Javastorm

Thanks Daniel, Aravind! I am not of Italian origin and I have never studied Italian. Just tried to pay attention to the pronunciation and phrasing in Italian music for a few months now.

Soooo cute, Javastorm!  

I tried to avoid the languages I have some familiarity with for the sake of the challenge (French/Spanish/Italian/Korean). I loved the Disney OST's growing up and i frequently listen to the foreign dubs of songs that stand out in my memory or look for new ones a lot - The Norwegian singer's voice (Tor Endresen) for the Tarzan soundtrack blew me away when I first heard him. I did "Two Worlds, One Family" (To liv, Til hørlighet - literally "two lives, belonging") for the challenge in Norwegian. If there are any scandinavian/Norwegian users here it would be great to know if my pronunciation doesn't suck =D
https://app.box.com/s/q1z3hldhv1loq8agbyqx90fpatbk5tms
These are the lyrics if anyone is interested:
Skjebnen vandrer sine egne veier
To liv, tilhørighet
Velg din vei, i kjærlighet
Som bare hjertet vet
 
The fate wanders (in) its own ways
Two lives, belonging
Choose your way, in love
That only your heart knows about
 
Et paradis på ukjent sted
En verden uten fortred
Et enkelt liv, et liv i fred
 
A paradise on an unknown place
A world without any damage
A simple life, a peaceful life
 
Løvet hvisker under nakne føtter
To liv, tilhørighet
Velg din vei, i kjærlighet
Som bare hjertet vet
 
Leaves whisper under naked feet
Two lives, belonging
Choose your way, in love
That only your heart knows about
 
Her under trærnes dunkle tak
Solens stråler leker med
Et enkelt liv, et liv i fred
 
Here under the dim roof of the trees
Do the sunbeams play with
A simple life, a peaceful life
 
Løft ditt hode, aksle din bør
Styrke det har du i deg
Og bygg din borg, vit hva du gjør
For tiden som kommer, blir farlig
Far varig frem
 
Lift your head, remove your burden
You will have strength
And build your castle, know what you're doing
'Cause the time comes will be dangerous
Move carefully
 
Mellomspill
 
Interlude
 
Helt uten ord er moders gråt
Helt uten ord et sinn i sorg
En drøm som brast, en fallen borg
 
A mother's tears are completely without words
A sorrowed mind, completely without words
A broken dream, a destroyed castle
 
 
Et sted finnes et håp som kaller
To liv, tilhørighet
Velg din vei, i kjærlighet
Som bare hjertet vet
 
Somewhere there is a hope that calls
Two lives, belonging
Choose your way, in love
That the heart only knows about
 
 

A great version of one of my ALL TIME favorite songs from an amazing singer/musician! Love Sarah McLachlan and you really did a great job of taking the etherealness of the original and gave it a stripped down soulfulness that I think is fantastic. I would kill for this much soul in my voice. Super job brother!

Javastorm, I am you fan.
Your cover of Brian McKnight's song was the first time I heard it and I was like WOW  I am going there now to listen to it again.

https://app.box.com/s/fn9b0z7rl7v27mrb3g5gvcg8vntkt1f8
This song isn't very range-y, so I was trying to emphasize on performance and dynamics. Any and all feedback welcome.

Did the original version recently. Any and all feedback welcome.
https://app.box.com/s/z4pem1kzthgsv7y2iandr7oliyqt5qnw
 

I'm pretty late [last day of challenge lol] but I did Kiss From a Rose by Seal. Couldn't find a backing track that didn't have backup vox so I did it a cappella.
https://app.box.com/s/24nttrom5mqewn4k0ab747k0x1pmytxg
 
Re: Gsoul - I never heard this song before but you definitely emoted well, and got the theme of unconditional love across really well in my opinion. I like the phrasing and riffs after the 2:00 mark- they sounded the most controlled and like ron said, something from the 70s, slow and sensual.
Re; Slow Start - I wish I had the ability to play and sing at the same time, if that's what you're doing! "How Long Will I Love You" sat in a nice part of your range and definitely fit the lover's theme both lyrically and in your smooth delivery. Really nice. My sentiments are the same about the second song also.
 

Really, really nice Javastorm.

Randomly got the idea to try to do the first cover I posted on here again. I posted it about one year ago, exactly. Wanted to see if anybody could see any improvements here and anything that needs work.
I did "Ooh Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles.
 
 

Here's the original: http://picosong.com/Edtv/
 
Here's me giving it another shot.
Differences between the first one I posted and this one is that I held a mic closer to my mouth, as opposed to singing into my phone's mic, which was sitting a few feet away, on the counter. Also, I sang the entire thing here.
http://picosong.com/EdDj/
 

I just now saw this and listened, Java. I got chills. Even more proof that you have a lot of Seal's sound and this is definitely your thing.

Well, dude, I hear Seal in your voice, even if you cannot. Sorry, you'll just have to live with having a beautiful and soulful tone, something others would give their right arms to have.

I cannot think of thing wrong with it and I like your feel. The melancholy sound of your voice, this literally sounded like Seal had covered it. This is THE way to cover a song.
For MDEW, this is a huge pop song that was everywhere on the radio and got synchro-licensed in a bunch of shows, as well.
 
 

I have nothing to add but that was an awesome review. Granted you are good singer, Java, but kudos to G for giving the kind of help you are actually looking for.

You're very welcome. If you don't see me respond to one of your covers, it means I missed it, so feel free to PM and and ask me to check it out.
You're doing great though. Keep on pushing forward.

https://app.box.com/s/fn9b0z7rl7v27mrb3g5gvcg8vntkt1f8
This song isn't very range-y, so I was trying to emphasize on performance and dynamics. Any and all feedback welcome.

Did the original version recently. Any and all feedback welcome.
https://app.box.com/s/z4pem1kzthgsv7y2iandr7oliyqt5qnw
 

Thanks for taking the time to mark all these points with timestamps, it really helps! I agree with everything you said about each problem spot. This was recorded a little before the Christmas cover, so I wasn't really working on lower falsetto notes, but I definitely am aware of it now and am trying to build more resonance with them. I agree that if they are too quiet and I'm trying to do a run or something it is not worth it if people can't hear the run properly defined. I kept going back to the lines after the instrumental break and yep, "had" and "my" are pitchy. I'm grateful for the constructive feedback @Gsoul82, thanks again for listening.

All in all, this is a pretty solid attempt. In my opinion, few things could've been done better. Nice riffs throughout. I could feel the emotion.
Here's what I found noteworthy.
1:09 The shift into falsetto in the phrase "All my feeling was gone". I think you can make this smoother. Matter of fact, I know you can.
1:50 Very nice melisma!
2:24 Sing "gone" stronger. Sounds like you may have been having a little support dilemma there.
3:10 to 3:19 Your falsetto was getting quiet again, like we talked about before. Just noting it here, in case you didn't catch it.
3:44 The break here, while singing, "Dry my eyes," was a nice touch for the tone of the song. You're good at the use of little accents like that. Kind of like how I complimented you on the hint of rasp you used in your Christina Aguilera cover, a few weeks back. Keep this in mind, going forward.
3:47-3:48 The shift into falsetto here, at, "I had my," sounds just a little flat.
4:20 Nice transition into falsetto and nice ending. Was a little quiet here as well, but it's not as problematic. The difference between it there, and where I mentioned it at the 3:10 to 3:19 area is you don't want that happening in the middle of those smooth runs. People will miss them.
 

https://app.box.com/s/fn9b0z7rl7v27mrb3g5gvcg8vntkt1f8
This song isn't very range-y, so I was trying to emphasize on performance and dynamics. Any and all feedback welcome.

Did the original version recently. Any and all feedback welcome.
https://app.box.com/s/z4pem1kzthgsv7y2iandr7oliyqt5qnw
 

Sounds nice Javastorm, I did not notice anything that needs to be addressed in this song. I am not familiar with the original but your version stands on its own merits. In other words I will most likely listen again just for enjoyment.

Something I threw together in the wee hours of the night.  I did a double track vocal to try and get the sound right and I think besides a few occasional out of syncs it works nicely.  Hopefully you guys like it.
http://picosong.com/E2RM/

It's good that you're noticing when that happens. You're closing in on getting it taken care of. That could be the reason it happened, but in any case, I believe you can improve that, so moving things down a couple tones won't be any issue.

https://app.box.com/s/6t0vi9tny7isk6en20yibcaonn4hdm9g
I don't know many versions of this song, but this is the bluesiest, most personally appealing version that came to mind. There are a few songs I've wanted to do for the holidays, but this one wasn't giving me much trouble like the others so I was able to finish it up. I really like this arrangement and the room it leaves for riffing (which I still need work on), although I think some of the original riffs in Christina's version are out of place or excessive, I liked some of them and kept those. Hope everyone is anticipating the holidays and the new year with a positive mindset. Any and all feedback welcome.