CONCERT REVIEW: Carly Rose Sonenclar

Carly Rose Sonenclar
Opening Act: Heather Russell
July 5, 2013
Universal Citywalk
Universal City, CA

By: Nevra Azerkan

Rating: [The Breakdown]

Heather Russell, who is only twelve years old, opened the show. She is a singer/songwriter from Toronto. She co-wrote the song, “Crazy Glue” that was featured on the album of former American Idol contestant Jessica Sanchez. Heather made headlines when she was discovered at the age of ten on YouTube belting out tunes sounding at least twice her age. She has Ashton Kutcher and Ellen as fans. But at this show she was relatively unknown, but that didn’t stop her from coming out on stage full of confidence. Her set was comprised entirely of originals which was impressive on its own. The audience enjoyed her songs, but it was her innocent demeanor and the way she introduced each song that made everyone smile.

If you know who Carly Rose Sonenclar is then you are either a fan of Broadway or X-Factor USA. Carly made a name for herself on Broadway playing Young Cosette in Les Miserables and originated the role of Chloe (Alice’s daughter) in the musical, Wonderland. On the second season of X-Factor USA, Carly came in second place. She made fans all over the world and now she’s playing shows all over the U.S.

As we were waiting for Carly to take the stage, the crowd began chanting her name and when she appeared they all went nuts. She sang many of the old favorite covers and some new ones including: “Dog Days Are Over” (Florence and the Machine), “Runaway Baby” (Bruno Mars), “Brokenhearted” (Karmin), “As Long as You Love Me” (Justin Bieber), “Stay” (Rihanna), “Brand New Me” (Alicia Keys), “Come and Get It” (Selena Gomez), and “Feeling Good” (Nina Simone). She came back out to do an encore where she revealed her original song, “Unforgettable”.

Carly was incredible. The amount of control she has on her vocals is ridiculous. No one is going to get over the fact that she is just fourteen years old for awhile. I became an instant fan of hers after her audition on X-Factor and only continued to watch the show because of her. Her original song, “Unforgettable” is the perfect track for her to dominate the charts with and let’s not forget how accurately it describes her voice. Getting to see her perform live was quite the event for me. She has an unbelievable voice and the world is just waiting to see what she will do next.