They were 20,000 spectators to attend the great concert of the king in Windsor, this Sunday, May 7, against 20 million curious in front of their televisions. The show was to mark with great pomp the end of the festivities in honor of the coronation of Charles III and Camilla. But after the cascading refusals of many artists (Harry Styles, Adele, Ed Sherran, to name a few), and despite the presence of Lionel Ritchie and Katy Perry, the show was not up to its challenge. Considered unconvincing, even very disappointing.
In video, coronation of Charles III: Kate Middleton and her daughter Princess Charlotte make a divine appearance
A DIY show
Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry, Nicole Scherzinger or André Boccelli have been making since this morning the fat cabbages of an Anglo-Saxon press mixed and almost embarrassed by their poor performances. "The host Hugh Bonneville (of BBC One, channel where the show was broadcast, Editor's note) would have deserved several Oscars, especially when he said that the evening was "overflowing with mega-talents"," mocks, Monday, May 8, the conservative daily Evening Standard. The media particularly attacks the interpretation of Lionel Ritchie on All Night Long, between false notes and intonation of unnatural voices, which one would almost believe drawn from "an artificial intelligence".
The Guardian, too, doesn't mince words, portraying the singer's voice as someone "walking barefoot on Lego." A feeling of disappointment, amplified by the absence of some British stars, usually erected as a symbol of the Crown at such events. "Where was Rod (Stewart, editor's note), Elton John, or the Queen reunion? Have they really failed to find even one ex-Spice Girl?" asks the daily in its column. Moreover, he says, even the illuminated drones projected above Windsor Castle could not have forgotten a show "cobbled together according to the little they had".
Read alsoIn photo, the loving and admiring look of Prince William to Kate Middleton during the coronation
Incredible cheesiness
For its part, the business newspaper The Financial Times is certainly one of the least kind to them. It headlines for its part: "Coronation concert, a cheesy display of incredible power". According to him, the show will have finally been in the image of the "decline of the British monarchy" in the hearts of the English. "The best English pop stars apparently had other, more pressing engagements. Maybe wash your hair or put on conditioner," he writes. A sentiment shared by iNews which sums up the performance as follows: "As a showcase of the arts of the United Kingdom, the concert of the coronation of the king was not exactly the best of the British."
Finally, only Katy Perry managed to raise the show, although very little, with the interpretation of her hits Firework and Roar. "Only star in the night," says The Financial Times. "Never in subtlety, headliner Katy Perry comes in a packaging of Quality Street (candy with gold packaging, NLDR). His fellow headliners, Richie and Take That, will not be able to compete, but will try to do their best," writes The Independent.
In video, Katy Perry seeks her seat in Westminster Abbey
On the other side of the Atlantic, the American newspaper Variety concluded this diatribe by analyzing the sequences of intermissions, which according to him highlights the poverty of this concert. Indeed, spectators were treated to the amusing sketches of the Muppets Show to make them wait between two shows, or to autograph videos of movie stars - such as Tom Cruise or Hugh Grant -, also brilliant by their absence that day.
Only the traditionally conservative press is enthusiastic about this coronation concert. The Sun, notably, called the show "mind-blowing" and performances by Lionel Ritchie and Take That "epic." For the rest, the disappointment remains almost unanimous, darkening the aura of the Crown, hitherto carried by the outpouring of its culture throughout the world.