show me how to

May 17, 2020 9:04 AM

Singer-songwriter Raquel Castro wow-ed the judges on Songland with her original song Wrong Places. Judges Ester Dean, Ryan Tedder and Shane McAnally gave Raquel some suggestions, including words to switch up the refrain "looking for love." The Journey to the Music Video includes the session (time stamped link) when Raquel and Ryan fine-tune the song further and add in other instruments, Raquel's performance (time stamped link) with the full band in front of Songland guest judge and multi-instrumentalist H.E.R. who (spoiler) chooses Raquel's song to record. H.E.R. recorded a studio version for the lyric video but posted an (even better) acoustic quarantine-at-home version.
posted by spamandkimchi (2 comments total)

The premise of Songland:

Undiscovered songwriters are put center stage as they pitch their original creations to top recording artists and a panel of music producers. The series is an authentic peek into the creative process of songwriting and provides one talented winner per episode with the opportunity to have their song recorded and released worldwide by chart-topping artists.

posted by spamandkimchi at 9:30 AM on May 17, 2020

I like the "per episode" cycle, rather than dragging the whole thing out for a BATTLE ROYALE GRAND PRIZE WINNER. Masked Singer should take a note.

It would be interesting to analyze it in terms of options not taken. Do the choices always water down the song as pitched?
posted by rhizome at 11:51 AM on May 17, 2020 [1 favorite]