10+2 Duets of a Lifetime

There are thousand of duet songs.  Some of the songs managed to be the greatest. And every now and then, we find some performed live in such perfection, or just simply memorable, that even the singers themselves may find difficulties to top that again in this lifetime.

Presenting my favourites, in random order (O yeah, I happily include duets with boybands too ^_^):


ONE SWEET DAY
Performed by Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men
Live at Madison Square Garden, New York 1995

This is Mariah at her finest, golden moments in her career.  Look at her!

Others: Official Music Video, Acapella version, Live at Grammy Awards 1996


THE PRAYER ~ OST Quest for Camelot ~
Performed by Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli

Live at the 71st Academy Awards 1999

Though this song lost to "When You Believe" (how could it be? HOW??!), for me it was the highlight of the evening. Won my heart for its simplicity, tenderness and modesty. I was glued in front of my TV watching Celine & Andrea - breath-taken.  One of the best performances ever in all Oscar ceremonies.  "The Prayer" has been rendered by numerous artists ever since then, but none can beat this one yet.

Others: Celine Dion & Josh Groban, Charlotte Church & Josh Groban, Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli Live @Central Park 2011, Katharine McPhee & Andrea Bocelli, OST "Quest for Camelot"


MUSIC OF MY HEART ~ OST Music of the Heart ~
Performed by Gloria Estefan & 'N Sync

Live at CBS Special 2000

Saw this performance on TV, it convinced me that 'N Sync could really sing.  Really good indeed. And Gloria was wonderful, as always.

Others: Official Music Video, movie clip


WHEN YOU BELIEVE ~ OST The Prince of Egypt ~
Performed by Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey

Live on The Oprah Winfrey Show, 1998

Just as Oprah said, I once had an endless argument with my friend on who's better between Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.  Then came this duet, as if someone had enough of us arguing and decided to throw this right at us.  I thought their performance in that Oscar 1999 was not a top-notch and they shouldn't win. Not until later I found they had performed it live for the first time on television, a year before, on The Oprah Show. A winning vocal showdown. It's a dream team. My friend and I finally made peace.

Others: Official Music Video with movie footage, Official Music Video, Live at the 71st Academy Awards 1999, OST "The Prince of Egypt" (A far superior, touching rendition by Michelle Pfeiffer & Sally Dworsky)


CHANGE THE WORLD ~ OST Phenomenon ~
Performed by Babyface & Eric Clapton
Live at MTV Unplugged NYC 1997

Of all Eric Clapton's songs, this one sits on top of my list. I caught this on TV and I enjoyed every seconds of it.  Until now, not a single moment when this song is playing that I don't sing along, moving my head and toes (yeah!!), because it's so groovy. (Updated: Ah, shoot. Just revisited the link and it's now "not available in my country"? I'll keep looking and repost. Meanwhile, the audio is here.

Others: Official Music Video


CINTA ~ OST Tentang Dia ~
Performed by Ruth Sahanaya & Titi DJ
Live in Konser 3 Diva, Jakarta 2006

Click here.  Enough said.

Others: Official Music Video with movie footage



YOU RAISE ME UP
Performed by Wang Leehom & Westlife
Live in "Heroes of Earth" Concert, Taipei 2006

I was watching the concert DVD, and when Leehom introduced Westlife, I jumped off my seat and screamed like a teenage schoolgirl meeting her idol in flesh.  Unbelievable. I even considered looking for a map to measure the distance between Ireland and Taiwan.  How could these lads end up performing in Leehom's concert?   It was just way beyond my imagination.  That is one of the reasons why I put this track in here.  The other reasons, are too many to list.

Others: Official Music Video - Westlife, Official Music Video - Josh Groban


MENGHUJAM JANTUNGKU
Performed by Citra & Tompi
Live in Top 3 Spectacular Show, Indonesian Idol 2010

I've never followed Citra or Tompi individually, but this duet looks and sounds very professional singing.  They did everything right.

(Warning! Low audio-video volume)

Others: Official Music Video - Tompi


NO MATTER WHAT
Performed by Westlife & Boyzone
Live at A Tribute to Stephen Gately, 2010

One of my friends tried confusing me by mixing up Westlife's and Boyzone's song.  I would never fall into it.  But right after that, I stumbled into these two groups merged into "Westzone" or "Boyzlife", and I wasn't so sure anymore.  Does Nicky Byrne belong to Boyzone and Ronan Keating belong to Westlife? Or are they both just switchable?

Others: Official Music Video - Boyzone


TELL HIM
Performed by Celine Dion & Barbra Streisand
Official Music Video, 1997

Why can't I find any live performance video for this? I don't think there is any at all. Looks like it's an almost mission: impossible to see these two divas sharing the stage. I love this song very much. And seeing how they did in the music video, I don't have any doubt in my mind they will do excellence in every single live performances.

Others: Making of Video "Tell Him"


Bonus features:
Am not gonna say anything, I just had to post the following in here ..

JAZZ VS. CLASSICPOP
Performed by Michael Buble & Josh Groban
Live in "Caught in the Act" Concert, Los Angeles 2005





TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE HEART
Performed by Ellen DeGeneres & Josh Groban
Live on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, 2009







Now excuse me, I said I wasn't gonna say anything about these last two duets. But I can laugh, right?

Hahaha. Hahahahah.

3 comments:

Rebecca said...

great pick of duets ..

wang leehom n westlife -- that's new to me..

one of my very fave that's not in your pick: no me ames by JLo and Marc Anthony ..

joelliea said...

"No Mes Ames" was actually on the original list, together with some other songs. But I had to shortlist it for now since I can't find a live performance video that is enganging enough. Maybe someday I will post a 2nd batch.

Westlife with Leehom, yeah, that's what I called duet of a lifetime, literally. Hihihihi.

Rebecca said...

hehehe,, westlife and boyzone combine , very strong duet .. westzone -- they both actually have the same kinds of voices