“That’s The Way It Is” is one of Dion’s biggest hits, and was heralded by Billboard as one of the greatest songs of 1999. “‘That’s The Way It Is’ doesn’t sound like it’s trying to be Britney Spears,” said the website Can’t Stop The Pop.“It sounds like the authentic evolution of a superstar – this is a Celine Dion song through and through – and it’s hard to imagine it being performed by anyone else.”
Dion has performed the song on the Rosie O’Donnell show, twice on the Today Show, as well as on multiple tours. Beginning in E major, the track dramatically modulates up a third to Ab coming out of the bridge at 2:50.
Thanks to MotD contributor Gus Connelly for this submission!
“The way the story is sometimes erroneously told, The Beach Boys were nothing more than a convenient vehicle for Brian Wilson’s incendiary songwriting and brilliant producing,” (American Songwriter). “Of course, that misconception overlooks the crucial contributions of the talented men at Brian’s side bringing his artistic vision to thrilling life with their vocals. It also neglects to take into account the years when the troubled genius contributed only sporadically to the band’s output. Consider 1971’s album Surf’s Up, where the rest of the band picked up the songwriting slack for their leader and Bruce Johnson’s wistful waltz ‘Disney Girls (1957)’ stood out as one of the disc’s finest moments.
If you’re not listening closely enough, you might read the title, hear some of the references in Johnston’s opus, and think that it’s easy nostalgia, something in which The Beach Boys have been known to trade. But what you come to realize, either by perusing the lyrics or listening to the subtle ache in those ‘oohs and aahs,’ is that the ‘fantasy world’ on which the narrator fixates is just that, an idealized vision of happiness that he hasn’t yet attained. ‘Oh, reality, it’s not for me / And it makes me laugh.’ … The unspoken context is that this song comes from a touring musician leading what was likely a hectic life with one of the most famous bands on the planet …”
After starting in F# major, we reach a dreamy bridge at 2:07. At 2:28, the groove falls away as the layered vocals briefly take on the oblique, rubato harmonies of a Barbershop quartet, proclaiming that “… she likes church bingo chances and old-time dances.” At 2:37, a strong IV/V in the new key (G major) leads us to another verse (2:45) as the 3/4 time resumes. The track could be a more grown-up echo of the band’s 1966 hit “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.”
“BoA (보아) is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer and actress,” (KPopping). She’s been “recognized as one of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers throughout her career, and is therefore commonly credited as the ‘Queen of K-pop.'”
The giant Korean music conglomerate SM Entertainment discovered BoA, then partnered with her in releasing 20 studio albums since her debut in 2000, including ten in Korean, nine in Japanese, and one in English. “BoA’s multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and English along with native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin) have contributed to her commercial success throughout Asia outside of South Korea, such as China, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan.”
Her 2003 release “Milky Way” starts in Eb major, knocks us off balance a little with some fast-moving harmonic magic during the bridge (2:22 – 2:31), and lands in E major at 2:32.
Many thanks to our regular contributor Ziyad for this submission!
“Look What You’ve Done To Me” was originally written for the 1980 motion picture Urban Cowboy. Penned by Scaggs and legendary producer David Foster, the tune peaked at #14 on the Billboard Top 100, and features background vocals by The Eagles.
The song fluctuates between E minor for the verses and instrumental interludes, and its relative major, G, for the choruses.
“‘Up Where We Belong’ was written for the movie An Officer and a Gentleman and won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1983 and a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group With Vocal in 1983,” (Songfacts). “Island Records boss Chris Blackwell liked the idea of Cocker recording the song with Warnes, but Cocker was on tour in the Pacific Northwest at the time.
No problem: he simply flew to LA one afternoon, recorded the track with Warnes that evening, and flew back to resume the tour. Warnes and Cocker stood next to each other when they recorded this in the studio, where they had a great chemistry that carried over to live performances. ‘Off stage, I never saw him,’ Warnes said in a 2018 Songfacts interview. ‘But on stage he understood exactly what we were doing … He wasn’t going to step on my note and I wasn’t going to step on his. We felt free to take chances.'”
At 2:52, a late bridge brings a half-step modulation which carries on for the short remainder of the tune.
“L’Ultima Notte,” written by Marco Marinangeli, is featured on Josh Groban’s 2006 album Awake, which was the third top-selling classical album of the 2000s. The lyrics reflect the singer’s anguish about spending the last night with his lover: I remain alone with the memories; tomorrow everything will end; but now stay here; here with me because it will be the last night with you
The song has many modulations throughout. After alternating between G# minor for the first two verses and C minor for the choruses, a common-tone shift to B minor occurs at 2:40. This is followed by a brief transitory passage at 2:57, which sets up the final key change up to C# minor at 3:13.
Billy Porter is a 1991 graduate of Carnegie Mellon University’s drama program whose Twitter bio covers plenty of ground: Grammy, Emmy, Tony & Drama Desk winning actor, director, singer, dancer, writer, advocate. From IMDB‘s bio: “Billy Porter built a substantial reputation as a theatrical singer in Broadway productions such as Grease and Smokey Joe’s Cafe. He made his initial impact by placing ‘Love Is On The Way’ on the soundtrack to the film First Wives’ Club in 1996 …” He later won a Tony award in 2013 for his portrayal of Lola in Kinky Boots. His breakout TV role was Pray Tell in Pose, which debuted in 2018 and ran for three seasons. In 2021, he returned to his native Pittsburgh to shoot his feature film directorial debut, What If?
NME reports that Porter’s 2021 single “Children” was “co-written with Grammy-winning songwriter MNEK (Dua Lipa, H.E.R.) and Little Mix member Jade Thirwell. Porter said in a press release that ‘Children’ was ‘inspired by [his] life and everything [he’s] gone through to get here,’ saying that he’d always had an ambition to release music like it, but was dissuaded by the state of the industry and its lack of understanding towards what he wanted to express. ‘Music is my first love. I grew up singing in the church. When I first put out commercial music in 1997, the industry was not ready for all this black boy joy! But luckily the world has caught up.'” The tune starts in C minor and shifts to Db minor at 2:49.
“Although French chanteuse Claudine Longet recorded a series of bewitchingly ethereal albums which are much revered by today’s aficionados of smooth, sophisticated ’60s pop, among the general public her career as a performer was ultimately dwarfed by the events of her personal life,” (AllMusic).
Longet’s version of “L’Amour Est Bleu” went to #28 on the US pop charts upon its release in 1968. Written by French composers André Popp and Pierre Cour, it was originally Luxembourg’s entry in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest. In 1968, French national Paul Mauriat’s instrumental version went to #1 in the US, making it the biggest ever seller of a Eurovision Song Contest song in America, and the first US #1 hit by a French artist.
After a start in B minor, 0:54 brings a transition to B major just before the chorus. The original key returns at 1:17; the pattern continues throughout.
“I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do” was the third single released by the Swedish band ABBA for their eponymous third studio album, recorded in 1975. The trade magazine Cash Box praised the tune for its “richly textured vocals, [which] give this fifties sounding shuffle an extra push, push, push, push.”
Beginning in C, the song modulates up to Db for the last chorus at 2:22.
A submission from Paul “Steck” S., one of our regulars:
“Rumer is the stage name of Sarah Joyce, a Pakistan-born British singer-songwriter who has been very popular in the UK, but less well-known in the US. Her contralto voice is sometimes redolent of Karen Carpenter; indeed, Richard Carpenter wrote her to praise her first album, Seasons of My Soul, released in 2010. She’s released several albums since then, one as recently as 2020.
Rumer has been extensively involved with the music of Burt Bacharach. In 2010, she released a Christmas EP with a Bacharach song; in 2012, she performed at the White House as part of the tribute to Bacharach and Hal David; and in 2016, she released an entire album of Bacharach/David songs.
The tune here, “Aretha,” is taken from the first album; yes, it’s Aretha Franklin that she’s singing about. It’s a tale of a schoolgirl, attending a school where the kids are mean, while coping with a mentally ill mother. Listening to Aretha on her headphones is a refuge. It was written by Rumer and producer Steve Brown.
The song is a soul ballad in the key of B♭, mostly in 4/4 time (with a 12/8 feel), with measures of 2/4 and 3/4 in the verse. The bridge at 1:56 features the singer lightly harmonizing with herself. At 2:30, there’s a modulation to C for the final verse.”
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