REVIEW: Jasmine Thompson's Haunting Cover of Earned It (The Weeknd)
Haunting, dream-like, and mesmerizing. Those are the three words I'd use to describe Jasmine Thompson's latest song, a cover of Earned It by The Weeknd.
If you haven't already, watch the video below.
As originally sung by The Weeknd, Earned It is a jazzy, R&B track with Big Band-ish orchestral backing. The song has a sly, upbeat flavor, with a snap-your-finger-to-it beat.
Jasmine takes the song to another level. Her interpretive skills are on full display, as she takes a song with sassy attitude, slows it down, strips off the gloss, and transforms it into something deeply emotional and evocative.
Jasmine's vocals are always amazing, but they never sounded more hauntingly beautiful than on Earned It. She accomplishes that effect through a mix of her distinctly ethereal voice with her deeper, power voice. She sings with a raw yet delicate urgency, and sounds both angelic and earthy, both other-worldly and grounded-firmly. End result: an atmospheric, sweet-melancholic vocal performance that moves the heart and stirs the soul.
The arrangement is powerful, the backing is brilliant. Ben Martinez, frequent collaborator with Jasmine on her live gigs, co-produced and played backing instruments for the song. His backing is integral to creating the song’s hazy, dream-like mood.
He enhances and supports Jasmine’s vocals through a kaleidoscope of different sounds. The song starts off with a swirling wind-like (synthesizer?) sound which then transitions into a light harp-like guitar melody that runs throughout the song. Then, as Jasmine’s vocals begin, Ben adds echoing bursts of electric guitar. Add to that some additional synthesizer sounds, and the effects, along with Jasmine’s unbelievably beautiful vocals, coalesce to create something utterly hypnotic and mesmerizing.
The song, with Jasmine’s vocals, Ben’s backing, and the arrangement, is not so much catchy as it is compelling. I feel compelled to repeatedly listen to the song, pulled in by its atmospheric emotional intensity.
In writing this review, I struggled to find a reference point for this song. I can hear a hint of the Blues, I think. The tragic quality in Jasmine's voice, the tempo and the beat, the vibrating guitar backing . . . the song has some of the elements of a classic blues song, if not in form then in spirit. Ethereal Blues.
But, if not the Blues, then what? The song does have a strong alt-indie flavor. And one Youtube commenter likened the arrangement to a song you’d hear in a James Bond movie. There’s something to those descriptions, but, they still don’t fully capture the gestalt of Jasmine’s Earned It.
Perhaps the point is that there is no point in trying to compare Jasmine’s Earned It to another song, artist, or genre. Simply, Jasmine “makes it look like magic” what she accomplishes with this song.
A sublime performance.