If pop music is infinitely surprising then the often
circuitous route that brings a major star to our attention is surely
exemplified in the wonderful Rebecca Ferguson.
Just over a year ago, this painfully shy, woefully
under confident single mother of two was shown auditioning for The X Factor. In
what is surely one of the best audition sequences ever shown on the programme,
her story of dignified resignation – pregnant at 17, then again at 19, with no
money and little hope – struck a chord with the nation. It seemed that this was
a voice destined never to be heard. Then she opened her mouth and her
stunningly raw rendition of Sam Cooke’s classic “A Change Is Gonna Come” set
the bar on the show, oh, just a million miles higher….
It’s immaterial that she came second on the show –
perhaps even preferable, as it has meant that the last year has allowed this
Liverpudlian world-class singer/songwriter to hone her writing skills and to
channel that remarkable soul voice into a selection of songs that will
establish this 25 year old as the voice of her generation, and a global
superstar.
With a writing skill that belies her years, Rebecca
Ferguson’s debut album does not pander to fashion. It’s not a hybrid of every
current hip musical genre, shaken around a bit and mixed into an amorphous
lump. This is soul; raw emotion pours out of every fibre of every note making
the others sound... ordinary. Fiercely proud of her working class Liverpool
roots, Rebecca’s route here hasn’t been an easy one, but it’s given her a
dignified fighting spirit, which bursts through her lyrics and informs the path
she hopes her career will follow. Basically, she is a true artist, in it for
the long haul.
Until now all Rebecca’s admirers have had are her TV
appearances. That audition of ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ has had 2.9million views
alone on YouTube, whilst her inspired renditions of Eurythmics’ ‘Sweet Dreams’,
Chris Isaac’s ‘Wicked Game’ and Candi Staton’s ‘You Got The Love’ showed that
her range of influences was stunningly diverse. But the show itself gave
Rebecca something that money can’t buy. “It completely changed me as a person.
I’m strong now. Singing used to just be a dream, now it’s my focus. I had begun
to give up hope and then the show happened and now, with this first album, I
just wanted to get to a point where my voice and my songs are as good as they
can possibly be”.
It got her here, to her first single, ‘Nothing’s Real
But Love’; passionate yet displaying the control that only a great singer can
muster, the subject is one close to Rebecca’s heart - what’s really important
in life - “No money, no house, no car, can beat love.”
“People used to say to me ‘Being rich doesn’t make you
happy, Rebecca’’’ she says. “And I’d think I’ve got no electricity, nothing -
tell that to my empty fridge. But now I’m doing okay, I realize, they were
right. It doesn’t matter what you’ve got, as long as you’ve got love. I know
that sounds cheesy, but that’s everything”.
It’s a theme continued on much of her searingly honest
debut album. “I spilled my soul out. A lot of it comes from writing about
relationships I’ve been in, so I think everyone can probably relate to the
lyrics – we’ve all been there.” A self-confessed perfectionist, Rebecca, who
has always written her own material, wrote a song every day for months. “People
just made an assumption, ‘She came off The X Factor she won’t be able to
write. We’ll just write her songs.’ Then as time passed they realised, ‘Oh,
she can actually do this!’”
"Heaven" is out this April 2012, only from Ivory Music &
Video, the exclusive licensee of Sony Music in the Philippines.
=================
Rebecca Ferguson - Heaven - Track by Track Part 4
Rebecca Ferguson - Nothing's Real But Love
"Nothing's Real But Love"
Standing in a line
Wonder why it don't move
Tryna get a hand
Watching people break the rules
And maybe the man in charge
Doesn't like my face
But then this world's not always good
And nothing's real but love
Nothing's real but love
No money, no house, no car,
Can beat love
They watch us open-mouthed
As we joke around like fools
See who can be the worst
Watch what I can do
But then the door gets slammed,
Slammed right in my face
And I guess this world's not always good
And nothing's real but love
Nothing's real but love
No house, no car, no job
Can beat love
It won't fill you up
No money, no house, no car
Is like love
La la la la la la la la
Yeaaah
I put it all away
Holding it back for a rainy day
But what if that day don't come
I need love
No money, no house, no car
Is like love
It don't fill you up
It won't build you up
It won't fill you up
It's not love!
And nothing's real but love
No money, no house, no car
Is like love
Nothing's real but love
No money, no house, no car
Is like love
=================
Rebecca Ferguson - Heaven - Track by Track Part 4
