EXPLAINED || Breaking Down One of The HARDEST Song In Pop Music

[@BlackMusicArchive]

To support this channel in its efforts to continue making quality and accessible music education content please consider a donation: paypal.me/blackmusicarchive cash.app/$BlackMusicArchive account.venmo.com/u/milikkashad Zelle: [e-mail]

[@lovethefields]

Love you’re work ✊🏾

[@PrettiBrownEyesMisha]

This is impressive considering Dionne was and still is a heavy smoker

[@markpeter4304]

I think he did a video on why singers smoke...very good watch

[@MariaSilvaHelena]

@@markpeter4304 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 yess!

[@saintjay8058]

But Dionne has the gospel and college education to know how to work her voice to sound the best in any scenario so I’m not shocked she’s able to pull this off

[@samueledouardd.2613]

So you think she still 🚬 smokes !

[@ParentalDiscretionIsAdvised]

@@samueledouardd.2613 if she is in her 80s, thats very BOLD and badass of her!

[@ghiberti]

Dionne is a technically gifted and well educated vocalist! She masterfully executed Promises, Promises with so much ease and class!

[@DariusDaniels]

Dionne is the OG of pop music. Many have come after her, many are more "memorable" in comparison to her and her catalog, but Ms. Warwick is the blueprint.

[@lindawilliams8715]

DIONNE WARWICK's gospel singing background contributed greatly to her ability to navigate the scale and having a degree in music helps also . Watching her sing is truly a master at work.

[@Djm8520]

True story. Jerry Orbach (yes Law & Order Jerry) had the lead for the role on Broadway in the original production. Jerry, in addition to his movie and TV acting, was a Broadway veteran. Well, he had to sing ‘Promises, Promises’ in the production. In rehearsals, he was struggling mightily. Finally, he stormed out of the rehearsal shouting, “No one can sing this sh*t!” Well Burt Bacharach was unaccustomed to his music being called sh*t so he wasn’t happy. He called Dionne and explained the dire situation with his leading man and asked her to fly to NYC ASAP. She did and Burt immediately booked her into a studio and she recorded a demo of the song. The next day Burt played it for Jerry and said, “ that’s how you sing this sh*t!” And listening to Dionne’s version is how Jerry learned to sing the song. The kicker is, when it came time for Dionne to record her album ‘Promises, Promises’ she and Burt decided to use that demo recording for the album. It was that good! The second kicker is Jerry Orbach won the Tony Award for ‘Promises, Promises.’

[@basilmusic9041]

Best story on KZbin! Thanks!

[@Djm8520]

@@basilmusic9041 Cheers 🍻

[@singingmanmd]

Ms. Dionne is a bad sister!! That icon can blow❤❤❤!!!

[@britbra2]

She is a vocal acrobat... better yet a vocal magician her voice is the truth

[@Musicblue22]

Alot of yall are just commenting and not watching the video.and it shows he literally breaks down the complexity of the song. This song requires alot of breath due to its tempo and literally how fast the verses need to be sung and the note jumps. You practically have to sing this in one long breath plus comparing a song like this to songs by Mariah and Beyonce are literally comparing apples to oranges. Leave the stan antics at the door please

[@iantuition]

it's not that and it really has nothing to do with "stan antics". the title is just VERY hyperbolic, so of course people want to refute it, which is detracting from the actual content - but that's why, as a creator, one should choose titles carefully.

[@miacasac926]

@@iantuition Wanting to engage an audience that actually watches his videos and fostering an intelligent community is also a choice. Why would he change the title just to please some silly stans lol

[@iantuition]

@@miacasac926 did I say he should. no question mark for a reason. you're acting like a silly stan yourself.

[@m1nogue]

​@@iantuitionanyone who uses even 1% of their brain would not even have a complaint with the title. Keyword is that it is ONE OF THE hardest songs to sing, not "the hardest song to sing"

[@iantuition]

@@m1nogue the title originally WAS "the hardest song in pop music" lol. And I don't even necessarily disagree with that declaration, but it was bound to invite... discourse. 🤣

[@dsm7014]

You produce THE best musical analysis videos on this website. Could you do one on Donna Summer?

[@marysalvi242]

💖I just saw her a few weeks ago..she had a to sit because of a foot injury, & one could see her having something wrong, like needing to cough, um she'd put her hand up to her throat, pull the mic away when singing...she had no water on the stage. Her dynamics, gift of voice, a pro at using the microphone, also, letting us sing parts, of course we were loving it and her. Then at some point she took a lozenge or something ~ she announced her injured foot & that she was getting over being sick.Oh, at one point of course a big powerful moment of her notes - there was a pause & she worked it, relaxing, that pause though knowing it was for her to be able to do what she does best..not feeling cheated at all, because of course, this great vocalist hit the ending. Jokingly saying, "didn't think I could do it hey?" Now that's a pro.

[@singingmanmd]

That's Ms. Dionne. I believe you, lol

[@MariaSilvaHelena]

Dionne was also amazing! She deserves more attention. Here in Brazil, she is very loved.

[@WarrenHolly]

That's awesome. Music is such a powerful entity.

[@charlita25]

Wow 🤩 Ms. Dionne was fabulous . Whitney got a lot of vocal stylings and phrases from her as well I see

[@michaelbarlow6610]

The incredible length of time Dionne holds that note singing the word "Yes" at the end of the song, "Promises, Promises" is absolutely mind boggling!!!!😳😳😳😳 And her holding a long note just before launching into the song is amazing in that she wasn't out of breathe right then and there before the song proper begins!!!!

[@sandrabentley8111]

Yes! And she was and maybe still is a smoker.

[@JAnotherday]

For for Burt Bacharach, it took a certain special singer with a distinctive quality of voice to sing his Masterpiece of written songs. This is why the ever talented Miss Dionne Warwick was chosen to perform them.❤

[@rr7firefly]

Later in her career, Dionne would have to fall back on far lesser material, as the Bacharach train had moved on.

[@IronheartvsMiles]

Blacks are better at everything

[@monilaninetynine3811]

Dionne is the GOAT and her HBO Max documentary is great.

[@PeaceFan1]

I LOVE Dionne! Her Voice is Exceptional!! My FAVE song by her is " Alfie" which she really didn't want to do at 1st but I am SO Glad she Did!!! xoxoxoxo .. I will Say that 2 other singers do this (the transitions and moving from one octave to another) Flawlessly: ARETHA and Karen Carpenter!!! xoxoxo

[@cjrichmond6691]

Dejavu is my favorite.

[@WarrenHolly]

One of my favorites also.

[@WarrenHolly]

@@cjrichmond6691 you seem to have a wealth of knowledge about artist. Can you recommend some channels on some of the greats and their instruments 🙏🏾

[@giannimusic6054]

Also, not to mention the harder part of changing time signatures after every other measure or at times every measure, is only something a true musician can do. Since she was a piano/music ed major at the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut, she could do these easily.

[@jeffreycallaway4614]

“Promises-Promises”definitely not for the “faint of heart “ Thank you for the lesson. 🙏🏾 🎤🎼🎶🎵

[@leruomatabane]

Can you please create an "Explained" video based on Dionne's overall singing style.

[@Matt-su5fy]

He has one out. Just scroll down his videos

[@lordvoldemort5725]

@@Matt-su5fy No he doesn’t. He rebranded his channel.

[@singingmanmd]

Ms. Dionne is pure vocal platinum, period❤❤❤!!!

[@insomniablues3769]

Thanks!

[@joshuaalexander6296]

Could u repost the full video of explained for Dionne’s voice

[@Divasarchive]

It’s a crime that Donna summer hasn’t had a video made about her yet her voice needs to be studied as well as her impact on pop/ electronic music today

[@TechWizz]

I agree Donna, Donna!

[@Matt-su5fy]

no shade but if you’re pointing out said crime, feel free to open your pockets so our boy can dedicate his time to making it happen. Studying someone’s life, their collaborators’ life etc to try and understand their choices and manage to put their voice analysis together is hard work. Some info is rare and has to be paid for - old newspaper articles etc. Some collaborators never give interviews so you have to look harder.. and the literature involving in the explaining of idk.. why Summers G#4 were husky, while her G#3 and G#5 were clean for example can also be expensive. There’s a lot that goes into a video like this beyond what we can see…

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

She had one, but he deleted it. He’s changing up the channel. I’m sure she’s coming along with others.

[@bmwjourdandunngoddess6024]

@@Matt-su5fy Oop, GET IT!

[@Divasarchive]

@@Matt-su5fyI was just making a request because I’m a huge Donna fan there’s clearly a ton of work that goes into these videos as they are high quality and amazing and I have nothing but respect for the work that goes into these videos and the work that is done to cover artists is extensive and impressive

[@facediva]

Wow just WOWWWW...MS. WARWICK IS SIMPLY ICONIC. I SWEAR IF I DIDNT KNOW BETTER, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT SHE WAS WHITNEY'S MOTHER

[@IAMMOVIN4WARD]

Wow! The fantastic Dionne Warwick still blows me away after all these years! 💧💧

[@hiridavidfeign]

I really appreciate this. I've heard it was a hard song to sing but I didn't know why.

[@brittsavage007]

the notes and range are one thing but I'm forever impressed with how effortlessly she sails through those ever-changing time signatures.

[@MariaSilvaHelena]

Why do some people intoxicate themselves with comments about Mariah Carey? People! Mariah had a short period of good voice. She wrote beautiful songs. But she had a lot of difficulty to reproduce live what she did in the studio. To compare a Dionne concert with a Mariah concert is crazy. Mariah's 1993 concert is all edited and dubbed. The 1995/96 concert is also dubbed. I don't need to comment on ATW and TEOM.

[@channelchanel7488]

Well, I don't know what to say since the lambs keep fueling other artists' videos with comments about the legendary Mimi. Whitney's video? You'll see lambs commenting about Mariah. Celine Dion's video? You'll see another lamb. Beyonce? Again, you see the lambs. Of course we all know how the comments sound. Mariah can do this and that and sort of. And the list goes on... As if youtube does not have many videos about Mimi....

[@channelchanel7488]

@@odumosuolusegun2781 I used to be Mimi's fan. I started listening to her from The Butterfly album, in which her voice started to deteriorate at this time. I moved backwards and started to buy her earlier albums and found out that her singing ability was great. However, I realize that Mimi is human that has weaknesses and flaws. When she's bad, we say she's bad. When she's good, we say she's good. We are not supposed to be "blind" in liking an artist. This channel has opened our eyes to many "unrecognizable" incredible talents in the music industry and help us to appreciate them more. We see names like Viki Winans, Phyllis Hyman, Taylor Dayne etc. It is actually sad to see that some people cannot move away a second from their idols and try to enjoy the great talents outside their idols.

[@angelllxox]

Difficulty to reproduce what she did live in the studio? Mariah literally blew her studio versions of her songs out of the water with her live performances, there are so many examples, please do some research before making redundant claims.

[@channelchanel7488]

@@angelllxox From my point of view, one of Mariah's weakness is her inconsistency during live shows. Sometimes she is THAT good... But sometimes she can be very disappointing. Compared to the other two members of the trinity (Whitney and Celine), she is the most inconsistent one. I have seen videos when Mariah's live performance was half-dubbed or fully-dubbed. Nowadays, she even uses her whistle notes more often. Though it is pleasing to the ear, it is might also indicates that she has difficulty in accessing higher notes through other registers (chest voice or head voice) , so she jumps to the whistle notes. Her difficulty in accessing higher notes through head voice can be seen in the infamous Diva's Live 1998, when they performed together in the Natural Woman song. It was Celine then who receive criticism for being head-to-head with Aretha, but actually it was Mariah's failure to access higher notes when Aretha asked her that caused Celine finally took over.

[@angelllxox]

@@channelchanel7488 No but I’m responding to the og commenters statement about Mariah finding it difficult to perform live to the standard she does in the studio, that’s not true in the slightest. Idc about what’s dubbed or not bc in most cases her undubbed is literally 10x better and more powerful than dubbed. I understand what you’re saying and I agree.. about the Divas Live situation, where she was struggling vocally, if only it had taken place a few years earlier during her Daydream era

[@tylermills4812]

Wow, I never would've guessed this! You are introducing me to so much. My favorite music channel.

[@perryhughes9429]

The octave jump at the end. WOW!!!!!!!

[@skydiamond8705]

This is so true about this song i tried singing the song when I was younger and it was hard it sounded horrible in the studio it was one of the first song I head of hers and since I was singing friends i wanted to do a solo around at time moy vocal change I went from singing Susaye Greenn note to singing Sarah Vaughan notes

[@CeliaMitchell-ot5ir]

Beautiful voice control Madame Dionne. I love this

[@thatboycjsings]

Thanks for these videos I’m learning a lot before going to college to study music!!

[@iantuition]

I really missed this video. thanks for restoring!

[@kael6723]

All time fave of Dionne’s - where she exhibits her lung power and phrasing; not to mention - mic technique. Drinkard blood at its finest.

[@edglebennett6312]

I love and support your videos and musical education. Thank you!

[@_KayBee_]

I love this series, appreciate the content. 🙌🏾

[@TGSHomeandGarden]

One of my favorite songs! Thank you for the breakdown.

[@jacobsmith7498]

Very interesting breakdown! Thank you

[@ginapetonito]

Excellent video. I learned a lot. Thank you Milik Kashad for your work.

[@PeukinsPoint]

Well now I simply must attempt it.

[@ranraney820]

But was Dionne really forgetting? Or making an exec decision because the band was behind/out of time-rhthym? Saw this explanation at the Ed Sullivan Dionne clip: "Notice that orchestra suddenly looses the beat, just in the moment she stops to talk and star to sing. Very notorious the doublebass stays silent, out of metric, due the ryrhm is sincopado, Dionne very smartly cut the sentence of lyrics be cause she realizes orchestra is complicated with beat. " from@ crist67mustang

[@ceebangaa1369]

please remake the video on Dionne Warwick’s voice. I always came back to it and it’s disappointing that it’s not back yet

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

Those two final notes. Wow!

[@camdenbreeden6847]

Much love ❤

[@TrillBill]

Amazing

[@MrMjp58]

Excellent.

[@PharaohLawLess1]

Thank you

[@joncerda351]

4:52 is vocal nirvana

[@VidaFBaby1]

Yeah I need them to come on with this biopic with Teyana. We need to give her all of her flowers while she's here.

[@miacasac926]

Thank you for everything you do!!

[@damianbyrne1664]

Great explanation,...

[@sammartin6979]

I love it 😍

[@joncerda351]

This is absolutely brilliant

[@iantuition]

also, when singing this song with the studio version (which is slower), I found the timing difficult to manage sometimes, mainly in the first verse. "I don't know hooooowwwww I got the neeeerve to walk ouuuut" / "If I shout, remember..." was particularly unwieldy, both in the length of notes in the first line, and the transition between "walk out" and "if I shout". and of course, the chorus. can you offer some theory as to what causes that feeling? I also noticed that most of the performances in this video speed the song up from the original, likely to make those long phrases shorter without chopping them up.

[@BlackMusicArchive]

To answer your question, navigating the passagio, but also on the full score/sheet music some of these phrases occur on a change in time signature. In the song, Dionne jumps between 2/4 3/4 4/4 and a lot of those jumps happen simultaneously during the verses.

[@skhulilengema4094]

I remember this. You put it on here before.

[@charlita25]

Break it down 🎼 I always had trouble with passagio with trying to sing “Unbreak my heart “

[@angelawright7048]

I didn't know, and now I know .

[@PaulPaid]

We love Dionne. What? No Donna Summer breakdown on this channel?

[@MariaSilvaHelena]

❤

[@brockreynolds870]

And another HUGE complication in this song is that I believe I counted that it changes time signature TWENTY times through the course of the song!

[@markpeter4304]

It was written with Dusty Springfield in mind. But it is said Dusty couldn't handle the song and so Dionne came to the rescue .

[@stormtrooper253]

Do you have an episode devoted to Dionne Warwick's voice and her career?

[@oldsoul_anth243]

He had one before.

[@itsraikenmaster1455]

Hi ive been a big fan of ur content since the ilovearethafranklin account era! Can you please make a video about fachs? Explained about tenors and other different types of tenors

[@TheWallo1234]

Can you do an explanation on Sade's vocal range?

[@FiliGoddess]

I always found that One Note Samba was difficult as well. What say you?

[@Lipe.G.C.2002]

Explained Whitney Houston voice in all her eras 🙏🏻🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@PrettiBrownEyesMisha]

Baccarat loved Dionne, I noticed she’d often sing perform his songs

[@wildanimalworldwide]

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙒𝙄𝙇𝘿!

[@hyacynthwiz]

explained on donna summer's voice please

[@Tebogojm87]

Can you please do Patti Labelle

[@llambert6951]

What about Lead The Way by Mariah Carey.....

[@charlita25]

I thought we were gonna be discussing 3LW 🤷🏽‍♀️😩

[@TCarchive]

💜🙏🏻

[@katsosekhute8737]

why have i seen this video before

[@Lindamorena]

1st ❤

[@shojikameda7414]

HELPPP can the lambs please calm down mariah isn't the only singer that exists in the world please be quiet and just watch the video instead of being an obsessive stan for 1 second PLEASE

[@markpfotenhauer6222]

Dionne does not smoke anymore..

[@brandnewheavie7548]

Goodbye, Mr. Bacharach.

[@adriennebrailsford6291]

3lw lispy one is all I hear with promises promises 😂 intrusive mental meme

[@calvinmcdonald1878]

The song is not hard to sing the music have rhythm it controls the emotions of the timing ❤️

[@DanielFerreira-hz4cc]

Impressive is not Dionne singing. Is she singing as easy as drinking a glass of water that impress!

[@BoyTheBlack]

Are you a trained musician?...

[@ronny9833]

Definitely not the hardest pop song but still a hard song!

[@tgreen9774]

What do you think the hardest pop song is?

[@theeepidural6144]

@@tgreen9774probably something by Mariah. she’s got so many difficult songs that have fast paced upper belting, and dramatic register switches, and insane agility.

[@oldsoul_anth243]

The title only says it but he did say that it is one of the hardest pop songs to sing.

[@oldsoul_anth243]

@@theeepidural6144 My All is vocally demanding. Well, I think most of her songs demand labor.

[@BlackMusicArchive]

@@theeepidural6144 Honest question, if Mariah Carey was not making music, or better yet born when this was released, why is she in this conversation? Why is "pop music" of this particular time period not being discussed? The style of Pop music that Dionne made and which "Promises" derives from isn't remotely close to what Mariah Carey does.

[@tgreen9774]

I think mariah carey's lead the way or Beyoncé's love on top is the hardest pop song to sing

[@oldsoul_anth243]

Ms. Bey's Love On Top isn't really that hard if you have the range. I think her song Dangerously In Love is even harder.

[@oldsoul_anth243]

I've seen so many singers pulling Love on Top note by note.

[@llambert6951]

Lead the Way for sure

[@BlackMusicArchive]

While you are entitled to your opinion, the gap between “Promises” and the Beyoncé and Mariah tracks you mentioned is 40 years. The parameter and definitions of “pop” have changed greatly within that time frame. “Promises” today would fall under “traditional pop,” hence the song is being compared to its contemporaries, not to the music of women who weren't active let alone born, when the song was released.

[@MariaSilvaHelena]

@@llambert6951 Of course, in the studio! I can't consider an artist if he doesn't repeat what he does in the studio by doing it live. Like voice and piano, guitar, no bases, no playback.

[@SteveAyanami]

Promithes, promithes.

[@carlosmunoz5761]

I feel like I can name 10 songs harder than this. Starting with Mariah Carey.

[@BlackMusicArchive]

How many of those songs were released in 1960s? How many of those signs fall into the realm of pop music that Dionne Warwick made? We are discussing “pop music” of the period at hand!

[@r.a.l.p.h]

@@BlackMusicArchive Can KZbin creators delete comments. Delete this comment please BMA before I hurt somebody feelings! Real bad

[@bclislife]

Then make that video yourself. This is BMA’s video.

[@musiclovers6884]

Mariah is an amazing singer she has hard songs that are hard for anyone to sing the issue with Mariah is she uses vocals playback when she sings them live while Dionne didn’t she was 100 live 🤷‍♂️

[@ImvuEntertainment]

@@musiclovers6884 still to this very day at 80+ Dionne makes sure she’s completely live