Mars Meusel is one talented guy. If you are from the Cedar Valley and have any interest in live music, you have probably heard him sing. The first time I heard him sing I was going to support my friend Seth Luloff in his band Good Cop Rad Cop, in which Mars was the lead singer. My expectations weren't too high to say the least, but I was blown away. The band rocked and paired with Mars stellar voice, I couldn't get enough. I was right there at their very next show. It was also great that the band would let some of their friends (and my co-workers) go up and sing songs like 'Forgot About Dre'. This coupled along with their talent kept the shows very entertaining and people coming back for more.
Then came a time when I wasn't really able to make it to any of the bands shows, which was disappointing. I didn't hear anything from Mars or the band, until him and Seth started doing what they called 'Couch Covers". They would literally sit on a couch and cover a song acoustically, my personal favorite was 'Boyfriend' by Justin Beiber, but they were all beautifully put together. Those two know how to make a song entertaining, that's for sure.
This cemented it for me, I was a big fan of Mars and his voice. He has such control and can play any genre. But, I was once again looking for him to come out with some new material. I searched his name once again after starting this blog, and was pleased with what I found. He is introducing #meusicmondays, in which he puts out a new cover song every Monday. If the first few songs are indication, this is something we should all be tuning in to, the dude can flat out sing. Here's proof with a fun rendition of 'Holy Grail' by Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake.
This is just one example of what he has put out. There are few more out now, hopefully with many more to come. So make sure to tune in to #meusicmondays!
Celebrity Spotlight:
It wasn't hard to think of someone who owns every song they sing, to pair with Mars. Sam Tsui. I've heard him sing everything from 'Let Her Go' to 'Selfie'. No matter what the song, he holds it down. Just like Mars, he has incredible control. They both know exactly what notes to hit, and how to hit the high notes with perfection. Both guys are extremely talented and should definitely be more well known by the public. Sam is also talented with rearranging songs and giving them a completely different feel from the original. This is his spin on 'Everybody's Got Somebody But Me' by Hunter Hayes and Jason Mraz.
Make sure to follow me on twitter @undercoveriowafor more great cover music!
For this blog post I thought we could change it up a little bit. I am an addict of using Youtube to look up auditions and performances from TV singing competitions and being that they are all covers, I thought I'd share some of my favorite songs from my two favorite shows; The Sing-off and The X-Factor. Enjoy!
The Sing-Off
1. Vocal Rush-Bottom of the River. Goosebumps every time, without fail. It's a group of high school kids so I wasn't expecting anything, and they blew me away.
2. Committed-Let's Stay Together. I may have seriously listened to this one forty times in a row, so smooth.
3. Delilah- Grenade. Being a group of all girls, I thought they would be too high pitched for my liking. I was so far from correct, talk about a killer lead.
4. Home Free-Ring of Fire. The range, and that last bass note are ridiculous.
5. Jerry Lawson & Talk of the Town-House of the Rising Sun. Jerry Lawson's voice is polished and perfect for this song.
X-Factor
1. Alex and Sierra-Toxic. It's always nice to hear a song in a new light, Britney definitely got out performed on this one.
2. Janet Devlin-Your Song. A beautiful song, sang beautifully. Just how it should be.
3. Bella Ferraro-Skinny Love. The emotion is so real, I can't even handle it.
4. Michael Collings-Fast Car. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least.
5. Christopher Maloney-The Rose. This guy can just belt it.
Emily Snyder. I had never heard the name until just a few weeks ago. Her talents were brought to my attention by
another talented musician by the name of Erin Maltby. Erin has been involved
with music ever since the day she stepped foot on UNI’s campus(she plays trumpet and she's a swanky Ella Fitzgerald style singer), so her opinion
about musicians carries a lot more weight than mine. When someone with as much musical
experience as Erin told me I should listen to some of Emily’s covers, I knew I
would be a fool not to listen and write up a post about her. Here is what Erin
had to say about Emily:
"Emily
Snyder. Killer Vocals. Stellar Personality. This chick is the real
deal. The orchestration of her covers is simple with only one, maybe two,
instruments for accompaniment. This type of openness is refreshing, as the
listener gets to experience her simple but aged sound with minimal distraction
or disruption from accompaniment. This is REAL music…in every sense of the
phrase!"
After reading
what Erin had to say about Emily, you can tell how much she loves Emily's voice. She is blown away by her friend’s performances. It shows the impact the human voice can have on a person. Erin’s
opinion is the exact same as mine, Emily’s voice alone can carry any song, even
without accompaniment. So distinct. So beautiful. I have not had the pleasure
to meet this young lady, but I have had the pleasure of hearing her sing and I
am certainly happy that is the case. Here she is singing "Empty" from Lianne La Havas. This was just my personal favorite, but she has many more Youtube videos so make
sure to check them all out!
Her voice is one that keeps you
coming back for more, at least that was the case for me. I listened to the one
song that Erin sent me, then proceeded to listen to all of her songs she had
uploaded to Youtube that night. There is a quality to her voice that just
soothes, it makes you smile and leaves you stress free. The power of the human
voice, it can even take your worries away. Nothing like escaping from the real
world, and a voice like Emily’s can be a catalyst to get you away from reality.
Celebrity
Spotlight:
Passenger. Could
there be an easier pairing than these two voices. Both are so unique, that you
just can’t get enough. Passenger is not only one of my favorite singers with
his original songs, but this is one of my favorite covers of all time. I love
the original by Labrinth and Emeli Sande, but in consistency with the rest of
the covers I have featured I like this version better. His voice gives me
chills every time I hear it. I don’t know who has the more distinct voice, but
both are one of a kind. Both carry a song without accompaniment. Both blow me
away. So here is Passenger singing Labrinth’s “Beneath Your Beautiful”.
For more covers from Passenger, follow me on Twitter here!
To UNI and beyond, that's what I wanted to cover. Beyond could be from Cedar Falls all the way to Germany. Luckily this 'beyond' is just a stone throw away to Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa. The artists name is Natascha Myers, and I was lucky enough to meet her through her brother and my good friend, Austin.
Natascha (left) is a 19 year old from Waterloo, Iowa. She is going to Clarke to major in music and psychology. Other than her music she also loves spending time with the people that surround her, and travelling. She is a caring person who is easy to carry a conversation with and will always be there for the people she cares for. She is a young lady with lots of talents away from music, and I'm excited to see where those talents will take her. Although she does have those other talents, her biggest talent is in music. The first time I ever heard Tasch sing was when she was the lead in our high school's musical "Footloose". Now I had never heard her before, so I had no idea what to expect, but it was nothing like what you'll hear in the video later in this post. She surprised me with her pure voice, but I felt as if something was missing. I don't know if you have ever heard a singer find their niche, but this is exactly what happened the next time I heard Natascha sing. I had heard her doing an acoustic cover, and it was like I was hearing a whole new singer. Her voice was good in the musical back in the day, but I don't think her voice is one where she should 'belt' it. It's rather simple and sweet, and simple is by no means an insult in this context. It's so soothing to hear her sing, and how she just lets the music come to her. It is 'simple' to her and it is 'sweet' to me, giving me chills when she hits the note just right. The difference in her two performances was like night and day. She has since polished her singing even more, and I look forward to every Wednesday when she puts out her newest cover song. If you want the in on listening to more of her covers just likeNatascha Myers Musicon Facebook or follow @taschsings on Twitter. So while ya'll are doing that, I'll give you a song to listen to. Here is Tasch's cover of "Save Me" by Bo Bruce.
Celebrity Spotlight:
I have been waiting to show you guys Jasmine Thompson since the day I thought of this project. Her voice gives me goose bumps each and every time I listen to it. Just like Natascha, it is just simple and sweet and she doesn't need to sing at the top of her lungs to move us. The craziest part about it is that she is only 13(I know that voice coming out of a 13 year old, right?). Like Tasch she is young and their voices only have room to grow from here, and I can't wait to hear that growth. Once again I am going to play you a song that is so much better than the original. I personally despised this song for about 3 months, some would even say it was the bane of my exsitence, following me everywhere I went. That being said I could listen to this version day in and day out for the rest of my life. Here is a crazy good rendition of "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. Stay tuned to my twitter for more songs from Jasmine. Until next week friends!
So many good cover songs! So many songs I want you all to hear! How can I introduce you to more talented musicians, without feeling redundant? This is a question I have been asking myself since I started this blog. I have so many songs that I want you all to hear. Then the light switch was finally turned on, I had an idea. A friend of mine named Rachel sent me a cover of the song "Someone Like You" by Adele, it was so good I really wanted to put it in one of my blogs. But it didn't much fit into the fold of things I had already set out in my first posts. I also knew there was a lot of other good versions of the song out there, so I thought why not introduce something new? So here we are with our first song showdown. I'll be showing you some different covers of the same song and you can judge who sang it best. Then I'll give my personal opinion "winner" and you can see if we agree! So, without further adieu, The Someone Like You Song Showdown. Someone Like You by Adele: Covers
1. Charlie Puth and Emily Luther. This is the version of the song that sparked the idea of this blog. Talk about two fantastic voices that somehow sound even better together.
2. CIMORELLI. Holy goosebumps, when they all lock in and sing together it is magical. This version gave me more chills then the original.
3. Ice Nine Kills. I never thought I'd hear this song being screamed, but I was proven wrong. A quick change of pace for all you readers out there.
4. Sungha Jung. Who said all covers had to be sang? Talk about true talent, plus it's really pleasant to listen to the music without someone singing. It shows how moving a song can be standing alone.
5. ortoPilot. I wasn't expecting that voice to come out of that man, not even a little. It's great being surprised and having someone blow you away.
There they are folks, which one stands out to you? Personally I like them all, or else I wouldn't have posted them. But my winner is option 1, Charlie Puth and Emily Luther. The way they stand above the rest is that I was truly moved by their version. All the others are great talents and did a splendid job as well, but I think Charlie and Emily capture the feeling of the song the best. Although that is not always the end goal for covers, I feel as it was in theirs. And they reached that end goal perfectly. If you have any versions that you think I left out that are better, feel free to tweet your favorites at mehere.
I don’t
like rap music...... I guess
I shouldn’t be that harsh, but it’s definitely not my favorite genre. I do
enjoy some artists such as J. Cole and songs like “Let Me Clear My Throat” by
DJ Kool and Biz Markie. But for the most part I find rap to be hard to connect
with, and as you will see, much someone singing with conviction. I’m not taking
away from rap artists talents, it’s just not for me. With all this information
I assume you can guess my feelings on Drake, not a huge fan. I never find his
beats to be anything to write home about and his lyrics are too repetitive for
my liking. So I have never much cared to listen to any of his songs. That is
until I was reintroduced to them. That’s the beauty of a good cover, it can
bring a whole new life to a song that you previously didn’t like at all.
As I
stated in my first blog, I wanted to show all you folks some talent that is
right here at UNI. So with my second post I’ll be doing just that. Meet Andrew
Sladky.
Andrew is a 19 year old biology major from Burlington, Iowa. In high school he was a great swimmer, but believe it or not was not a part of the show choir! I have had the pleasure of meeting Andrew through the Student Admissions
Ambassadors organization here at UNI. The first time I actually ever heard his
name was when this video was brought up in a meeting. I obviously went home
right away and looked it up, I was shocked that it wasn’t rap at all and at his
voice and conviction. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I was very pleasantly
surprised.
The 5 Reasons I love this cover medley:
1. The fact that he’s wearing a Drake sweatshirt
while singing a Drake cover, I see what you did there Andrew, very clever.
2. So smooth. Upon further interactions with Andrew
I realize that his personality is just like his voice. If you know him at all,
you have probably realized how smooth he is in everything he does. It’s fantastic when people can display themselves through the power of their voice, and Andrew does just that with his smooth singing.
3. The ease. Andrew’s voice is very smooth yes, but
that is not my favorite part. I love hearing people sing that don’t try to
over-do it, but just let it come to them easily. The ease with which he sings
shows that he is a truly talented guy.
4. The creativity. Being a guy who has no musical
talent, I can’t say for sure how hard making a medley like this is. But I can
certainly say I would have never thought of doing Drake on piano like this, and
the rendition kills it.
5. Opened my ears. I have never listened to much
Drake, cause like I said I don’t much care for him. But this medley opened me
up to listen to some of his songs and compare. Although I like this better, I
realized that Drake isn’t as bad as I originally thought.
And that folks is the power of a high quality cover song, it
can open new musical horizons that you never thought of exploring.
Celebrity Spotlight:
When
doing my weekly spotlight of a celebrity, I try to connect it with my other
weekly artist. When thinking of a celebrity that is a smooth singer that doesn’t
over-do it, I immediately thought of Kina Grannis. She is an artist who is
extremely easy to listen to and she just puts me at a sense of relaxation. She
is a new celebrity who made it through Youtube, she has been posting songs for
quite some time now and even made a few of her own CD’s. She has covered songs
from “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line all the way to this cover of “Gangsta’s
Paradise” by Coolio.
This is another song that I would never thought of covering
in this way. That’s why I’m thankful for people with the ability to think of
singing a song in this fashion and pulling it off fantastically. I hope you all
are too. Stay tuned with my twitter HERE to hear more songs from the one and
only, Kina Grannis.
It’s a feeling; comfort,
relaxation, motivation. It can be a hobby, a release, a career. Music means
something different to everyone, but everyone has one thing in common, music is
a part of their lives. So when Professor Wilson said that we would be doing a
semester long blog about a topic of our choosing, I took a long time to
deliberate. I not only wanted it to be something I enjoyed, but also something
that you folks would enjoy reading. I dabbled with different topics, almost
going with food in the Cedar Valley (for those of you that don’t know, I eat
like a sumo wrestler), but it just didn't seem right. I was going to be eating
food that some of you may never be able to try, and really what’s the point in
that? So I kept thinking of things that we could all enjoy, when I stumbled
upon music. Not only could I listen to it, but I could also post things that
everyone could listen to. So here we are, writing about music.
With
that being said, I can’t just write about music in general. That is way too
broad and I am not nearly a good enough writer to separate myself from all the
other bloggers out there writing about it. So I needed something new and
original. There are so many types of music I could write about, but I wanted to
blog about something I not only enjoy but that takes talent. Then I landed on
cover music. It takes true talent to reimagine or recreate a song to make it
your own.
For my
first blog I thought I would just let you all know what you will be reading for
the next couple of months, because I can only assume you are now tantalized to
read my ramblings for that long. We will be listening to cover music ranging from
country to indie and everywhere in between. With me writing for this long I can
only assume you are all thinking; where’s the darn music? Well here we go. I
love hearing an artist just own a song. A prime example of this is John Legend’s
rendition of Rolling in the Deep.
I’m sorry to say it Adele but you have been out done. The
raspy tones in John’s voice are so convicting in this version, I just can’t
stop listening. He is a staple in the music industry, but is still not too
proud to sing someone else’s song. I don’t know about you, but I am pretty glad
that’s the case. So there’s the type songs you will be listening to for the
upcoming months. As long as you can stick it out with me, you’ll be introduced
or maybe better yet, reintroduced to multiple bone chilling songs.
Celebrity Spotlight:
And you thought we were done! Each week I will also be
highlighting a group or artist who kills the cover music game. This week’s
celebrity is Pentatonix. Since winning NBC’s acapella competition The Sing Off,
they have been spitting out cover after cover that always blows me away. The thing
that is great about them is how they could all have an individual career, but
they come together to make something truly remarkable. Whether it be Avi
shaking the foundations with his bass lines or Mitch hitting that high note
just right, every note they sing is perfectly calculated. Follow my twitter here to hear more of their songs throughout the week!
