"When you sing a song the way I sing it, you have to use your whole body. It's almost like working out"
About this Quote
Goulet’s line is half brag, half backstage truth, and it lands because it reframes “singing” as something closer to sport than sparkle. He’s not talking about vibe or charisma; he’s talking about mechanics. The phrasing is deliberately physical: “whole body,” “working out.” That’s a corrective to the lazy fantasy that big-voiced crooners are just gifted mouths in tuxedos. Goulet is staking a claim for craft, stamina, and discipline - the unglamorous grind under the glamorous sound.
The intent is also quietly defensive. In the era of lounge singers and television variety shows, vocal power could be dismissed as easy showbiz, a kind of effortless male swagger. By comparing his technique to exercise, he shifts the status of his work from “entertaining” to “training.” It’s a bid for legitimacy, the way dancers talk about bruises or actors talk about stage sweat: respect the labor, not just the applause.
The subtext is confidence with a wink. “The way I sing it” draws a line between his approach and everyone else’s. Goulet’s style - big projection, long phrases, sustained notes - depends on breath control, posture, core engagement, and endurance. He’s letting you hear the backstage in the front-of-house sound.
Context matters: Goulet came up when unamplified technique still carried prestige, and Broadway-to-TV performers were expected to fill rooms with sheer vocal architecture. His quote makes that architecture visible, turning the singer’s body into the real stage.
The intent is also quietly defensive. In the era of lounge singers and television variety shows, vocal power could be dismissed as easy showbiz, a kind of effortless male swagger. By comparing his technique to exercise, he shifts the status of his work from “entertaining” to “training.” It’s a bid for legitimacy, the way dancers talk about bruises or actors talk about stage sweat: respect the labor, not just the applause.
The subtext is confidence with a wink. “The way I sing it” draws a line between his approach and everyone else’s. Goulet’s style - big projection, long phrases, sustained notes - depends on breath control, posture, core engagement, and endurance. He’s letting you hear the backstage in the front-of-house sound.
Context matters: Goulet came up when unamplified technique still carried prestige, and Broadway-to-TV performers were expected to fill rooms with sheer vocal architecture. His quote makes that architecture visible, turning the singer’s body into the real stage.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
More Quotes by Robert
Add to List

