Back to Venezuela…
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[5.33]
Katherine St Asaph: I follow Diane Warren’s tweets and even I think this is a bit much.
[4]
Scott Mildenhall: Pure Eurovision ballad sincerity in the manner of “Quédate conmigo”. Strings aplenty, space for the voice to expand and a steady unfurling to ease that in. It’s not so much by the book as surrounded by copies of it, but to Aneeka’s credit there isn’t too much reliance on devolution into outright hysterics. To her credit anyway – as well as a minute chopped off, the song could well have done with some.
[6]
Alfred Soto: In the vein of a nineties A/C ballad (think Mariah Carey’s “I Don’t Wanna Cry”) but whose bathos gets leavened by Aneeka’s chalky gusto.
[5]
Iain Mew: Aneeka has a voice that offers power and a sense of struggle without overdoing it. She’s just not offered much support by an airy track that appears to take cues from Athlete and Snow Patrol ballads as well as older, bigger fare. But it doesn’t fully commit to anything in particular.
[3]
Megan Harrington: Aneeka wields this big, weepy ballad like it’s a mace. She’s clobbering everything in her path with extended notes, soft minor chords, and pleading strings. It’s excessive — I’m laid to waste before the chorus even begins — but all the soaring and plummeting is sophisticated choreography. Aneeka is a master at forcing the listener to feel.
[8]
Brad Shoup: Her chorus vocal is so great; it feels like it’s ascending further each time. She gets too technical on the introductory verse, handles the “Beautiful”-style bridge cleanly, and ends up in an R&B setpiece. The whole while, the drummer’s killing time and a couple violins try to break free. Not everyone gets to shine.
[6]