Brenna Whitaker - Black and Gold (Sam Sparro cover)

Buy "Black and Gold" on Brenna's album here (Amazon UK)

After just one listen to the intoxicating cover of Sam Sparro's Black and Gold, I was entirely bewitched and beguiled by the incredible singing style of one Ms. Brenna Whitaker. It's not just how she immerses herself in the architecture of such a well known song and makes it her own, it's how she infuses every single note she sings with a sensuality and passion that really tells the story of the narrative. Meanwhile, those moments when she is not singing are fueled by an instrumental score whose arrangement is so symbiotic with her voice that it becomes an enchanting duet. Her jazz-infused cover begins with a dramatic, bold orchestral-horn saturated opening that is like a return to the halcyon days of Bond themes (if this Bond were about the women who seduce him and not the other way around). It's grandiose and opulent yet serves to accentuate the quieter, more stripped back moments of when Brenna starts singing to a finger clicking groove and shuffling percussion. She ably guides the melody of the song with her evocative, smoky vocals and it's absolutely mesmerising to behold. The emotions in her voice seem to power the essence of the song, for when the horns, piano and bass take a more prominent role it's a beautiful texture that washes over you like a cool breeze on a hot summer day. The whole performance is euphoric and there are moments that are completely thrilling - take that fuzzy horn crescendo at 2m35s (in the video above). It's a manifestation of the sentiments of the song that will leave the hairs standing on the back of your neck. The whole song leaves you breathless with a giddy glee. Run, don't walk, to buy Brenna's equally stunning album - I'll be returning for a full review of that shortly.

Top 25 songs of the week:

25 ~ Will Young, Joy
24 ~ Maroon 5, Feelings
23 ~ Mans Zelmerlow, Should've Gone Home
22 ~ Nate Ruess, A Great Big Storm
21 ~ Walk The Moon, Work This Body
20 ~ Shayne Ward, Moving Target
19 ~ Mika, Staring At The Sun
18 ~ Max ft Jake Miller, Ms Anonymous
17 ~ Janet Jackson, Burn It Up
16 ~ MKTO, Afraid of the Dark
15 ~ Aurora, Half A Word Away (NE)
14 ~ Olly Murs, Kiss Me
13 ~ Little Mix, Love Me Like You
12 ~ Take That, Hey Boy
11 ~ Kim Wilde, Keeping The Dream Alive (NE)
10 ~ Fleur East, Sax (NE)
09 ~ Brandon Flowers, Still Want You
08 ~ Auryn, Electric
07 ~ Jukebox The Ghost, The Great Unknown
06 ~ Sara Bareilles, She Used To Be Mine
05 ~ One Direction, Infinity
04 ~ Ben Haenow, Second Hand Heart
03 ~ Kylie Minogue ft James Corden, Only You (NE)
02 ~ Big Black Delta ft Debbie Gibson, RCVR
01 ~ Harriet, Love Will Burn (3 weeks)