Regina Spektor - "Open" captured in The Live Room

Regina Spektor performs her song "Open" in an exclusive recording session live at Electric Lady Studios in New York, NY for The Live Room on The Warner Sound.
Executive Producer
Phil Botti
Director
Michael Thelin
Director of Photography
Mikko Timonen
Mixed by
Brett Eliason
Editor
Steven Pierce
Recording Engineer
Phil Joly
Captured live at Electric Lady Studios
New York, NY
Order Regina's album, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats:
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The Live Room with Regina Spektor was captured exclusively with Nikon D4 HD-SLRs camera and NIKKOR lenses.
The Live Room is an exclusive Warner Sound original series that captures today's most innovative artists performing live recording sessions in the most iconic recording studios across America.
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[@catherinelablanc7396]

I don't think people understand how difficult it is to make that noise in the third verse and sing straight after...regina is a goddess

[@yonggdavalos]

I secretly love that she isn't mainstream. Sometimes I feel selfish i just want her music for people who can understand her art. and to myself.

[@krysanthemum6528]

Yes! I feel this way a lot. I'm not proud to say it, but I have pretended to forget "the artist's" name when my friends ask me, though I know it's her, or sometimes it will "accidentally" slip my mind that I was going to tell them the name of the song later. Most music I listen to is little known, and some songs are even songs unknown to people around me by groups or people who are known for one, or a few other things. We will all always be connected through Regina. She is one of the best artists I think anyone could ever encounter. But she is not meant for all. Everyone here, have a great day, and great lives!

[@StaceyStaser]

YNG I 100% agree,cit makes her more special and appreciated to us

[@emilierapportmunro7595]

HOW does this woman manage to perform live and make her songs sound exactly the same as they do on her CDs? Magical.

[@thisevinj]

I was about to type the same :D

[@gidon567]

She's actually a classical pianist, songwriter and composer adapted to 21th century popular culture.

[@mariatibaduiza4417]

this woman makes me fall in love every time she opens her mouth, she is magnificent.

[@njdxnjdx]

You fall in love with her every time she opens her mouth? You may need a cold shower

[@billc2850]

I heard this song a 100 times and then a few nights ago, I had a few beers and had the headphones on and it was a religious experience. She is magic.

[@joeyjoe7930]

Some of the notes she makes in this performance shows clearly how amazing she is.

[@cait72590]

This sounds almost EXACTLY like the studio version. The fact that her voice is like that in real life is amazing.

[@temujin1234]

I think it portrays an anxiety attack well. The impersonated drums in some of the other songs are fun too. The unusual vocalizations are my favorite part of this album.

[@CaptainFSU]

It took me awhile to like this song, but now I realize its THE best song on Cheap Seats...One day I will see Regina live and I think I will have to call it quits, and this is coming from a Tool loving, Opeth heavy, Metalhead. Her music, the realism of it is something else...

[@randmiller88]

Easily the best song on an otherwise pretty weak album.

[@simplestuniverse]

To me this song is about the claustrophobic feeling you can get from being human, being trapped in your own mind and wanting to break free from all your limitations and fear. Sometimes you can feel like you can be on the brink of that, you can see life as 'open', beautiful, free... but then your mind can suck you right back into that confined dark space, but in a way it's not so bad, because you know they're just walls.

[@Skullz930]

The song is called "Open," the inhale is her trying to catch her breath in the closed room she "built herself." It's supposed to emphasis the panic in claustrophobia and knowing people who have claustrophobia, it's a very nice touch. If you don't agree with me, it's alright. To each their own. I'm not trying to start an argument. I'm just hoping to shed some light on it possibly.

[@sandrelio33]

she's absolutely gorgeous and amazing.

[@zenithquasar9623]

Potentially lovely, perpetually human!

[@davidmatthews3131]

Best line, agree!

[@nizzystar]

Everytime I hear this song I feel like we're dying and I'm all cold and we're choking and she 's breathing air for me. It's too much for a song

[@akiholicforevah]

This made me cry... it's too powerful.

[@theproleswillrise]

I love Regi. I finally got to see her perform live in Toronto a few months back and was just in awe the entire time.

[@teawithcinnamon]

She is so insanly talanted. And beautiful. It's almost unbelivable.

[@IHMadeThis]

I don't hear this autotuning, pitch correction that people are talking about in these videos...sounds like normal sound reflection in a big room recording.

[@hemmojito]

omg why do I get wet eyes a few seconds into this? Regina, you're the one!. Just chosen to play music and create beautiful songs with poignant lyrics always leaving us food for thought. I love this.

[@kpacubo.]

this performance will always be a classic for me.

[@evilmnky742]

She is perfection....Her music makes life sweet.

[@assassinofcydonia]

She never fails to blow my mind. Absolutely incredible.

[@taralemnios1252]

Absolutely brilliant. Genius

[@mainerblainer1]

how does she not need to cough after inhaling like that! She's amazing

[@StaceyStaser]

This is of her biggest masterpieces, a true piece of painful, beautiful art.

[@LightsOnTrees]

Eff me, I know a lot of this stuff is timing but that was a punch in the gut.

[@Rickoholic]

Such a dynamic pianist! She doesn't even need a bass player!

[@redchris05]

Pure magic. Best song on the album.

[@brynasims6791]

Agreed. I saw her in concert and was like she's a bit too perfect to be mortal!

[@AndyPanganYTC]

REGINA is an ART.. LOVED HER MUSIC EVER SINCE❤❤❤

[@LeilaHMPN]

She's so wonderful *-*

[@KaritKtana]

she's like an angel

[@jvollnogel]

Beautifully done

[@mrkarma85]

*inhale* is an euphemism - she literally swallows the air!

[@aextjt]

Enchanting...

[@HollyClothier]

blaghhh tooo amazing for words!

[@laformadelaluna4459]

genia

[@SuperMemzzz]

Friggen amazing!

[@JeanieZZZ]

Wow amazing!!!!!

[@Ceduria]

i love how one person named her action "inhaling" and now everybody says so, although nobody really knows how to call it.

[@yosoybangoo]

WOW!

[@EverythingMe15]

LOVE!

[@SmoSte]

When I heard you sing this song at the Tower back in May. I loved the way it sounded!

[@jeffpogue6962]

Nicely done.

[@mohamed329b]

So good *.*

[@emmemem]

I *inhales* am *inhales* in a room I've built myself *inhales* Four *inhales* straight walls *inhales*, one /foo-lor/ *inhales*, one ceiling *inhales* and day after day I wake up feeling *inhales*...

[@anniethesponge]

Oh Regina... Couldn't be better. :)

[@dawnluvs2play]

Totally agree 100%

[@GreatNPowerfulnessOz]

Chills!

[@StuMckay]

To the people that are questioning that her voice is auto-tuned - I know it's hard to believe in a world that glorifies mediocrity like Nikki Minaj that someone could actually sing live without the aide of technology, but there are people like Regina with a truly amazing voice, talent and a depth of lyricism that most pop stars will never traverse. These are the people we should be glorifying and if we don't then talent like this will be supplanted by vacuous, auto-tuned repugnancy. BE WARNED!

[@Blockistium]

there are a lot better examples of excessive auto tune than nicki minaj

[@stormblaster6781]

Stu Mckay the point isn’t to belittle modern music just because we don’t like something doesn’t mean it’s bad. I get your point to be frustrated because people don’t appreciate the art of music and it’s exquisiteness. But I’d rather focus that music is still being appreciated and still is relevant to this modern age.

[@stormblaster6781]

Makes it easier to cope

[@transientsmile]

I don't think people are complaining about autotune because she sounds too good to be true. I've been lucky enough to see her live a couple times and know she's absolutely perfect, and that's why I hate that this video has a couple bits that make her voice sound robotic and inhuman. I think it does her voice a disservice and her fans know that sounding human and expressive is more important to her music than being pitch perfect, so it just sounds funky and a little off and detracts from what is an otherwise really gorgeous video of a live performance.

[@LionAmongMen23]

talented

[@Skullz930]

That's very interesting. I actually like that examination more lol. Thanks for sharing.

[@october2996]

I agree!

[@ariskaraihan3965]

ok i don't understand what you guys are saying about pitch and all, i'm no musician at all but pls the song itself is totally mesmerizing. i mean........just.......i don't know, this song needs your heart to listen as well as you ear :) damn this song moves me to the point where i really wanna cry right now. the lyrics are too emotional. and that grasp during the verse "i'm in a room"... this deserves way much more recognition

[@LalaLady02]

She's gorgeous! =)

[@jaraquistain]

me sembra magnifico!!!

[@sweetapplepie]

HOW CAN SHE EVEN PLAY THE PIANO WITH HER EYES CLOSED????

[@Mercutiossword]

that's actually not that hard but she is an amazing artist

[@sweetapplepie]

For me is amazing, since I'm no musician or understand much about that. ♥

[@Mercutiossword]

:)

[@Mercutiossword]

:)

[@harshpeter]

have you heard of people like... Ray Charles? If you want to sing and play, you should be able to play almost like you are blind anyways :D

[@Trag3dyInV3nus]

That's regina....I love this song, obviously who ever finds this song weird has never really heard her music

[@kallenuppunen2059]

So my hand trembled but it hit the right one. I am open

[@alondrasanchez7330]

I was so hymotized by the song and her beautiful voice and then I hear " I *inhlae*" and jump! lol it was a cool touch to the song but it scared me and pop out of nowhere :D

[@20CarLex]

Ohhhh my fuckin God....no pinches mames que preciosa pieza de arte...simplemente FENOMENAL...eso es ser artista...!!!

[@atalanta1021]

respekt that is an AMAZING phrase mind if I adopt it?

[@toowarmtoohot]

I cant easily dl this playlist?

[@NostalgicCurse]

That's just her voice. XD

[@IAmPlaysWithSquirrel]

I wonder if she was inspired by Queen when she wrote this song? The melody is pretty similar to "Nevermore". Still, it's easily one of my favorite songs from her.

[@IAintOverYet]

Sorry if I came off a bit passionate. Whether she knew about or not (if in fact there was some "correction") is immaterial to me. She is a genuine musician, songwriter, and vocalist. I never once heard any claim that her voice is perfect. Instead, it's the slight imperfections in her voice, especially when young and starting out, that gave it a unique character. But what I have been hearing in the last 2 years or so is a more mature, controlled singing voice that comes with age and experience.

[@jayvincarlogavilanes6930]

song :)

[@CaroApple]

:O!

[@mrkarma85]

it wasn't meant to be offensive. In italian (which is my language) we use the term "euphemism" in association with terms that express lesser an intention than what we mean. For example : "Look at her, she has such curly hair." - "Wow, curly is an euphemism, she has a bush on her head." This is the kind of context where we use the term.

[@IAintOverYet]

You must NEVER have seen her in person. I've seen her 6 times in the last two years ... once even at a benefit in a museum in NYC where I stood at the foot of the stage a mere 20 feet or so from her. Another time only 4 rows from the stage where I could hear her even without the aid of a microphone. That is HER voice. She does use some of the "normal" effects in the sound, but it is minimal at best. I've even watched her standing close by during sound checks before a show. She's the real deal.

[@MegaFlashash]

I'm a straight female, but I honestly want to marry her. I told my boyfriend and everything. And I don't see anything wrong with this. Regina Spektor is nowhere near "perpetually human", she is a goddess if not god herself. -3

[@bigtitimonsterho4702]

i cry every time i hear this song it remind me of the people who get bullied so far it drives them to kill them selfs

[@myuudee]

There's no auto tune at all. o.o

Eu quero me caar com a Regina Spektor

[@Arci5621]

2:39

[@valuableupbeat2576]

wtf are them noises for i liked it till i heard them

[@Moonlightrealgirl]

that cellist is hot af

[@scarletpeoni9347]

I read that as 'ceiling' and was thinking of the gasping sounds lmao

[@soupedefromage]

Although she and her voice are all dolled up and pretty in this video, both would be a thousand times better on their own. Natural.

[@JorechDalc]

To me it's the same

[@joshuan42]

I don't think you know what auto-tune is...

[@sprtichck]

There's literally no auto tune, like at all.

[@RonanLG1]

Thank god I wasn't the only one to notice. People think I'm a freak when I notice these kinda things.

[@Sportygirl0404]

great song but the inhales where kind of odd. But her music is very complex so i think it went with her personality and kind of music.

[@dillywillyz]

its not a euphemism (to put in less offensive terms)... its a hyperbole (an exaggeration for effect)...

[@PanchocoloMan]

tampoco es una hipérbole .-. xD no está exagerando, está minimizando D:!

[@Freethinker99]

I agree that that is probably what she is trying to do, but the degree to which she does it-the actual sound-to my ears is EXACTLY like the dying gasps of someone being choked or dying than someone actually claustrophic or having a panic attack. For example, I'll bet no psychologist who deals with 'claustrophics' has ever heard them make a sound like this. So my view is that it is exaggerated, and in the exaggeration becomes a different sound altogether...

[@DrizzyBOfficial]

where do u hear autotune?

[@RiveaJ]

I personally think this song has something to do with being caught in a concentration camp in world war two, and the walls she built her self are the gas chambers - choking as she inhales the gas. Like you said, to each their own. I just thought I'd share mine.

[@monnie100]

I love 2:25 when it goes all eerie and beautiful, she is just so amazing though. WHY AUTO TUNE? Aargh it makes me angry!!!!!!

[@angryvader]

I love you!?

[@Freethinker99]

Regina is extraordinarily original and a fascinating musician, and the song benefits as usual from her precise and brilliantly expressive singing, but the 'choking gulps' or 'gasps' here I think don't work, since they're so disturbing and thus define what 's important in the song more than anything else-they are more nightmarish 'sounds of death' than sounds of anxiety-and make it difficult to recover the previous, more reflective and introspective mood.

[@Xeon979]

Elle me fait penser à Tori Amos

[@DanielBayot]

Sorry to break it to you guys, but her voice is being pitch corrected. It doesn't sound like autotune in the traditional sense where the engineer tweaks the vocal track after it's recorded... It sounds like the pitch processing is happening in real-time. You can tell when she glides from a note to another; each pitch shifts to the closest note in the chromatic scale. It's the engineers' crappy decision, not hers.

[@autumnd8314]

Daniel Bayot you don’t need to ruin everything and how do you?

[@BiggieShnouts]

Auto tune? I don't hear any

[@jlribeiro]

Everything was fine until 2:38 :O

[@kylamariebacarra6470]

BennyGoodTips you're right!!! 😍😍😍 Regina, can I even fall for you moreeeee?!

[@isuzure7]

her voice has been autotuned?

[@cmonster101124]

OUHHHHHHHH. OURGH LOL SHE SOUNDED DEMENTED.

[@novascottch]

It was really pretty until she started gasping. I know she was probably portraying suffering or suffocation or opening up or something, but it really took away from how hauntingly beautiful the rest of the song is :( Maybe if she hadn't done it so much. Otherwise, this is an incredible piece. I almost cried until she started croaking like a catfish.

[@JollyJont]

Okey this is gonna sound creepy, but please marry Gavin Degraw, have a child! I adopt it, my precious!!

[@user-kh9ki3kq8m]

I'm sad that they altered her voice. She sounds so beautiful and they make her sound like a robot :( reverb doesn't make your voice slide up to the next note in the chromatic scale. Pitch correction sounds so ugly to me

[@code_Wookiee]

there is 100% no auto-tune or correction. The only effect i hear is noise filters which are common in small room recording. Otherwise the vocal mic picks up the other instruments and sounds like shit.