Hailed as “the season’s most dazzling movie experience”, La La Land has spawned a number of typical ShowTime, theatrical-type songs to enamor the public – One of them being none other than the romantic ‘City of Stars’ (ft. Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone). The song is built on a gentle piano backdrop with sweet underwhelming, but emotive vocals. To rework well-known successful songs is always a risk for any artist because they have a proven template to be judged against. Taking on the soundtrack of a movie that Vanity Fair quoted as being “soaring and gorgeous”, requires a fair share of courage and confidence. Luckily MYRNA, an independent songstress and songwriter from Bergen, Norway, with roots from The Philippines, has both of these traits in bucket loads.
MYRNA released her 3rd album “Story of I” in 2016 and has since been busy touring. Always focused on releasing new music, this time she has dedicated her talents on a cover of the beautiful “City of Stars” from the movie La La Land, which recently won several Golden Globes and Oscars.
MYRNA says that she wanted to add a mystic and epic sound to the song, a “Nordic” version if you will, yet keeping the vocals tender and soulful. Something she has completely succeeded in doing.
Her version is freshly modern and musically evolved. The many shades of mystique in her voice convey a perfect balance of light and shade, as do the lush orchestration, and enveloping, epic-like atmosphere. Powerful, energetic segments with booming rhythms and percussion contrast with more tender, poignant phrases. This soothing, enigmatic, luxurious sound is so comforting, yet uplifting that you really just can’t get enough.
MYRNA provides a soundscape of such lilting beauty in which you can thoroughly immerse yourself in, regardless of the context of the movie. In fact, “City of Stars” here, becomes its’ new entity. It lives and breathes of its own doing just like a newborn baby would, detached from its womb.
Hauntingly beautiful, ethereal, and with variations in energy, this latest release by MYRNA is well worth the time spent listening to it. Something you cannot say of many current music releases, let alone covers.
MYRNA’s beautiful voice, the timeless melody built into the song and the captivatingly new orchestration result in sound that is refreshingly different from her earlier works – with a sense of reaching out, of growing – and is absolutely spellbinding.
OFFICIAL LINKS: WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – INSTAGRAM – YOUTUBE – SPOTIFY – Snapchat: myrnabraza
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