One of the best things about the internet age is that it makes it so much easier to find new, talented artists.
In older days, new performers and singers would have to work locally and regionally for years to figure out who their audience was.
They would have to perfect their own skills and try to court major record labels and companies for a shot at the “big time.” Nowadays, that model has changed completely—after all, people can build their own identities and companies from their own homes!
On a smaller level, it also means people can upload their performances online and hope to be discovered.
That’s exactly the case with the artist we’re talking about today.
The clip we’re talking about was uploaded in November 2016. The artist is a French performer called Ben l’Oncle Soul, which literally means Ben the Uncle Soul in English.
He started performing in 2010 and focused on soulful songs and covers. Although there’s plenty of pop music on the radio, very few artists are dedicated to doing the kind of soul music that older artists used to do.
Fortunately, he’s a different kind of performer altogether!
As the clip begins, some titles introduce both the artist and the song.
The video explains that Ben l’Oncle Soul will be covering “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Frank Sinatra. For anyone who’s a Sinatra fan, the song is one of his standards—and isn’t an easy one to pull off!
Like all of Sinatra’s songs, it’s defined by his smooth and cool delivery. Fortunately, Ben l’Oncle Soul is more than up for the challenge of covering the song.
And he finds a way to completely make it his own at the same time.
From the beginning, the song starts with some smooth guitar playing.
After that, some gentle keys come in and it’s clear that this version will be different from the original—it’s much slower and more soulful! After that, Ben l’Oncle Soul starts vocalizing over the track to set the tone.
Before long, the lyrics come in and he starts singing them soulfully and sincerely. Although he’s able to capture the same flow and feel as the original, his version makes it completely new and modern.
And the performance only gets better and better as the video goes on.
For the first half, he sings quite slowly and mournfully as he goes through the song.
Towards the end, he starts vocalizing and builds up even more emotion. Although his version of the composition is in many ways much simpler than the original. it still keeps all the punch of the original.
When it finally ends, Ben gives it his all and the song drifts to a close. Since the clip was uploaded, it has been viewed more than 20 million times on YouTube!
And after watching it, it’s easy to see why!
As we said before, YouTube is such a great place to discover new talent—and this video is proof.
Even if you’re not a huge Sinatra fan, what Ben managed to do with his song is pretty incredible and worthy of checking out all on its own! If you are a Sinatra fan, it’s worth seeing him reinvent it.
Congratulations to Ben l’Oncle Soul on his awesome performance! Be sure to watch the whole thing in the link below:
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