SHARIE ATLASS "Whole New Level"

by jenny heying

Well I wasn't expecting much this night as I ventured down to Boogie Beach. A new sl singer, new to sl too and I was kind of expecting your typical karaoke type performance with the usual list of songs.

But Sharie Atlass surprised me with her opening Faith Hill Song. I was thinking we'd hear a twangy slightly off pitch voice, but what we got was a strong, determined voice that projected well and didn't miss a note.Yes it was with the usual backing tracks, but Sharie made up for that, making us forget that there wasn't a band accompanying her.

I've seen a lot of performers in second life and quite frankly was getting a little tired of hearing the same type of performance over and over. You know, karaoke tracks, moderately adequate singer. But Sharie brought me back some hope. Not only does she have a strong voice, but her set list is unique. She sings a lot of songs you don't normally hear in this world .She has a definite country twist to things and looked the part in her denim outfit. Offstage she even had the speaking voice that made me think I would be hearing Reba or Patsy Cline (again typical karaoke). She does do country quite well, but she tackled Jann Arden masterfully.

Sharie takes inworld singers to a whole new level. You get the feeling you are at a real life club or concert and you sway in awe at the performance on stage. Between songs her voice surprises you. It's sweet, slightly nervous and you don't expect much when she sings. But doing Kimberly Locke's Eighth World Wonder, she proves you wrong. And time and again she keeps proving you wrong. Her voice comes through like a seasoned performer and she makes every song her own. Even on mellow songs like Ain't No Sunshine, she comes through.

Do I have a complaint about Sharie. Well her backing tracks were quite loud, probably drown out most singers, but Sharie is powerful enough to conquer that.

Sharie runs the gamut. Like I said, you know she does country but she ventures in to a few genres that you wouldn't expect her to be. She covers the Stones (Ruby Tuesday) then launches to Terry Gibbs (Somebody's Knocking).

For a new kid on the block, Shari provides hope for second life music. Where it might have been getting boring and overdone, she provides the life and energy it needs. She is talented, knows what she's doing and it shows.In this case new is simply saying we haven't seen her before. Why not?