Ava Rose Paul

Comp/Contrast
10/25/19

I Still Believe In You

Vince Gill:
Unlike other country singers, Vince Gill doesn’t sing just from the back of the throat. He has
placement and lets every note soar. I love the way he finishes every note. He doesn’t just let it
fall, he finishes it with care. The way he sings it, it makes it universal, because he’s not just a
country singer, he’s a singer. There’s some twang on it, but not too much. He kills me. His voice
is just like honey, smooth and sweet.

Trisha Yearwood and Michael McDonald:

I wish there was more connection from each word. The way Vince Gill connects each word, so
that you’re hanging onto every word. Need better transitions, but it still sounds beautiful.
Michael has a bluesy voice, that I can feel the pain. A lot of placement in the front, almost too
much but that’s what works for him, I suppose. Their harmonizing is nice. I wish there was more
ease in the song. I want more connection to the meaning of the words as well.

Simon Casey:
Wow, beautiful voice. The placement is off the charts. He goes into falsetto in the beginning for
“rain”, didn’t expect it. Beautiful belt because his placement is incredible. I wish he knew better
what he was saying. He’s smiling/smizing too much to the camera, where I feel like he doesn’t
know the point of the song. For the belt “I Still Believe” he has a lot of support that I believe he
can go even higher. I like how he goes up for “so strong”. I like how he kind of finds ways to
embellish but not too much.

Arya Nugraha:
He has a very delicate voice. It’s so funny how he uses vibrato, but it’s not actually vibrato, it’s
just cutting off the notes and using breath to initiate it. It’s not great. I wish he didn’t do the
“you-aaah”, it’s the way he finishes the words. I know a lot of singers that do that, so he
probably thinks that’s okay. I can hear that he’s not a professional singer. The “be”s are too
harsh with the “ee”s. Some of it is rooted in the back of the throat. I don’t want to listen to this
anymore.

Barrett Pepper:
Different, I like it. Everybody was used as a triplet. He has a nice voice. Definitely country, he’s
got a whole lot of twang. The “chance” need a better placement. His placement for the higher
notes are all from his throat, I can hear his vocal chords screaming. He sounds good on the
lower parts of the song. All the vowels with “ah” are in the back of his throat. The “you” vowels
he sounds great because it’s an easier vowel to sing. His voice is sweet and then it goes very
harsh on “with the love that will always be” I think a part of it is his way of being connected with
the lyrics. Vey interesting voice, potential with the right teacher. He’s just very set in his ways
and he’s not a professional singer. I do like listening to most of it, but when it gets a little to
harsh on the throat, it’s painful for me to hear. Overall, not that bad because of the way that he
connects with the song.

This is song must be sung from the soul. It’s not enjoyable if the person singing it, is not
invested in it. I wish I could hear Celine Dion, sing it. I can hear her singing with so much
Drama, I would love that. Listening to these covers and original helped me fall even more in love
with the song and also helped me see little embellishments that could be added.