Ambience over Audience: the Colors of Live Music
Most people will tell you that nothing compares to the live version of a song. There is an undeniable richness to the essence that a live recording provides. It does, however, come at a cost—either literally in the price of admission to a show or byways of distractions from the live environment.
While some will argue that the sounds of a crowd are essential to the experience of a live concert, others (check the YouTube comments of a concert recording) just want the crowd to shut up. Thus have come various iterations of the same idea: master the live-recording feeling within a controlled setting. MTV Unplugged, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and most recently COLORS.
The YouTube-based show launched in 2016 with the aim to “showcase diverse talent and to connect people across the globe on a creative and emotional level.” Its vibrant, monochromatic backgrounds provide a distraction-free enviroment for the soul of each artist to shine. While they usually use the studio-instrumental as the backing track (as opposed to being an acoustic session), the artist still records a new take of their song.
Here are some of my favorite COLORS performances:
Lianne La Havas - Bittersweet
It is a surprise that it took so long for Lianne La Havas to make an appearance. Her buttery and powerhouse of a voice makes for one of the most beautiful COLORS performances. The crimson color scheme fits the bittersweet (pun intended) tone of the song perfectly.
Woodkid - Pale Yellow
Choosing a yellow background must have been a no-brainer for this one, but unpredictably, Woodkid brought the first animal to COLORS. Both he and his CGI companion are suited up in the visual of his latest album, S16, as Woodkid’s stunning voice cracks over his lyrics.
Billie Eilish - idontwannabeyouanymore
In early 2018, Billie was at the onset of her meteoric rise, and performances like the one above helped shaped her into an internet-darling. It was hard to deny the raw talent she posses, and the teal background compliments one of her most well-known hair shades.
Nathy Peluso - SANA SANA
It is fitting that Nathy Peluso was matched to a neon-pink background, as her performance would be one of the most explosive and polarizing of COLORS catalog. Heavily memed and torn apart by Twitter, Nathy’s dance moves were quite unexpected, and her lyrics were hard to pick up even by Spanish-speakers. Nonetheless, the magic of this video is that one can’t look away—and even more surprising, your mind keeps coming back to it.
Jorja Smith - Blue Lights
Backed by a stunning shade of blue, Jorja’s smooth voice sounds magnificent.
Doja Cat - Juicy
Sans Tyga, Doja Cat shines in this rendition of one of her first hits, “Juicy.”
Another perk of COLORS is that they upload their recordings to streaming services. Venture to their YouTube channel or the link below to discover some cutting-edge visuals and artists.
