Thursday, February 10, 2022

Natalia M. King Covers George Michael

Photo by Philip Ducap

Since George Michael's passing in 2016, I've been fairly surprised by how few covers of his songs I've come across. Sure, he was a pop artist, but even the least pop inclined of us can't help but appreciate how amazing Faith is. Sure it came out in 1987 when I was much, much more into top 40 music, but I still love that album unashamedly.

Natalia M. King has just released a cover of "One More Try," which is kind of the forgotten single from that album despite it being a #1 song. Her take on the song is a folky/bluesy rendition, and it's absolutely perfect. She nails the emotion of the original, and her voice is just one of those goosebump inducing voices that you'll feel in your soul. Seriously, I can't imagine a better solo folk/blues cover of a George Michael classic than this one. This song is absolutely perfect, and if you don't instantly love this you might want to get your pulse checked.

In a statement to The Bluegrass Situation, Natalia M. King says of the song:

“When ‘One More Try’ by George Michael came out back in 1988 I was an itty bitty youngster who could relate to the emotion of the song but not the experience. All I knew in listening to him and feeling him was that something hurt, and it hurt bad…I was moved by his sadness and his necessity to be released, to be ‘let go’ from a love that was no longer serving his life or his heart. It was later on in life that his words were given sense and meaning with the different births of intense experiences of loves lost and found and lost again. The fact that I was also searching to define my sexuality at the time was a plus! His interpretation was so feminine! I was sure he was gay! With all that said and done, and to simply boil it down: ‘One More Try’ felt right! The timing, the knowing, the experience. Today, as a liberated, experienced, sexual, and quite emotional woman, it was almost commonsensical, logical for me to interpret this song! On this album! In my bluesy-folk way!”

You can listen to Natalia M. King's version of "One More Try" below. Woman Mind of My Own is due out February 18 on Dixiefrog Records and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. For more on Natalia M. King, check out the artist's website.

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