Brandy uploaded another video of herself 'singing in the bathroom', and this time she took on Etta James' "At last".
I'll say this now, I prefer Brandy's rendition to Beyoncé's. Why? Because Brandy's has more grit and more soul, even with all the imperfections. But I'll let you make up your own minds.
Why does Brandy never sing like this when she's putting it down in the studio for albums? She was killing some of those runs. Absolutely killing them. Brandy could put out an album called Sitting up in my bathroom with 14 tracks of Acapella's recorded through her camera and I'd buy it. I stan for Brandy that hard.
I go crazy for the way Brandy layers her vocals with all manner of fancy harmonies and effects. But it's always nice to hear her voice in its purest and rawest form. It's confirmation that she can sing, and she's still got it.
I'll say this now, I prefer Brandy's rendition to Beyoncé's. Why? Because Brandy's has more grit and more soul, even with all the imperfections. But I'll let you make up your own minds.
Why does Brandy never sing like this when she's putting it down in the studio for albums? She was killing some of those runs. Absolutely killing them. Brandy could put out an album called Sitting up in my bathroom with 14 tracks of Acapella's recorded through her camera and I'd buy it. I stan for Brandy that hard.
I go crazy for the way Brandy layers her vocals with all manner of fancy harmonies and effects. But it's always nice to hear her voice in its purest and rawest form. It's confirmation that she can sing, and she's still got it.
Meh. The biggest issue I have with Brandy's voice is her lack of range. The high notes in this song aren't too difficult to reach and yet you can hear the strain in her voice to reach them. She does have great tone and, when she's singing in her register, formidable control. But, as some people are not partial to riffs and runs, her sound is kind of hit and miss when marketed to a broad audience.
ReplyDeleteFurther, and this ties in directly with the range issue, she somehow manages to make all these songs she sings in her bathroom sound the same. After hearing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, you really don't need to hear this to know what it'll be like.
Her shortcomings are made all the more apparent with this song because of its popularity amongst contemporaries. People will automatically compare it to Beyonce's version, as you did, and considering the number of times Christina Aguilera has masterfully covered At Last, her bathroom singing just seems underwhelming.
I don't think Brandy's sound is hit and miss at all. There are many things that factor into Brandy not being able to capture a wide audience, but her sound isn't one of them. Not by a long shot.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to say the notes in "At last" are easy to hit, but not every singer could sing "At last", hit said notes, and sing it well. And in my opinion I think Brandy did a nice job - strain and lack of range and all. She doesn't have the range of say Beyoncé or Christina Aguilera - but she held her own nicely against their renditions.
I guess it boils down to preference, and Brandy's mine.
@"Why does Brandy never sing like this when she's putting it down in the studio for albums?"
ReplyDeleteIs EXACTLY the question I was asking myself!!!
@"Brandy could put out an album called Sitting up in my bathroom with 14 tracks of Acapella's recorded through her camera and I'd buy it"
OH BUDDY, dont worry! YOU WONDLN'T BE THE ONLY ONE! that's for sure!!! :p
Brandy's lucky to have us Ralph ;P *lol*
ReplyDeleteI don't think Brandy necessarily has the voice to belt out songs like some of the heavier voices out there, but that doesn't mean she doesn't sound good when she does these bathroom recordings. Her voice is so raw and rich, and I'll always love it.
ReplyDelete