5 + 5 Reasons to Watch

I was going to do this video as part of my 5 Reasons to Watch series, but I honestly have a problem picking only 5 reasons whenever it comes to these Guys. That would be 5 reasons that are not the 5 Guys, because that is what I want to do. Just list them one after the other. They all bring so much to the table that it seem unfair to only pick one or two of them. And, sure, I could do that, but then I wouldn't be able to list anything else and there are so many other things I want to list about this video.
So, I am just going to start listing and see where I end up. This can be fun!

Here we go!!

??? Reasons to Watch Home Free's cover of Garth Brooks Friends In Low Places:


1. The song - I love it!! I have heard it before, even though I don't think it was ever a very big hit in Sweden. I'm not really sure what it is about it that I love, I just do. Sometimes it is hard to put your finger on it and this is one of those times. Let me know why you love it, if you do!
2. Tim Foust - that voice! Oh man, that voice! This song showcases it better than any other song I have heard him sing. Just listen to how easily he goes from those low notes to those high notes and down to low notes again. Brava, Tim! Brava! I can't get enough of him singing this song.
3. Austin Brown - I am a big fan of Austin, and I have been from the first note I ever heard him sing (Ring of Fire feat Avi Kaplan). And as much as I love hearing him sing solos, I utterly adore hearing him do the type of harmony and high notes he does in this song. It lifts the song, it lifts Tim's voice and it lifts me. The fullness in Austin's voice is at it's best here, in my opinion. I love Tim in this song, but I think I love Austin just as much.
4. Adam Rupp - Great "drumming", Adam, as always! But also, great harmonizing! I am still waiting for the day we get to hear Adam sing a line on his own. Those doo-woops are awesome, but we need more, k!
5. Rob Lundquist - Come on! That whistling! We know he his an absolutely amazing whistler and he proves it yet again in ths song. I don't think I have heard anybody that can whistle that well ever before in my life.
6. Chris Rupp - yet again Chris' flawless harmonies acts like the glue between the rest of the guys, it fills the song out preventing it from sounding empty which is so important to the Home Free sound. That is something they do better than any other a cappella group I have ever heard. It might not be easy to pick up Chris specifically all the time, but he's there - lifting everything and everyone to higher grounds.
7. The scenery - what is not to like about the ocean, the colours, the wild life, the beach. I feel right at home with them there on the beach. I was just down at the beach today, different sea, different beach, but under the same sky.
8. The ice cold water over Tim's head - how much fun is that! I still laugh at his facial expression every time I watch this video. It's priceless.
9. The fun - As always these guys know how to have fun. And it shows in this video as well. This is one of the many reason's why I love them so much. They have so much fun, and they share it and show it. It's contagious. It makes me smile and laugh and feel like I'm there with them.
10. The chicken - if you are a Home Fry you know all about the chicken, and I know I have promised the rest of you the story about the stealth chicken, A question to the non-Fries in here; have you ever seen a chicken of any sort in any other Home Free videos? I'm sure you have because there is at least one in almost all of their videos starting with "All About That Bass". Sometimes it's hidden in plain sight and sometimes it's harder to find. I always have trouble finding it because I get so distracted by watching the Guys.

I think that's it for now. This post grew from 5 to 10 reasons to watch this video. I'm sure I could list more, but I'll save it for another time.

I hope you enjoy the video and the song as much as I do!

Love//
Carina

5 Reasons to Watch, 3

I feel like there is a lot of Peter Hollens going on in my life right now. That's not a bad thing. Far from it. I have been spending many hours this week listening to his songs. I've been a bit under the weather and his music has helped me find inspiration again. Not only is Peter Hollens a fantastic musician, he also seems to be a very nice and humble guy. And not only that, he actually "told" me that he loved the post I did on Misty Mountains featuring Tim Foust a couple of days ago. I mentioned to him, in a message on Patreon yesterday, that he had liked the tweet with the link to it and he replied back on that message that he loved. In capital letters and several exclamation marks. How cool is that?! Thanks, Peter!

Anyway, I've been thinking about writing about his version of this song because it is one of my favourites, and today he released a new version of it. Great timing there!

Today's video choice is;

I See Fire - Peter Hollens featuring Taylor Davis

(Taylor Davis is an amazing violinist and she's been in a couple of Home Free's songs as well.)

Here's the list;

1. The arrangement - I love the build up in this song. It goes from soft to energetic to power in an absolutely perfect balance. That's how you do it! Again, Tom Anderson did a great job with it and Peter and Taylor perfects it! The way the violin blends in and at the same time stands out is brilliant. That's not an easy thing to do!
2. Taylor Davis - I've already mentioned that she is amazing at playing that violin. She's feeling it, she's not just playing it. Violin can be terrible if played without feelings, but I've never heard anything by Taylor Davis that's been without soul. Just click her name above this list and listen to more of her stuff, she loves film and video game scores. Cool stuff!
3. The scenery - The contrast between the cold, windy and snowy mountain where Peter is and the still and green forest where Taylor is gives the song a feeling of hope. I'm being thrown back and forth between the worst of winters and the best of summers back in Sweden. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. Even this video is the work of the amazing people at FifGen Films. What can I say? Awesome job! Simple, but stunning and effective.
4. The song - I haven't seen the Hobbit yet. I know - shame on me, but who has the time when there are so many great music videos to watch and re-watch? Anyway, I love this song. It's beautiful and powerful. Not just the arrangement, but the melody and the lyrics too. It's emotional and strong. Ed Sheeran sure wrote an amazing song and you can read the story about it here. It's quite cool.
5. Peter Hollens- I can't really leave him out, can I? Not that I would want to. Peter has this amazing ability to transform his voice into what seems like almost anything song wise. Soft, emotional, powerful - he does it all. And he does it all in this song. And he can sing, like really good. That's a great thing for a singer, not all of them can. The way he layers the songs with himself and his own voice, but still manages to make it sound like there is a whole bunch of different people, is really cool, and he does it oh so well. Great job, as always, Peter!

Please, when you have listened to the song and watched the video, at least a few times, check the information underneath it and follow the links and hit like, subscribe or whatever is required on all of Peter's and Taylor's different social media pages. And FifGen's too.

As always, please, let me know what you think of this list. Do you agree or do you disagree with anything?

The next video in this series will be the new Home Free video. It hasn't been released to the public yet, but you can expect it within the next couple of days, or you can go sign up on Patreon and watch it right now. This video is so much fun and it is one of my favourite songs they do. Keep an out for it, and for my 5 Reasons to Watch it.

If you want to hear this song with Peter Hollens, but fully a cappella you can find it here. You can find Ed Sheerans original here. As much as I love Ed's version, I must say I prefer both of Peter's versions, but since I love the violin my favourite is this video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and let me know which one is your favourite.

Have a great weekend!

Love//

Carina

5 Reasons to Watch, 2

Welcome back!

Today's choice of video is one that speaks to the little girl inside of me, as well as to the music lover and the Disney lover that I am. This is a medley of Disney Princess songs. Evynne Hollens, wife of Peter Hollens from the latest post in this series, loves singing and she is very, very good at it, and in this video and song she showcases 14 Disney Princesses from Snow White in 1937 to Elsa and Anna, from Frozen, in 2013.

Here's my list with 5 Reasons to Watch;

Evolution of the Disney Princess with Evynne Hollens

1. The songs - I love Disney songs! The arranger Nathan Alef has chosen the most catching and well-known parts of each song, and it makes this medley even more appealing to me because I don't really know the rest of the lyrics to most of them, but these parts I know so this song is just full of fun!
2. The outfits - Seriously, if you are going to do a video where you sing 14 different Disney Princess songs you NEED 14 different Princess costumes. These were made especially for Evynne and you can find the link for the company that made them in the video information. All the costume are simply cool and fun! More fun!
3. The make-up - I love the make-up in this video. It really enhances Evynne's beauty in so many different ways and I can without using my imagination see the Princess she is for every song. Whoever did it did a fantastic job!
4. The edit - I think this edit is brilliant. All the Princesses are completely separate from each other in those squares, but at the same time they are all together when they all look at the one singing. I don't know how they did it but FifGen Films are masters as we already know, but without great filming by Merlin Showalter the brilliant editing couldn't have been this perfect. 
5. Evynne Hollens - is certainly not the least on this list. There are so many things to say about her. First of all her voice; it is pure and clean and yet so full of emotions that I can hear the Princesses singing. Her eyes are just amazing and mesmerizing. She goes so much into character in each of the Princesses that I believe she is her, it shows in her eyes, on her face and in her whole body language. Ant then there's the joy - the joy is so contagious and I can see that she really loves doing this and it makes me happy.

There we have it. I love this video and medley and I will watch it over and over again for a long time to come.It makes me happy. Evynne also released a video of the full version of one of songs today, you can check t out here, but first go have a look at this video, and share it. Always share the videos and my posts. Help spread the music to the world. I believe it makes the world a better and happier place!

Also, you should totally head over to Evynne's YouTube channel! She has lots and lots of fun stuff there! Maybe you want to learn how to belt like a Disney Princess? Well, Evynne can teach you how to do it!

That's it from me for today. Let me know what you think of my list! 

Love//

Carina

5 Reasons to Watch

Welcome to my first ever 5 Reasons to Watch Series!

In this series I will simply state 5 Reasons To Watch a certain music video of my choice. The reasons will of course very much be from my personal point of view and taste. The songs, artists and videos can be just about anything, but there will of course be a focus on Home Free's videos, as well as Chris Rupp's videos, but not only. 

My choice for the first video and song is one I haven't been able to stop watching and listening to since it's release almost 2 weeks ago. I actually wake up with this song in my head even if I haven't listened to it the evening before;

Misty Mountain with Peter Hollens featuring Tim Foust

Here are my 5 Reasons to Watch it;

1. Peter Hollens - is an amazing artist with a spectacular voice and he is considered something of a YouTube phenomenon with his more than 1,3 Million subscribers. He collaborates with a lot of different, mostly independent and YouTube based, artists using his fandom and popularity to spread the music outside of the big labels. Most of the songs he releases are completely a cappella and except for the guest/featuring artist all sounds are made by Peter himself. Everything you hear in this video, except for Tim Foust, is Peter. That's just - wow!
2. Tim Foust - the voice. That deep, full bass takes me to places I've never been before and it makes me want to go there over and over again. Having heard that voice live, having felt the rumbling all around and inside my body in real life makes me want to sit close by when he sings this. Holy Bass!! I want more of it!
3. Tim Foust - the eyes. It's like he looks straight into the deepest corner of my soul and funnily enough brings light into it. They grab me, and keep me hooked all way through, and when he's not in picture I miss them. Sorry Peter, but Tim wins this one. I want more of them!
4. The arrangement - by Tom Anderson - I've heard a few arrangements of this song and this is one of my favourites. It feels full and it satisfies me. It doesn't distract from the song, but enhances it. And even though I want more of that bass I also love Peter's voice and I think the two complements the other very well.
5. The video - by FifGen Films - no surprise there really, everything they do turns out great and original. What they did with Tim for this video was amazing, they were able to bring out the darkness in him. Fun fact is that Peter's and Tim's parts were filmed thousands of miles apart at different times, in different countries. I wonder if they brought his clothes with them to location?

Obviously, you need to check out the video for yourself to be able to agree or disagree with my reasons. Do you have any more reasons that I haven't listed? (I have limited myself to 5, of course) Do you not agree with any of my reasons? Let me know in the comments below. 

Love//

Carina

Here's the video;