Category: Henry

Britney Spears | Where Are You Now

“Where Are You Now” is from Britney Spears’ second studio album, Oops!…I Did It Again, released in 2000. The album debuted at number 1 in fifteen countries and has gone on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time. Starting in A major, the tune modulates up to B for the interlude following the second chorus at 2:42, and then shifts up another half step to C for the final chorus at 3:13.

Carole King | Beautiful

“Beautiful,” featured on King’s breakout 1971 album Tapestry, became one of her best-known songs and is the title song in the 2014 Broadway musical based on King’s life. Reflecting the message in the lyric of finding hope and determination even amidst darkness and hardship, the key fluctuates fluidly between C minor and its relative Eb major. Prior to the last verse, the tune modulates up a half step to C# minor (and E major) at 1:35, where it remains till the end.

Leslie Odom Jr. (feat. Sia) | Cold

A solo version of “Cold” was first included on Odom’s 2019 album “Mr,” the singer/actor’s third studio album and first comprised of original material. The track proved to be the standout song of the album, and a new cover was released in 2020, featuring the Australian, nine-time Grammy nominated singer Sia.

“Sia has been a friend for a few years now after I met her backstage at Hamilton,” Odom said. ” As I look at making that foray into the pop world and pop music, she’s been a really great mentor and friend. I sent her the album and asked if there was anything she would want to collaborate on. She said, ‘I’ll sing on Cold,’ which was her favorite song from the album, so we recorded a new version of it that I think you’re really going to like.” Due to the pandemic, the two artists conducted the recording and producing of the track virtually.

The tune begins in C and modulates up to Db at 2:32.

Reba McEntire | Somehow You Do

“Somehow You Do,” from the 2021 film Four Good Days, was nominated for Best Original song at the 2022 Academy Awards and performed at the ceremony (and in the film) by country star Reba McEntire. It marks the fifth consecutive best song nomination for composer Diane Warren and her 13th overall — she has yet to win.

McEntire’s performance was introduced by Mila Kunis, who stars in the film as a young woman recovering from heroin addiction. “[The song is a] story of hope, perseverance and survival that celebrates the strength of the human spirit,” Kunis, who was born in Ukraine, said. “Recent global events have left many of us feeling gutted. Yet when you witness the strength of those facing such devastation, it’s impossible not to be moved by their resilience. One cannot help but be in awe of those who find strength to keep fighting through unimaginable darkness.”

Starting in C, the song dramatically modulates up a half step to Db at 1:56.

Steal With Style (from “The Robber Bridegroom”)

“Steal With Style” is from the 1975 Broadway musical The Robber Bridegroom, adapted by Alfred Uhry (book & lyrics) and Robert Waldman (music) from a 1942 novella by Eudora Welty. The score is one of only a handful in Broadway history to be bluegrass-inspired — the band consists of a guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and harp. The show was revived Off-Broadway in 2016 starring Steven Pasquale, featured here, and is regularly performed at regional theaters.

The song alternates between E major and E minor throughout before ultimately modulating to G major at 2:25 for the final chorus.

Vox One | Shenandoah

The Boston-based five member a cappella group Vox One was founded in 1988 by a group of students who met at the Berklee College of Music (they went on to all serve as professors there.) The group’s arrangements combine elements of blues, funk, gospel, and folk; they have toured internationally and released five acclaimed albums.

Their cover of the traditional folk song “Shenandoah” appears on Say You Love Me, released in 1999. It moves through many tonal areas, beginning in Gb and ultimately landing in Bb at the end.

Susannah McCorkle | The Waters of March

“The Waters of March” (Águas de Março), written in 1972 by acclaimed Brazilian composer and father of bossa nova Antonio Carlos Jobim, was named the best Brazilian song ever composed in a poll of over 200 journalists from the country in 2001. The swirling, downward motion of the melody reflects the falling rain common in Brazil in March.

American jazz vocalist Susannah McCorkle covered the tune for her 1993 album From Bessie to Brazil, which peaked at #20 on the Billboard jazz chart. Starting in G, the track modulates up a half step to Ab at 2:43.

Postmodern Jukebox ft. Shoshana Bean | I Want It That Way

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, a music collective known for their original, inventive arrangements of well-known songs, included a soul-infused cover of the Backstreet Boys hit “I Want it That Way” on their 2015 album Selfies on Kodachrome. The track features Shoshana Bean on vocals, and modulates up from Eb to F at 2:17 and then to G at 2:35.

Lake Street Dive | Wedding Band

“We want it tp sound like the Beatles and Motown had a party.” That was how drummer Mike Calabrese described the music of Lake Street Dive, a Brooklyn-based band, in an interview with The Guardian. “We’re taking the elements of the 60s and 70s music we love,” he went on, “and applying it to what we’re able to do with the four of us.”

The group formed in 2004 when the original four members — Rachael Price, Mike “McDuck” Olson, Bridget Kearney, and Calabrese — met while studying at the New England Conservatory (keyboardist Akie Bermiss joined in 2017.) They have released seven studio albums and one live record, and are currently on tour. “Wedding Band” was released as a single in 2014, and modulates from G up a half step to Ab at 1:06.