I Look To You: Boyce Avenue's Tribute To Whitney Houston

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.

VIDEO: "Set Fire To The Rain"

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.

NEW VIDEO: Acoustic Cover - "Without You" by David Guetta & Usher

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.

If you like Boyce Avenue's cover of "Without You" then show your support and Click here to buy it on iTunes.

Boyce Avenue on Belfast's Citybeat 96.7 FM

Boyce Avenue sat down with Emma Fitzpatrick from Belfast's Citybeat 96.7 FM on Thursday to talk about touring with One Direction, how they decide what songs to cover, and other fun stuff. Check out the interview below....

The guys also performed an acoustic version of their original song On My Way. I love the way they do this.....it reminds me of how they do it in their live shows. :)

NEW VIDEO: An Acoustic Cover of Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles"

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.

NEW VIDEO: Adele's "Someone Like You" (Acoustic Cover)

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.

New Year. New Covers. New Video. New Acoustic Sessions. BOOM.

Boyce Avenue has kicked the New Year off with a bang!! They're currently touring in Europe with One Direction, and today they released their first video of the year: an absolutely incredible acoustic cover of Bruno Mars' It Will Rain.

The Bruno Mars cover, and an acoustic cover of Adele's Someone Like You, were released earlier this week on iTunes as the first two songs on the New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 3 album....Boyce Avenue's tenth album of acoustic covers.

I actually really like this song a lot. I love the lyrics and the emotion behind them. I knew that Alejandro would put his spin on it and make it amazing. But I was not prepared for how much I was gonna love it.

My initial reaction was just

....then I remembered to breathe.

I sat listening to it over and over and over again. And I found myself thinking, "Seriously?!  How does he manage to do this with every single song he sings?!?! "

Seriously.  The guy is crazy talented.  He never ceases to amaze me.  Ever.

The guitar is so pretty with the delay and the reverb.....the lyrics are desperate and emotional, and the angst in Alejandro's voice is SO fitting for them.....wait....is that.....yep....sure enough....he's beatboxing again. So awesome. :)

And that bass note he hits at the end of the chorus with the last "whooooooooo" (listen for it at about 1:42 and again at 3:14....wow, it just moves through me and gives me goosebumps.

Then he gets all into it in the bridge, and the echo of his "Don't you say goodbye...." is a nice subtle touch.







I know, right?!?! AMAZING.  Yeah, this one is an instant favorite. No question.

This isn't the first time Boyce Avenue has taken a Bruno Mars song and Boyced it.  Let's take a look, shall we?


October 10, 2010 - Just The Way You Are

This is one of those songs that I really did not like at all until Boyce Avenue covered it. And there's so much to love about this video. Daniel on the piano? Awesome. Fabian playing with his eyes closed, totally into the music? Adorable. The way Alejandro gets really into it and belts out the lyrics at the 3-minute mark? The control he displays? Un-freaking-believable.




February 10, 2011 - Grenade

Nothing but Alejandro singing and Daniel on the violin....man, this is just epic in every way. Alejandro's intensity at the 3:05 mark gives me goosebumps. Every. Single. Time.



And then there's this one....

February 27, 2011 - Nothin' On You/My Love/Rocketeer

I could write an entire post about why I love this one so much.

-- The mash-up of these three songs is just freaking genius.

-- The video was filmed at The Vera Project here in Seattle. Great venue dedicated to artists and the community.  Extra cool points to the guys for using it for one of their videos.

-- Everything about this cover and this video is just so damn sexy....The guitar....that falsetto?  (Are you freaking kidding me?)  I get completely lost in this song every time I listen to it.

-- When Alejandro starts into Rocketeer at 3:11, I just melt....and the way he sings, "Oh, oh, let's flyyyyyy....." at 3:37....it kills me. Not gonna lie. It takes my perfectly-harmless-and-not-at-all-inappropriate crush to a whole new level.

This one is, by far, one of my favorite covers.



I know I sound like a broken record, but I love these guys so much.  They are so incredibly talented.  I have yet to meet someone who isn't impressed by them.  I am so excited to see what they have in store for us in 2012, but if this latest video is any indication of what is to come, it's going to be a very, very good year indeed.  :)


Just The Way You Are, Grenade and Nothin' On You/My Love/Rocketeer are available on New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 1.  Click here to purchase them on iTunes.


It Will Rain is available on New Acoustic Sessions, Volume 3. Click here to purchase it on iTunes.

Boyce Avenue Ends The Year With Their Official Video For "Find Me"

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"

Click here to purchase the album on iTunes.

Katy Perry's Songs Are Always Better Once They've Been Boyced

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.

NEW VIDEO: Wherever You Will Go (Acoustic Cover)

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!!