Here's my take on BTIKM in Sweden.
BTIKM, Sweden Showcase
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
1. His lower register is better than ever. Rich and resonant, yet still light rather than with the dark, throatier baritone tones. In the mp3 download with my Bose speakers, it is like the voice is right in front of me. Like I could almost reach out and touch it. I imagine it to be a sable brown velvet.
2. The first verse and chorus he keeps it tender. No belts. When he goes for the highest notes in the chorus, he actually backs off the notes. No chest voice, and no ringing ping in his head voice. Just a caress.
3. In the second verse, he plays with the melody a bit. Takes it up a little higher, which results in giving it a brighter tone and movement.
4. He starts the second chorus still keeping it light and with a pure, clear tone. Then he builds to the climax of the chorus, adding more chest voice and “squeezing” his voice to get a little rasp to it. This rasp is interesting. We have talked a lot about how many pop singers push their chest voices on their top notes until it sounds strained and strangled. Like they are giving all their effort and breath to hit the notes. This is a sound that is actually desirable in pop music --- Bruno and Adele immediately come to mind. But, it is a killer on the vocal cords. Adam, instead, squeezes his throat muscles (instead of tensing and clenching his vocal cords) to produce a similar rough sound, but without the strain and push. Where with other singers, I feel my chest tensing in sympathy, with Adam, I feel like he is still floating on top of the notes while adding the gravel. I find it more pleasing, more comfortable, yet still powerful.
5. In the bridge, Adam pauses to become introspective. Almost like there is no audience there. He lets go of the beat a little, lets the melody wander where it will. Very intimate.
6. The following chorus builds and builds until he hits that high note for “mySEEEEEEEELF”. You hear the rasp he adds during the chorus, but that highest note is pure and ringing.
7. The final chorus maintains the energy and lifts me up before dialing back on the intensity to softly put me back on earth. A bit like after the last big plunge on a roller coaster, as the car comes gradually to a satisfying stop.
8. Throughout the song, Adam’s articulation of the words is precise without being over exaggerated. The consonants are crisp. I understand every word.
9. The song has a compelling and satisfying arc from soft to loud, low to high, light to powerful, and back down again. He interprets the song and infuses it with meaning. He is a story teller, and I BELIEVE what he is singing. This is a song that I can listen to repeatedly and not grow tired of. It is also a song that Adam will re-interpret many different ways. That is artistry, too. Being able to “think outside the box” and imagine a song done differently than it was written, differently than we have heard it before.
What do you hear in this version? What attracts you? What do you think?
