Saturday, December 11, 2010

O Holy Night Off! Round 1 - Mariah Carey vs. Aretha Franklin

O Holy Night Off! Round 1 RB1 Mariah Carey vs. RB8 Aretha Franklin

Now we come to the R & B division, which, frankly, is probably the strongest division of them all. At the top of the list is Mariah Carey, with her version of OHN from her Merry Christmas album, one of the most popular and best Christmas albums ever (The Joy to the World/Joy to the World mash up is one best, with the Three Dog Night version and the classic hymn coming together complete with a full choir, but I digress, this is a OHN competition).
The Carey OHN begins with the traditional piano arpeggio, and then comes in this B3 organ that I think steals the show (the solo in the middle is so cool). Also, I think this is the only competitor in the competition that sings the song in two separate octave ranges. Strong.
I included Aretha Franklin in the competition because my good friend Brian said that she did a version that he didn't like, so I thought it might be pretty good. Couldn't find it on iTunes or Amazon, but did find a version that he must heard on "The View," (didn't know he watched that show, but, oh well) and put that on here. What is cool is that Aretha sings and plays the piano. I actually like this version, but unfortunately she faces Mariah, which may be the best cover in the whole competition.

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