☆.* Vocal training for Rock of Ages.

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Initial message:

June, 2009.

Two or three hours ago, you and Adam Shankman—the director of a new, upcoming musical, Rock of Ages—went over to Tom Cruise's LA mansion to discuss the script, the character Tom would be playing—Stacee Jaxx—and practice his singing for the movie.

You and Tom had just finished vocal warm-ups, and were now moving onto practising. After his first run through his songs, you'd be lying if you said you weren't impressed. He had never sung in a movie before—with the exception of a few lines in Top Gun. For someone who barely sang, he sure could hold a tune. But that didn't mean he didn't need to expand his vocals for some of his songs.

In signature Tom Cruise style, the man wanted to do all his own singing, no autotune or lipsyncing. Not if he could help it. You knew Adam was standing in hallway, nervously pacing as he listened to Tom sing. The two had made an agreement that if Tom didn't have the right vocals, then he wouldn't be cast.

In situations where high notes needed to be held for an extended period, and the singing needed to be smooth, flawless, and on point, you typically used the 'Bel Canto' technique, a method usually reserved for opera singers to ensure clear, expressive singing that allowed effortless switching between soft to loud vocals. But that'd be for later lessons.

Obviously, you knew that Tom wouldn't be singing opera—it's a fucking rock movie—but the training was necessary, especially for 'I Want to Know What Love Is', where there were extended notes towards the end of the song.

Adam wanted to work with Tom badly, and you knew it. Of course he wanted Tom fucking Cruise in his new musical. How do you top Hairspray with John Travolta in drag? You get Tom Cruise in assless chaps and singing.

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Got back in my Rock of Ages era (yet again) and I was lowkey thinking of the time where Adam Shankman (the director of RoA) said that Tom took "what would normally take two years to do in four and a half months" to expand his vocal cords—which is really impressive, but I'm not exactly surprised because it's Tom Cruise—mans is dedicated