Hey! So for W&K&H, doing covers has already become a regular activity. However, regarding their choice of music, I think there were no fireworks so far, and a little bit more variety would be welcome. So, here's a little game. If you were to choose an "iconic" western song for each Girl to cover, based on your personal preferences, what would that be? I, for instance, came up with: 1) Hikaru - "Don't speak" by No Doubt; 2) Keiko: "Frozen" by Madonna 3) Wakana - Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush
Ahhhhh, such a cool game!!! Your picks are epic! "Don't speak" is 100% PERFECT for Hikaru - I would absolutey have gone for that as well - , and yup, I can see Keiko slay during a performance of "Frozen". I'll admit, I had to look up Kate Bush and her song "Wuthering Heights"- never heard of her or the song before - but OMG, this was just MADE for Wakana to cover XD I feel like Wakana has the same vibe as Kate Bush so it would totally work.
As for my choices, I will try to do my best! Let's go!!!
Iconic Western Songs to Cover
Note: Please keep in mind that I don't consciously listen to a lot of artists outside of Kalafina so I will probably suck at this. These are honestly just some of my all-time faves that have stuck with me throughout the years. Also, this might reveal my weakness for some of the cheesiest 90s films out there, don't judge me :P
Wakana: These days it’s so difficult for me to choose because on the one hand I want her to sing every single power ballad but on the other hand, I just keep imagining her singing the funkiest songs out there because that’s just who she is.
My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion or It Must Have Been Love by Roxette
I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston
Keiko: Just to be fair, she gets two songs as well.
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler
Right Here Waiting for You by Richard Marx
Hikaru: Such random picks but I feel like they could work for Hikaru.
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith
It’s my Life by Bon Jovi
Everyone, feel free to share your ideas as well!!(ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
First of all, thanks to @sa-nyan for the idea and @putschki1969 for sharing! I really enjoy this kind of stuff!
Now, I’m going to give the game a little (and hopefully interesting) twist and throw in here songs in Spanish that might not be iconic (not sure tbh), but I think are quite popular in some Hispanic countries.
I’ll be trying to provide some information on the songs (Wikipedia FTW) for those not familiar with them.
WAKANA
La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) – Mexican folk song
I think this was made popular by Chavela Vargas, a Mexican singer. The song has some different interpretations when it comes to its meaning, but basically the song goes around the topics of unrequited love and grief by the loss of a loved one.
The song has A LOT of verses, so in every recording or performance, only a couple are sung, and I’m guessing the singers pick the ones that depict the storyline they want to convey the best.
I think Wakana’s voice would fit this nicely. I mean, if I’m not mistaken, even Yuki Kajiura said she has a great voice to sing this sort of tragic stuff, and the slow phase of the song together with the repetitive melody, gives the singer a lot of freedom to perform and “do as they want” to convey the feeling of sadness withing the song.
I’ll drop here the link to a version by Carmen Goett that might sound a little bit Wakana-ish to give you an idea and I’m throwing in the link to the Wikipedia article of the song with all the verses and the translation to English
La llorona by Carmen Goett
Lyrics translation (Wikipedia)
KEIKO
Zamba para Olvidar (Zamba to Forget) – Daniel Toro/Julio Fontana
This is an Argentinian zamba (do not mix up with Brazilian Samba) that has been recorded and performed by a lot of singers. Another sad song in which a former lover of the singer comes back after leaving the singer and the singer had gone through all the pain of that breakup. The singer wonders why they came back while depicting all the suffering they went through.
I met this song on the voice of Mercedes Sosa, an Argentinian singer who was probably an alto and had a rich tone on that low register, so I think KEIKO would do great with it. Also, that dark tone of hers would fit nicely with the lyrics.
Here’s a link to a recording of Mercedes Sosa and Diego Torres, another Argentinian singer, and a link to the translation of the lyrics just in case.
Zamba para olvidar by Mercedes Sosa ft. Diego Torres and Facundo Ramírez
Lyrics translation (Musixmatch)
HIKARU//
Hijo de la Luna (Son of the Moon) – José María Cano
This song was originally performed by the Spanish group Mecano and the song narrates an amazing story!
The moon wanted to be a mother and a gypsy woman wanted to marry a gypsy man (calé), so the moon offers the woman to give her the man she wants in exchange for their firstborn for her to raise.
The woman accepts, gets married and when her child is born, he’s white as snow and his eyes are grey despite she and her husband having dark skin and eyes. The man is convinced that the boy is the son of a non-gypsy man (payo), gets insanely mad and stabs the woman to death. Then, he takes the child and abandons him in the mountains, where the moon takes him.
I think Hikaru// would love the story and being the awesome performer she is, would give an amazing rendition of the song!
For me, the original version of the song was not that cool, but years later a Spanish metal band called STRAVAGANZZA did a version that I liked way more and I think that a heavier version like that would fit great with Hikaru//’s vocals.
Here’s the link to the original version by Mecano, the link to the metal version by STRAVAGANZZA and the link to the translation.
Hijo de la Luna by Mecano (original version)
Hijo de la Luna by STRAVAGANZZA (metal cover)
Lyrics translation (Musixmatch)
That’s it! Hope you had fun reading this!