Songs can touch our souls in many different ways.
Aside from their deep, meaningful lyrics and melodies, how the singer interprets a song with their voice is another huge factor. After all, our ears can discern emotions better than our eyes. Watch how this musician was able to interpret a soul-stirring cover of an already emotional song.
If you have heard Frank Ocean’s “Godspeed,” then you know how deep the original song is.
Frank Ocean is a well-known American R&B singer-songwriter that is recognized for his unique approach in both songwriting and performance.
Ocean has mixed in elements of jazz, funk and other musical genres to R&B, which has helped him earn a reputation as an experimental artist.
Because of this, critics often categorize him as a representative of alternative R&B.
In 2016, he has shared a song called “Godspeed,” one of his singles that is part of his album Blonde, which earned a huge success worldwide and was even recognized by Time as the best album of 2016. Accompanied by a slow rhythmic organ instrumental, Ocean’s powerful vocals gave the emotional flavor it needed.
Another singer-songwriter helped with the production of this amazing song.
Behind the song’s success were the people who worked with Frank Ocean especially in writing, arranging and producing it.
One of those people was James Blake, a famous singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer in London.
His musical style was inspired by iconic hip-hop and R&B legends namely, Stevie Wonder and D’Angelo.
However, people have noted his musical transformations as he switches from electronic pop to a softer piano balladeer over the years.
Blake was partly responsible for the musical arrangement and production of “Godspeed.”
A clip of him singing a stripped-down version of “Godspeed” went viral on social media.
In early January this year, Blake posted a clip of him singing a rendition of “Godspeed” on Instagram.
With only his piano and his raw vocals, he recorded it using his smartphone’s camera.
He even wrote on the captions that he wanted to spend more time with an instrument rather than on his laptop.
As the clip spread like fire on Instagram, some netizens also claimed to have watched an excerpt of it on the Tik Tok platform.
Fans have long requested Blake to release a cleaner, produced version of this cover and their wish came true just recently in early September.
His graceful cover of the song had the world crying.
Blake started with the song’s original chord structure but replicated it on his piano.
He then sang its heartwarming lyrics with angelic vocals that just take you on an emotional journey—especially accompanied by the mellow piano instrumental.
It is amazing how he incorporates his own powerful and profound musical elements to this cover, yet closely sticks to the original.
His fans were not disappointed at all; in fact, most of them claimed that this particular cover beautifully pierced their hearts.
At the end of the day, it is all about preferences.
Unarguably, both singers have done a great job of expressing their passion for this one song.
However, it is still up to our personal preferences in choosing whose version we like better.
Some people may prefer James Blake’s heart touching rendition of the song but some people still have their hearts set on Frank Ocean’s original.
If you want to compare and choose for yourself, watch Blake’s performance below and choose whatever your heart tells you!
Check it out by clicking below:
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