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Jon Pack/NBCSix-time Grammy winner and one-half of The Underdogs production duo, Harvey Mason Jr., also was responsible for producing all of the music for the new animated movie, Sing, out now in theaters everywhere.
The film stars a plethora of well-known celebrities, including Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon, singer-songwriter Tori Kelly and Jennifer Hudson, with whom Harvey has a longstanding professional relationship.
“With Jennifer Hudson, I challenge her all the time. We’ve been working together for ten years. We started on Dreamgirls, so I know her probably the best out of any singer that I’ve worked with. And I know exactly what she can do,” Mason tells ABC Radio.
“There’s not a lot she can’t do with her voice, so it’s kinda like, sky’s the limit. There’s so many different things to try and attempt, so with her I do push her pretty hard because of that reason. Because she’s so talented and so flexible,” he adds.
The record producer explains that he challenged Jennifer in the studio in order to get the best possible performance from the talented entertainer for Sing, but in a different sort of way.
“With this particular film, I challenged and pushed her to understate the vocal and not go crazy, but really, really deliver at a high level, emotionally,” he tells ABC Radio.
“‘Golden Slumbers’ introduces the movie and it’s such a critical piece of music for this film,” Mason explains of Jennifer’s version of the Beatles classic.
“That’s where I pushed the hardest with Jennifer, was to get her just to look inside herself, sing inside herself, sing from the heart, and really, really feel that vocal, especially in the early segments where it has to be very tender and emotional.”
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