This week's video from Boyce Avenue is a cover "Glad You Came" by The Wanted. I've heard this song on the radio a few times, and never really paid much attention to it, but whenever Boyce Avenue covers a song, I make a point to listen to it....they tend to cover songs that have great lyrics. Turns out this one is really fun to sing along to. I'm not sure which part of this song is a verse and which is the chorus....but there's one part where the last word in each line is the first word in the next. Alejandro changes it up a little bit, but I still think it's cool.
Turn the lights out now
Now I'll take you by the hand
Hand you another drink
Drink it if you can
Can you spend a little time,
Time is slipping away,
Away from us so stay,
Stay with me I can make,
Make you glad you came
What a fun video this is!! This one features all three of the guys, and it also
has a different feel to it with the split screens and the white and gray
framing synchronized to the beat of the cajon. The upbeat tempo makes
it virtually impossible not to tap your foot and bob your head along, at the very least. Like
their covers of "Only Girl" and "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" this
cover makes me want to get up and dance around my living room like a
nutter. :)
The guitars in this cover are ah-may-zing!! I love the effect the e-bow has on the sound of Fabian's electric guitar. The way it fades in at the beginning of the song is really cool. The electric and acoustic compliment each other beautifully. It's really a genius arrangement all the way around.
I know Daniel is happily married, but holy hells, he's sexy playin' the cajon. Alejandro is doing that thing he does where he alternates between plucking the strings and strumming. The acoustic when he's plucking the strings is so pretty (you can really hear it on headphones.)
All three of the guys really seem to be enjoying themselves in this one. Fabian's bobbing his head pretty much throughout the entire song, Daniel's smile at the :58 mark is adorable, Alejandro gives a subtle little grin several times, and if you watch closely, you can even catch him slapping the strings at the 2:05 mark. It's fun to watch them get into the song like this.
So, yeah....I think it's safe to say, I love this cover, and it will get lots of plays on my ipod. :)
"Glad You Came" and two other new covers (Gotye's
"Somebody That I Used To Know" and Fun's "We Are Young") are available on Boyce Avenue's
New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 3 on iTunes. Click here to buy them.
When Boyce Avenue released this video, a friend of mine posted it on her Facebook Wall with the caption, "'If you want it, come and get it, for cryin' out loud'....is that an invitation??" Haha, I know exactly how she feels.
I really love this cover. Like, a lot. I've always loved this song. The story of the different phases one goes through after making a mistake in a relationship is depicted so well in the lyrics. Alejandro singing it just makes me love it even more. It suits his voice SO well.
I really like the mood of this video. The low light, the fact that it's
just him sitting alone, adds to the loneliness of the song. The
acoustic is beautiful. He's really feelin' this one, and the moment when
he really belts out the lyrics at the 2:46 mark is just..... *sigh*
....it's perfection.
I really just don't know what else to say about this cover. I. LOVE. IT. It's just so mellow and relaxing. This is how I love Boyce Avenue the best....their acoustic stuff is my happiest of happy places, musically speaking. It has been added to my "Boyce Avenue Lullabies" playlist. It will get a lot of plays. ♥ "Babylon" is available on Boyce Avenue's New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 3 on iTunes. Click here to buy it.
Whitney Houston's death on February 11th was mourned by fans around the world and by the countless artists who had worked with her in the music and film industries.
On twitter, Alejandro and Fabian tweeted their sorrow at the news. Alejandro said she had "one of my favorite voices, always" and Fabian called her "one of the greatest female singers of all time." I assumed they would pay tribute to her with a cover of one of her songs, but I could not imagine what song it would be.
My memories of Whitney Houston were of her earlier career, and I wasn't familiar with the song they chose....if I had heard it, I didn't remember it. But their choice couldn't have been more perfect. "I Look To You" is an incredible song of hope and faith. Written by R. Kelly, it is the title track from Whitney Houston's seventh and final studio album, released in August 2009.
Alejandro sings this song beautifully, hitting the falsettos perfectly, and even including some subtle vocal runs reminiscent of Whitney Houston's style. Listening to this song for the first time, I got very emotional....it made me think of my sister, who has always been a huge source of strength and support for me. It also made me reflect on my faith and the belief that God lifts us and strengthens us through life's storms.
Click here to buy Boyce Avenue's cover of "I Look To You" on iTunes.
Boyce Avenue has covered Adele's "Set Fire To The Rain" and it is, in my opinion, their best Adele cover to date.
I really love this song, and I always love it when the guys play what my friend Vikki calls "the sexy guitar." The sound the electric guitar produces when it's used with a delay and reverb is so cool....it has a haunting, ethereal quality to it that really fits the mood of the song.
The Normandy guitar Fabian is playing in this video is my favorite out of all the guitars he plays. I've heard him call it a "manly guitar" ....with a metal body, it can't be a light piece of equipment. I just love everything about it....it suits him really well.
I would be remiss if I didn't point out Alejandro's incredible vocal skills. So many people define a powerful vocal by the volume or range of a singer, but for me, Alejandro proves time and time again that sometimes less is more. He does that so well in this cover, holding those long notes flawlessly, and putting all of his heart and soul into the lyrics.
Click here to buy Boyce Avenue's cover of "Set Fire To The Rain" on iTunes.
I'm just gonna put this out there....I have absolutely NO IDEA how people can listen to Boyce Avenue and not fall completely in love with them. It seriously boggles my mind.
I realize I'm a bit biased, what with my unrelenting obsession and all, but it seems I always love the covers they do so much more than the originals. This is especially true when they take an upbeat, techno, dance club song that has been painfully overplayed on the radio, and they turn into something completely different, and make it sound like a whole new song. They do it often, and they do it well.
Rihanna's Only Girl and We Found Love.
Katy Perry's Teenage Dream, Firework, and The One That Got Away.
Bruno Mars' Grenade.
Their AMAZING Nothin' On You/My Love/Rocketeer mash-up.
The list goes on and on....
And now they've done it again, with David Guetta and Usher's Without You.
I really like the original version of this song a lot. It has an awesome beat, and it's virtually impossible for me to listen to it and successfully resist the urge to dance around like a nutter.
But the lyrics are vulnerable and sad, and in my opinion, they don't match the music at all. Even watching the video, I could never figure out why everyone was dancing around and happy when Usher was so full of angst.
Here's the video for the original version from David Guetta featuring Usher.
Boyce Avenue's version, on the other hand, is much more fitting for the lyrics.
I listen to so much Boyce Avenue that Alejandro's voice has become familiar to me. There are certain things about his voice when he sings that always stand out to me....the raspiness of it when he sings down in his lower register, the smooth silkiness of his falsettos, the steady control he displays when he holds the long notes, and the raw emotion when he gets really into it and just belts out the lyrics....it's all just very comfortable to me. I put on a pair of headphones, turn up he volume, close my eyes, and just curl up in it, the way you curl up in a warm blanket.
This video has all of that and more. I especially enjoyed watching Fabian in this one....you can tell he's really feelin' the music by the way he's bouncin' his head around. :) Daniel is always fun to watch on the Cajon, and I love how it's used to increase the energy of the song as it progresses. It makes it fun to listen to without distracting from the lyrics.
I love, love, LOVE the combination of acoustic and electric guitars in this cover. There's this subtle little lick in the chorus that I noticed and I just think it's so cool...the first time I heard it was at about 1:33, played by Fabian on the electric....but then, in the second chorus, you can hear it played on both the acoustic (2:30, 2:32, 2:34, 2:37, 2:39, and 2:41) and then on the electric (2:45, 2:49, 2:53, 2:55) and I just love the way it takes two instruments that sound so different and brings them together. It's a really awesome arrangement.
Boyce Avenue recently teamed up with fellow YouTuber Alex Goot for the second time to record an acoustic cover of Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles. The single is available on iTunes (Cover Collaborations, Volume 2) and the video was released today.
I really like this song a lot, so I was excited that Boyce Avenue decided to cover it. Their last collaboration with Alex, an amazing acoustic cover of Rihanna's Only Girl (In The World), is one of my favorite Boyce Avenue covers (easily in my Top Ten.) Alex is an incredibly talented pianist....add Alejandro on an acoustic and Daniel on the Cajon to the mix, and you just know it's gonna be awesome!!
What I love about this cover/video:
I love the sound that the piano and the acoustic create when they play the same notes in unison....I first heard it at about the 1:25 mark, and again at 2:49. you can hear it in other spots throughout the song, but those two spots are where it's most prominent...to my ear, anyhow. In Vanessa's version of the song, the notes are played on a violin, but the sound produced by the combination of the piano and the acoustic is just so different and unique...it's just cool as hell.
One of the things I love about Boyce Avenue is how much they love what they do, and that smile that Alejandro gives Alex at 2:26 is so fantastic....you can tell he's having fun. :)
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.
A while back, a fan named Caoimhe asked Boyce Avenue's Alejandro Manzano (on his Facebook Wall) if he would ever cover Tom Petty's "Free Falling" and she posted this video of John Mayer's incredible cover of it:
Here's what Alejandro had to say:
"LOVE this! But probably not because John Mayer crushed it! There is no room for me in this cover, haha. I always ask myself that before a cover. 'Is there any room for Boyce in here?' If the answer is no then we don't. And sadly, the answer is no, there is no room for us here. :( He did SUCH an amazing job!"
When I first saw the new video for Boyce Avenue's versionof "Someone Like You" by Adele, I immediately thought of that conversation on Alejandro's Facebook Wall.
This is one of the things I admire and respect about Alejandro....he knows his limits, and he knows that nobody is going to sing this song like Adele does. When he decided to cover Someone Like You, he recognized that he would never be able to compete with the original version. So, he did what he does best....he re-worked it to fit his style and his vocal range. It's much softer than Adele's version, but it's just as heartbreaking. The pain and vulnerability of the song's lyrics are still there, and the acoustic guitar, combined with the violin, add a very intimate feel to it.
In watching the video, I saw exactly what Alejandro was talking about when he responded to Caoimhe's question. And while I might be just a tad biased, I think it's safe to say he found room for himself in this cover.....and in his interpretation of it, he pulled it off beautifully.
For their final video of 2011, the guys have released the official video for their original song Find Me.
If someone were to ask me, "What is Boyce Avenue's best original song?" I would answer, "Find Me. Without question." It is beautifully composed. The lyrics are incredibly romantic. It absolutely blows my mind that this is the first song Alejandro ever wrote.
A few months ago, I tried to explain to Boyce Avenue's Alejandro Manzano why I loved the song "Find Me" so much, and I had trouble finding the words. But somehow he got what I was trying to say. He told me, "This reaction and connection is what we strive for with every song we play."
Now, with the release of the video, I find myself searching for the right words again.
I want to write about why I love this song so much. I want to write about how even though I'm not a musician, I love all of the instrumental complexities I hear when I listen to it....the little details and the way the instruments all blend together so perfectly. (I actually considered breaking it down and pointing out all of the details I love about it, and where they happen in the song, but it would probably get too complex, and it would probably not make any sense to anyone but me, and maybe Alejandro.)
I want to write about how listening to this song changed the way I listen to music, and helped me appreciate music more than any other song I've ever listened to.
I want to write about how I can listen to this song on a pair of headphones and get completely lost in it.
I want to write about how the lyrics remind me of how magical and intense love can be.
The truth is, the way I feel about the song is just that....it's the way I feel about it, and sometimes you can't find the right words to describe how you feel. You either get it or you don't. So I'll just leave it at this: The song is awesome. I love the song. And I am grateful for what I feel when I listen to it.
The video is pretty cool....not at all what I expected. The couple is absolutely gorgeous. I love the way the colors change and flow in the background of the set the guys are in. It kinda looks like they're inside a kaleidoscope, which goes along with the storyline. I wonder if that was what they were going for....
Find Me is available on the album "All We Have Left"
Boyce Avenue released their third Katy Perry cover this week....an acoustic version of The One That Got Away.
A couple of weeks ago, I blogged about how Boyce Avenue can take a song that is just okay and turn it into something I love. Their covers of Katy Perry's songs are a perfect example of exactly what I'm talking about. I actually really like Katy's stuff. It's a lot of fun to dance to. But sometimes her lyrics are just a bit too suggestive for my tastes, and I think her overall image is a little bit inappropriate for the teenage girls who idolize her. So while I don't necessarily change the station when her songs come on the radio, I would never buy them. I'd much rather support artists that demonstrate the notion that a song doesn't have to be raunchy or sexually explicit to be good. Artists like Boyce Avenue, for example.
My personal opinion is that Katy Perry's songs are always better once they've been Boyced. So I thought it would be fun to look at the three Katy Perry songs that Boyce Avenue has covered and invite you to see what I'm talking about. :)
First they did it with their cover of Teenage Dream. The original lyrics to this song suggest that getting drunk on the beach, getting a hotel room and going all the way (with no regrets) is romantic. Alejandro made this song so much better by changing the lyrics in the second verse and in the chorus, turning the message of the song into, "Let's take our time and get to know each other....there's no need to rush." I really admire and respect the choices that he made when he re-wrote the lyrics to this song. It sends a much more appropriate message to the teenage audience the song was originally targeted for.
(Sidenote: You know that "thump" I love in Dare To Believe? There's one in Teenage Dream, too....right as he hits that power note at the 3:00 mark, which also happens to be my favorite part of the song. ♥)
Then, there's Firework, a collaboration Boyce Avenue did with David Choi on the violin. This one amazes me, because even though the tempo of the song doesn't change from the original, it somehow seems more intimate, more personal, more meaningful. There's something about the softness of Alejandro's voice in this one just struck a chord with me. I like to think he's singing it to people who are really struggling with low self-esteem, or are just in a dark place, encouraging them to remember how amazing they are, which is clearly the message intended with this song.
He also changed the lyrics in the bridge, replacing Katy's "Boom, boom, boom, even brighter than the moon, moon, moon...." with "So don't ever take your life for granted, you're the only one who needs to rule your world; when life leaves you feelin' empty-handed, light it up and show 'em what you're worth."
BOOM indeed!! Just like that, the song is so much better.
And now, there's The One That Got Away. Like the others, the tempo doesn't change from the original, but it feels slower somehow, more meaningful. This song has heartbreaking lyrics, and Boyce Avenue's stripped down acoustic cover delivers the message of the song much more powerfully than the upbeat techno dance club feel of the original.
My favorite part of this cover is at the 3:45 mark. Alejandro gets really into the song and belts out, "The wahhhhhhhn, the wahhhhhhhn....." and it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
I would also like to mention that it's nice to see Fabian in this video. somehow, seeing all three of the guys in their videos makes them feel complete to me.
So, there it is....that's why I say that Katy Perry's songs are always better once they've been Boyced. Do you agree? Disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Earlier this week, Boyce Avenue tweeted that they would be releasing a video today for a heavily requested cover....
.....and this morning they released the video for their latest cover, a flawless acoustic version of The Calling's "Wherever You Will Go."
Indeed, this is a heavily requested cover....fans have been asking the guys to Boyce this one for quite a while, and judging from the reactions I've seen on Facebook and Twitter this morning, I think it's safe to say that they definitely did not let us down!! :)
I can say with absolute certainty that this video is going to quickly make its way into my Top 10 Favorite Boyce Avenue videos. The song is perfect for Alejandro's voice, and everything about this video is perfect, in my opinion. The lighting, the close-ups, the intimacy and emotion, all combine perfectly to make this one a video that will have female fans swooning and hitting the replay button over and over again (myself included.)
I spend every Sunday morning chatting with several other hardcore fans about every detail of the newest video, and this morning, our attention was focused on the way Alejandro transitions from finger plucking the guitar strings to strumming and back to finger plucking again so effortlessly. This isn't the first time I've mentioned how impressive I find this....I blogged about it when they released their video for "Jumper" back in October. That was the first time I had actually spotted the transition in one of their videos, and today, I noticed it right away, at the 2:08 mark.
But what I find even more baffling is the moment when he slaps the guitar strings at the 1:33 mark....it must still be in his palm, so I can only assume he moves it right back into place and starts strumming again.
How does he DO that?!
Maybe for people who play guitar, and especially one who plays as well as Alejandro does, this is a simple thing to do, as automatic as breathing, something he does without even thinking about it....but I find it amazing. Every time I notice something like this, it makes me respect him even more as a musician.
So, aside from all the gushing, and the obsessing over Alejandro's musical slight of hand, I do love this video, and I am happily sharing it on Facebook and Twitter. While playing it on repeat. :)
What do you think of Boyce Avenue's latest video? Share your thoughts in the comments!!
I've never really been a huge Rihanna fan, but Boyce Avenue has always had a way of making me like her songs.
The first time it happened was shortly after I discovered them on YouTube. I came across the video for their acoustic cover of "Disturbia" while browsing their YouTube channel. Then, I found the videos for their covers of "Umbrella" and "Hate That I Love You."
Check these out....this is vintage Boyce Avenue!!
UMBRELLA
HATE THAT I LOVE YOU
DISTURBIA
There's also a mash-up that they did of Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around" and Rihanna's "Rehab" that is pure genius:
musicality: (noun) Tastefulness and accomplishment in music
In January of this year, they released a cover of Rihanna's "Only Girl" (a collaboration with the VERY talented Alex Goot.) I have always hated that song. I wanted to like it, because it had an awesome beat, but the lyrics were so raunchy, I couldn't bring myself to like it, let alone love it.
Then it got Boyced.
Alejandro changed the lyrics and turned what I thought was an incredibly shallow song into one of the most romantic covers they've ever done.
Boyce Avenue's cover of "Only Girl" completely changed the way I viewed Alejandro as an artist. I had always been impressed with him, but my admiration and respect reached new heights with his take on "Only Girl." It is one of my favorite Boyce Avenue Covers. I love the lyrics, I love how it picks up when the cajon kicks in on the second verse....I just love everything about it.
I have come to trust that when Boyce Avenue covers a Rihanna song, I'm gonna end up liking it in spite of myself. Their new acoustic cover of "We Found Love" is no exception....with Alejandro on the piano, and Daniel rockin' the cajon, it was bound to happen.
To purchase these and other songs from Boyce Avenue, including their original album All We Have Left, click on the album titles below, or visit www.itunes.com/BoyceAvenue.
Boyce Avenue released the official video for their original song "Dare To Believe" last weekend. The song was written by Alejandro Manzano. Here's what he has to say about "Dare to Believe" and what it means to him:
If you've ever found yourself in a moment in your life where you have to make a life-altering decision, and you just feel like you've hit rock bottom, and deep inside you know something has to change, this song is about that pivotal moment where you try your best to turn it all around for the better. You might fail...you might succeed....that's irrelevant. what's important is that you dared to try."
This is easily my favorite original song by Boyce Avenue, for very personal reasons. I've kinda been going back and forth for the past week, trying to decide how much of it I want to share here on the blog. I finally decided to just sit down and write whatever comes to mind, so please forgive me if this post is a little bit disjointed.
"Dare To Believe" really resonated with me the very first time I heard it. It was a different version of the song, on Boyce Avenue's first album, All You're Meant To Be. At the time, I was married, but my marriage was not happy....in fact, it had just started to really fall apart when I first discovered the guys on YouTube. My husband and I both had people close to us, friends and family, telling us that it wasn't worth it,and that we should just call it quits and go our separate ways. It was so frustrating for me, because I still believed in us....I believed that if we could just forgive each other for all the wrongs we had done and somehow get back to why we fell in love to begin with, that we could somehow heal the wounds in our marriage.
When I heard "Dare to Believe" for the first time, the lyrics seemed to represent everything I was feeling at the time. I listened to it over and over again and held on to the hope that somehow, everything would work out.
Less than a year later, the marriage ended. I returned to Seattle, where I had spent most of my life, and started over. I felt incredibly hopeless and I was so depressed. I had fought so hard to make the marriage work, and I had failed. eight years of my life was just...gone. It was not too long after this that All We Have Left was released. The first time I heard the piano version of "Dare To Believe" I was laying in my room, and as soon as the music started, I began to cry. As I listened, this feeling of peace came over me, and I knew that even though things hadn't turned out the way I had hoped they would, everything was going to be okay.
That was 16 months ago. I am still single. I live in a small one-bedroom apartment with my dog, and I am happier than I have ever been in my life. Sure, it gets lonely, and it still makes me sad to think that the life I had hoped for didn't turn out the way I thought it would. But I knew that something had to change, and I dared to believe that I would somehow find happiness in the wake of a failed marriage. I'm grateful for the time we had together, every minute of it, because it changed me for the better. It helped me to grow into the strong, independent woman I am today. And it taught me a lot about forgiveness.
I love the words in the chorus of this song:
No more, we're gonna lose everything, if we believe all the lies....No more, this world's runnin' on empty, and there's no reason why....
There is far too much negativity, too much hostility, too much anger in the world. We are quick to anger, and slow to forgive. Why do we do that to each other? It's such a sad thing to see so much hurt in the world.
"Dare to Believe" has become a sort of anthem for my life over the last two years, and it means so much more to me than I can put into words, but my interpretation of it is pretty straightforward, and it can be summed up in two words from the second verse:
Embrace forgiveness
I really believe that this is the key to happiness. Love one another. Forgive one another. Don't give in to the anger, the hate, the negativity, the hostility....because if we do, nobody wins.
I am thrilled to share this video. It's a beautiful song, with a simple, yet powerful message.
Please feel free to share your thoughts about the video, and about what the song means to you, in the comments. ♥
Boyce Avenue fans are so spoiled....a new video every week is really impressive, especially from a band who is touring as extensively as these guys are. Their latest video is a great cover of Third Eye Blind's Jumper, which was released on iTunes on October 15th.
I know I'm always talking about how awesome Alejandro is in my video reviews....his voice, his guitar playing, his overall awesomeness, and this video has all of that. I especially love the guitar from 2:34 to 2:54. He goes from strumming with a pick, to fingerpicking, and back to strumming with a pick, and makes it look effortless. At first, I was confused as to where the pick disappears to, but if you watch closely, you can actually see him tuck it away as part of the transition, and then pull it back out again. It's pretty cool....he does it with such finesse, it's easy to miss unless you're watching for it.
I also want to take a moment to express some love and appreciation to Daniel....that guy can rock a Cajon like nobody's business!! I have always thought drums in general were very cool, and I'm a big fan of the Cajon. I love how primitive it is. I love the sound it produces. The first video I ever saw from Boyce Avenue was their cover of One Republic's Apologize and I remember watching Daniel play the Cajon and thinking to myself, "What in the world is that box he's pounding on??" At the time, I thought it looked like a fairly easy instrument to play, but I'm sure it's more complicated than it looks.
These guys are just so talented, and I have so much respect for them. Because of Boyce Avenue, I have a greater love and appreciation for music in general, especially acoustic music. I've learned so much about the ways you can manipulate a guitar to produce different sounds from it. I'm always asking Alejandro about musical techniques. He's really good about answering my questions, and he does it in a way that makes it easy to understand. It makes me appreciate music even more, and respect him even more as a musician. The fact that he takes the time to answer my questions at all is just further proof of what a cool guy he is. But I digress.
Boyce Avenue's latest cover, a softer, "Boyced" version of One Direction's What Makes you Beautiful, was released on iTunes on October 15th, and the video was uploaded to YouTube on October 16th.
I had never heard of One Direction until I saw Boyce fans on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter requesting a Boyce Avenue cover of What Makes You Beautiful. So, I decided to look them up. :)
One Direction are a British-Irish boy band, consisting of members Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. They finished third on the seventh series of The X Factor. All five of the band's members applied as solo candidates to the competition, but failed to qualify for the "Boys" category. At the suggestion of guest judge Nicole Scherzinger, the five teens were put into a band, thus qualifying for the "Groups" category. After the elimination of the other three groups within four weeks, they became Simon Cowell's last act in the competition, and finished third behind runner-up Rebecca Ferguson and winner Matt Cardle.
Aside from the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync, I'm not generally a fan of boy bands, and One Direction is no exception. When I heard Boyce Avenue was going to be covering their song, I went and found their video for What Makes You Beautiful on YouTube.
Not gonna lie....they're just a little too....well, boy bandish for my tastes. Some of the lyrics, in my opinion, are uber cheesy. ("So girl, c'mon...you got it wrong...to prove I'm right I put it in a song..."or "The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed....")
If this song came on the radio, chances are very good my reaction would be, "GAH!! Sorry, boys...." and a quick change of the station.
Enter Boyce Avenue.
Because I'm a Boyce Avenue junkie, and I know what Alejandro is capable of, I'll give any song that they cover a chance.
I still think the lyrics are pretty cheesy. But there's one line in the chorus that, when I hear Alejandro sing it, somehow becomes romantic and charming:
"You don't know you're beautiful....that's what makes you beautiful."
Suddenly, the message of the song shines through: humility is beautiful. And, just like that, over the last few days, the Boyced version of "What Makes You Beautiful" has started to grow on me, cheesy lyrics and all.
So, once again, Boyce Avenue has taken a song I would not normally care for at all, and made me like it. A lot. It just strengthens for me the theory that a lot of the mainstream music out there has potential....it's just the wrong artist singing it, or the wrong arrangement, or it just needs a few simple changes to take it from good to great. Boyce Avenue demonstrates this again and again with their take of so many songs. It's one of the things I love about them.
But wait, there's more!!
Today, I was in my happy place (listening to Boyce Avenue on headphones) and I heard an oh-so-subtle "thump" in the chorus, right when Alejandro sings, "That's what makes you beautiful." It reminded me of the "thump" in Dare To Believe, but since there's no piano in What Makes You Beautiful, I was very curious to know what it was. So, I asked him about it.
Me: Soooo....I swear I can hear a subtle percussive "thump" in What Makes You Beautiful...every time you sing, "...That's what makes you beautiful..." in the chorus. What is it? It sounds very much like the "thump" I love so much in Dare To Believe, but it's more subtle. I'm not imagining it, am I??
Alejandro: slapping the electric strings. you can see it in one of the shots in the video ;)
Sure enough, at the :54 mark, you can see exactly what he's talking about:
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love these little details....instrumental subtleties that Alejandro puts into the songs. The timing of this little "thump" really resonated with me, because with that subtle little sound, "You don't know you're beautiful....that's what makes you beautiful," becomes, "You don't know....you don't know you're beautiful....that's what makes you beautiful." Maybe it's just my interpretation of the arrangement, but I can't help but wonder if Alejandro included it to drive the point of the song home. Intentional or not, it's perfectly timed, and to be honest, it's what makes me love the song. ♥
Boyce Avenue's version of What Makes You Beautiful is available on the New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 2 Album on iTunes. Click here to preview/buy the album.
Journey's "Faithfully" is easily one of my favorite songs of all time, so when Boyce Avenue decided to cover it, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew it would be good....everything Boyce Avenue does is incredible. But I knew that no matter how good Boyce Avenue's version of it was, it wouldn't top the original for me.
Staying true to form, Alejandro has come up with an arrangement that pays homage to the original, but at the same time, he has made it his own. I would have loved to have seen him do this one on the piano, and I think I would love it so much more if he had.
My personal opinion: Boyce Avenue's cover is not as good as the original, but I really didn't expect it to be in this case. I love these guys. I love everything they do. This cover is no exception. They have done the song justice, and I think it's safe to say that Steve Perry would be proud. ♥
The song is available on iTunes on the New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 2 album.
Check out the video for the original version by Journey below:
Last week, Boyce Avenue released the video for the first of two collaborations Boyce Avenue did with fellow YouTuber Tyler Ward. This week they released the second one....a beautiful cover of Coldplay's "Fix You."
I wasn't too familiar with the original by Coldplay (shame on me) but I went and listened to it a couple of months ago when a friend mentioned it was one of her favorite songs EVER. Great song, but it didn't really resonate with me until I heard Boyce Avenue's take on it....this tends to happen on a pretty regular basis.
This cover is just amazing. It's very quickly moving its way up on my list of favorite Boyce Avenue covers. Alejandro and Tyler sound so good together! But honestly for me, the best part of the video is from about 2:33 on. Alejandro plays that guitar riff so flawlessly (I love Daniel's face at 2:37...you can tell he's very proud of Alejandro)....the control and emotion in Alejandro's voice from 3:55 to 4:22 is amazing.....and Daniel is rockin' that Cajon!! :)
One thing I did notice while watching Coldplay's video for "Fix You" is that they seem to put on an amazing live show, and their fans LOVE them. As an artist, I would think to hear thousands and thousands of people singing your songs would be such an amazing experience. Just for fun, here's Coldplay's video for "Fix You":
Boyce Avenue recently collaborated with fellow YouTuber Tyler Ward, who will be opening for them on the upcoming European leg of their Fall Tour. Together, they recorded two new acoustic covers: Coldplay's Fix You and Fuel's Shimmer.
Tyler has said that Boyce Avenue is one of his biggest influences, and fans have been requesting a Boyce Avenue/Tyler Ward collab for quite some time now. (Watch the guys talk about this at the end of the video.)
Today, Boyce Avenue released the video for Shimmer. Have a look. And a listen. :)
I like it.....I had never heard the original by Fuel....or if I had, I didn't remember it. So, I went and looked for it, and while I couldn't find an "official video" for the song, I found this version of it, performed live on VH1's Storytellers....10 years ago. And now I know now why I don't remember the song. It's because I never would have listened to it. It was not then, nor is it now, my kind of music.
For comparison, here's the video of Fuel performing "Shimmer" live. Notice the title of it says it's the "best version" ...I beg to differ. I assert that the Boyce Avenue/Tyler Ward version DOMINATES Fuel's version, and is therefore, in my book at least, the "best version." But what do I know? I'm biased. You be the judge.
Once again, Boyce Avenue has taken a song that I would never listen to and made me listen to it repeatedly. They're very good at that. :)
Side note: It just so happens that Tyler Ward & Crew kicked off their first US/Canada Tour two nights ago right here in Seattle, and I went and checked them out. IT WAS AMAZING!! (More on that later this week in another post.)
What do you think of the new video? And for those of you in Europe, how excited are you that Tyler will be opening for Boyce Avenue in November?
This cover was released on iTunes a few weeks ago....lots of fans asked for this one, and once again, Boyce Avenue doesn't disappoint. This collaboration was the second with fellow YouTuber Tiffany Alvord.
Even though I bought this on iTunes the day it was available, I haven't really listened to it as much as some of their other covers, so I haven't gotten lost in the music the way I often do with these guys. But the videos always make me "discover" something new in the song, and this time it was the guitar at 3:45. I just love it....the sound, the melody, and of course watching Alejandro play the guitar never gets old for me.
Alejandro has always been so great about talking to fans on his Facebook Wall, and I've asked him so many questions about technique....one thing I've learned from him is that the guitar is a very versatile instrument, and I love all the amazing sounds that can come from it based on how it's being played, or what it's hooked up to. Delay, reverb, an e-bow, harmonics....each technique produces a different sound and gives the music its personality.
I can't believe they'll be kicking off their US/Canada Fall Tour here in Seattle in less than a week!! I'm beside myself with excitement and anticipation!!
Another video was uploaded today from Boyce Avenue featuring Megan Nicole, who will be joining them on their US/Canada Fall Tour for the West Coast (September) shows.
I am not a Taylor Swift fan. AT ALL. So much so that on the rare occasion that I'm listening to the radio, and she comes on, I turn it off. I'm not really sure why....I've just never been a fan of country music. But I do think the lyrics to some of her songs are amazing, and this one has a great message to it.
I really like the way Alejandro and Megan Nicole sound together. I'd love to see them sing something together live.
And....hard as I try, I can't post about this without pointing out the smile at 2:55....
I caught Daniel smiling in the background a few times too. It makes me happy to see them enjoying themselves so much....it's so obvious these guys love what they do. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home." (Author Unknown)
Share your thoughts about the video in the comments below. Thanks for visiting! :)
Another new video on YouTube today!! This is one fans have been requesting for a while now: 3 Doors Down's "Here Without You"
I really like this one a lot. I've always loved this song, so hearing Alejandro sing it is....*sigh*..... :)
I was listening to it on headphones the other night, and I noticed this interesting "click click click" sound, and I figured it must be Alejandro's pick on the guitar strings. I'm always asking him about stuff like this on his Facebook Wall. So, naturally, I asked him about it.
Me: Okay, I swear when I listen to "Here Without You" on headphones, I can actually hear your pick on the guitar strings at the beginning and again in the 2nd verse....is that really what I'm hearing? 'Cuz if it is, I think it's SO cool. :)
Alejandro: MELENIE!! haha what a good ear! ;) that's EXACTLY what that is. Because I'm plucking the strings, you can't hear it when I'm strumming ;)
#HeadphonesFTW
So....I challenge all of you to listen to "Here Without You" on a pair of headphones and see if you can hear him plucking the strings. :)
Yeah, Boyce Avenue, acoustic, on a pair of headphones, is my happy place. I never get tired of it. How could I, when it sounds this amazing?!?!
In September of 2007, Boyce Avenue began showcasing their emotive, radio-friendly style on YouTube with videos of original material, as well as cover versions of popular songs. The videos began to resonate instantly with YouTube viewers. To date, the band has accumulated over 300 million views on YouTube, and has over a half million subscribers, making their channel one of the most frequented worldwide on YouTube. Their covers have been released in the form of seven digital EPs via their independent record label, 3Peace Records.
In 2008, they released their first full-length album of original music, All You’re Meant to Be.
In 2009, with their sights set on connecting with their online fan base, they turned their attention to touring, playing four headlining shows in the Philippines. Since then, the band has completed four tours in Europe, including shows in Germany, Ireland, France and the UK, and three US/Canada tours, with sold out shows in such major markets as Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco and Seattle, and near-capacity shows in many other cities.
In addition to these tours, Boyce Avenue returned to the Phillipines in February 2010 to play two shows with 2009 American Idol Winner Kris Allen and the popular dance group The Jabbawockees, and opened two shows for The Goo Goo Dolls in Florida in August 2010.
In March 2010, the band released their second album of original material, All We Have Left. The album contains re-worked songs from their debut album, as well as new, previously unreleased songs.
Incredibly talented, down to earth and hard-working, keeping their fans at the forefront of everything they do, Boyce Avenue are well on their way to becoming one of the most successful bands in the industry.
