Because my previous blog was about a popular song to cover, I thought I’d stay on-topic and also talk about “Fix You”, originally by Coldplay. This song has also been covered by many people, over the years, but recently one cover version actually brought me to tears.
It looks like the group Naturally 7 has already had its peak, somehow. They were a special guest during a Michael Buble tour and I’m positive this caused the high amount of views of their YouTube videos. However, more recently, they seem to have a little more trouble reaching that same big audience.
Naturally 7 are an a cappella group that could make any song sound sweet. All members are vocalists, but some members also have the ability to turn themselves into a human musical instrument. It gives their a cappella versions a little more than just a beat box. It gives them guitars and other sounds, reminding me a little bit of that guy in those classic Police Academy movies. Naturally 7 actually call this “vocal play”, which is not a bad description.
Their cover of “Fix You” was suggested to me on YouTube. Even though the song is a favorite among a large group of people, it actually is not one of my favorite songs. I’ve never really understood the fascination with this song. I don’t know why I actually clicked it to watch, but I do have to admit, I had a moment of feeling a bit down, so perhaps I thought it would make me feel better.
In this version, the lyrics seemed to hit me more than with the original version. It’s like the words got more room to speak to me. Perhaps it’s the fact that it’s an a cappella song now, which has the impact of pushing the words to the front. By the time the song was coming to an end, my tears were rolling down my face. It’s beautifully done and well executed.
It doesn’t take too long to figure out that Naturally 7 bring a lot of experience to the table. It shows in their performance. No pun intended, but they make it look so natural.
The group was founded in 1999 and, even though they have had some line-up changes, the group has been performing ever since. They re-arrange most of their cover songs and even add additional lyrics when they think the song needs it.
Their latest YouTube upload is a cover of Zedd’s “Stay”.They have turned it into a beautiful, slow song, but it is straight forward a cappella with a little bit of beat boxing. It’s a shame their version doesn’t hold any major surprises, like some sound effects or something, and I didn’t really like the sound quality of the video itself. But the quality of sound never takes anything away from the quality levels of musical talent and that really does come through regardless what you watch from them, naturally.
