When Clean Bandit ended up in the charts with "Rather Be", I remember looking at the video already knowing the girl in it wasn't the singer. The voice and face just didn't go together, but the picture in my head of to whom the vocals belonged, didn't match Jess Glynne either. I was thinking of someone more alternative like a brown haired rock chick; how off could I be, right? For the past weeks, I've been hearing this dance song on the radio with a deep voice. It reminds me of Jess Glynne and this story every time I hear it. Slowly, even though I should know better, it still painted a picture in my head that the singer would probably look like Jess. But, not just the face, but also the personality and story of the real singer was a surprise. I'm talking about a song, which I thought was called "Take Off Your Clothes". Apparently, I'm not alone in this, so Google was quick to direct me to the correct song title, "Don't Be So Shy" and the singer Imany. In a time with so many dance songs in the charts, you would almost forget that some of these songs are remixes of songs never intended as a dance track, originally. "Don't Be So Shy" has been taking over the European charts for months, but the beautiful black singer, Imany, actually makes music far removed from the electronic track she is now known for. Nevertheless, I'm sure it's a welcomed surprise to her that this has happened and put her own music in the spotlight as well. Though it’ll only be a small portion of dance music fans who will lash on to her acoustic and authentic sound. Imany is a French native, who's been singing for about 8 years or so, after retiring from modeling. She's well known in France, where her first album went platinum. She sings in both French as English and if you are amazed at her American English singing, it'll come as no surprise, that she lived in LA for a few years during her modeling career. It's a fun fact to know that her successful debut album, "The Shape Of A Broken Heart", was based on a drawing she made with her eyes closed. When you see her perform, she keeps her eyes closed as well, usually throughout most of the song. As puzzling as it is to see a performer not engage with the audience through eye contact, I just sum it up to ‘focus and artistry’. It makes her interesting, though probably not the most charismatic performer. Her music is soulful and mainly, unplugged. Stripped back to basic and simplicity. Quite the opposite to the electronic remix. It will probably find a home with many soul fans worldwide.
“Don’t Be So Shy” originally was recorded for the soundtrack of a French movie. The song is actually kept true to the original for the remix. In other words, there’s been no cutting and repeating for the remix and the release of it coincides nicely with the release of her latest album.
