estebanarce3446]

She’s a really good singer, but I don’t like her rendition... almost half of the song is good, the first part, but, the last part is lacking of power and energy.... 👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼 You gotta be very careful when you sing this song and most of all, a Whitney’s song 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@jessicasopranonotes]

That's ok! I know it's common to compare the two and you have every right to prefer one performance over another ☺️