A doll who sings?
I watched Born Again with sleepy eyes. A series of beautifully staged scenes appeared one after another. Three women, sexily dressed in black, struck suggestive poses while casting haughty glances at the camera. The pompous girl with round eyes and rosebud lips sang the opening verse, a classic dismissal to her latest ex-lover.
Too generic, if I’m being frank! There’s nothing in the delivery that indicates she was emotionally hurt. Someone broke up with the doll, but it seems that her ego, not her feelings, was the one that got affected.
Probably just another song to look at, not to listen to.
But as Raye started singing, my impression began to change. I paid less attention to the lyrics and let myself carried away with her voice. There was a sense of airiness in the way she held the notes. Feelings began filling the void, and the heartbreak became more apparent.
Doja Cat brought another color to the song: more dramatic and riled. The camera seemed to be in love with her. Her part lit up, scene after scene of striking poses and expressions. Her voice wasn’t as pealing as Raye’s, but a combination of feminine and untamed. Together, their two voices complemented each other really well.
Usually when listening to music I was pretty content and didn’t ask for more. But that’s not the case with this song. I kept imagining an acoustic version by Raye and Doja Cat, with a slower pace and rawer sound. The song’s melody was beautiful and quite intense. By slowing down, I wanted to put the focus on those aspects and made them memorable, instead of letting the earworm vanished right when the song ended (I put this song on repeat for multiple days in a row, and still could not remember it).
Such an acoustic version is just my wishing thinking. I’m not capable of making it into reality. What a shame! Raye has a demo version of this song. It beautifully showcases her singing, but the arrangement overall seems a bit undone to me, not to mention the accompanied instruments sound just as muffle as the original. What a waste! It’s an interesting song with good arrangement. It would have been nice if I could actually hear said arrangement more. The two singers were also amazing, they really made the song came alive. As for the doll, Lisa, she got all the right pitch and was undeniably pretty. But I found myself wondering, ‘‘When will it be the other two women’s turn to sing?’’