Who Did It Better? I Still Believe

Who Did It Better? 

I Still Believe

Today's Who Did It Better selection contains, not only the true story of a broken heart, but also that  of a singing superstar who seizes an opportunity to pay tribute to the singer who helped jump start her career. 

I Still Believe was written by Antonina Armato and Giuseppe Cantarelli. 

The ballad is based on a real life relationship of one of its songwriters, Armato. It seems Armato's boyfriend proposed to her, but Armato was uncomfortable with the timing. Not pleased, the boyfriend made an ultimatum: get married or break up.  Armato did love him, but stuck to her convictions and the two parted ways. To deal with her emotional pain, Armato wrote I Still Believe in collaboration with Giuseppe Cantarelli.

It was originally recorded by Brenda K. Starr for her 1987 eponymous second studio album which was produced by Eumir Deodato. The song ended up being Starr's biggest hit in the United States, reaching the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is considered her signature song. Released in 1988 as the second single from the album,  I Still Believe peaked at #13. In addition, it hit #14 on the Adult Contemporary chart, #11 on the Hot Latin Songs chart, and #54 in Canada.

Starr also recorded the song in Spanish, as Yo Creo En Ti, releasing it as a single in select markets that same year. She would revisit the song in 1998, recording a salsa version of the song which would snag the #20 slot on Billboard's Latin Tropical Airplay chart.

Amii Stewart, singer of the #1 disco hit Knock On Wood, had by 1988 relocated to Italy, where she continued to record. In 1987, she released an album on RCA's Italy label, Time For Fantasy. The album's first single, It's Fantasy, managed to reach #22 in that country. The follow-up single was her version of I Still Believe, which failed to chart.

Mariah Carey has been very vocal about being a huge fan of Brenda K. Starr, citing her as an inspiration. Carey, in fact, actually served as a backup singer for her idol for a time and it was Starr who handed Carey's demo tape to CBS Records executive Tommy Mottola, who in turn signed Carey to her first recording contract.  

When it came time to release her first greatest hits collection, 1998's #1's, Carey decided to include a newly-recorded cover version of Starr's biggest hit as a tribute. Of her decision to record the song, Carey said the song "reminds me of the fact that not long ago I was a teenage girl with nothing to my name but a demo tape, my voice, and my ability to write songs. Brenda K. Starr treated me like a 'star' and gave me a shot."

The track, produced by Carey with Stevie J and Mike Mason, was released in February of 1999 in the US, and March in the UK, as the second single from the collection, and quickly raced up the charts. It peaked at #4 in the US on Billboard's Top 100, #8 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and #3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Elsewhere, it snagged the #16 spot in the UK and Poland, #9 in Canada, #2 in Belgium and Hungary, #7 in Spain, and #4 in Puerto Rico.

Later, Carey shared, "I'm really glad that I got a chance to remake the song I Still Believe, because the album is called #1's and this is the first song that I sang as a professional singer. I would go on the road with Brenda. I was a little skinny kid with no money that she took under her wing and she was so nice to me. I auditioned to be her back-up singer and she hired me and she used to bring me clothes and food, and she really took care of me like a big sister. A lot of people wouldn't have done that. The main thing was that she believed in me and it's really hard to get people to listen to your tapes. She was always real cool and helpful and supportive. I always loved this song. When I sing it now, it reminds me of those times." 

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition.

The Song: I Still Believe

The Competitors: Starr vs. Stewart vs. Carey

I Still Believe - Brenda K. Starr

I Still Believe - Amii Stewart

I Still Believe - Mariah Carey

Brenda K. Starr

Big old clunky keyboard chimes. Ah, nostalgia. 

Brenda K. was never on my radar. Which is a shame, because I would have hung on every word of this song. I loved me a big ballad. 

Her voice vacillates between merely serviceable and possessing mega-watt pop charm. There's not a lot of color to it. There's nothing special about her phrasing and her lack of dynamics is as off-putting as it is fresh-faced. It's a lovely, bright sound, but she doesn't really seem to be inhabiting the song, she merely sings it.  

Forthright is not without its charms. 

The arrangement is rather cookie-cutter. That terribly leaden back beat. Ugh. All those vibrating chimes. This is of its era, which is not a bad thing. I'm simply not able to get swept up in the song. 

The fault lies with that programmed drum track. Had they dropped it out on occasion and warmed this thing up with a bank of real strings? Maybe they could have created some build, some atmosphere. As is - it's like someone pushed 'play' - it ends as it begins without evolving. Which is not something a sympathetic producer does when dealing with a young singer like Starr. You have to give them something to work with, to dig into, to feel. Otherwise you get this... which might as well be a karaoke version. It sounds so cheap. 

Listen to her phrasing in that second verse. What... what is she trying to communicate. It's all broken and nothing's melded. She hits the notes and... well, that's not enough, now is it.

And then they add a sax which, rather than adding smoke or warmth, merely comes off as more shrill - a challenge Starr has apparently accepted - for they seem to be competing with each other for some kind title.

Strange ass backing vocals - they just sort of blat in there at the 2:30 mark. So... badly mixed. And it gets worse at the 2:45 mark. And then they go to try and fill out another whole minute! What rubbish. 

Sorry. This is not for me.

Amii Stewart

I like the simplicity of the intro. It's warmer. Bell and bass tones. Very comforting. A little guitar lift off...

Stewart enters in hush-mode. Her vocals are much more mature-sounding than Starr's. 

And yet, it doesn't seem to leave the launching pad. It's lovely - quiet storm always is... but the thing with quiet storm is... you need the storm, you need some lightening. Going into verse two? I still haven't gotten a hint that's going to happen. 

I have problems with her over-enunciation and twisted vowel sounds.

But hang on... we hit the 1:20 mark and... there she is! That's my girl. 

The arrangement? Nothing special, but nothing that gets in the way. Those strings are lying on the bottom as we enter chorus number two... they're full and warm. Stewart's vocals are carrying this thing now - and she sound great!

But by the 2:30 mark, the arrangement isn't supporting what the singer's doing. It seems content to simply flutter and float on by. The latter half of that C-section, I want both singer and the arrangement to dig in deeper. I need some orchestra stops. Some drama. 

I really love Stewart's vocals. They're a tad Broadway, yes. She's making some interesting choices in the phrasing department - not that all of them pay off, but she does have the pipes to cash whatever check she's writing.

The backing vocals and their arrangement have been lovely throughout. Nice touches here and there. 

I just wish they had pushed this one in a more theatrical direction. It's a risk, of course. It could come off as hammy and old-fashioned, but think about some of Whitney Houston's big ballad moments and you'll know the kind of fireworks I think might have worked here. 

As is... it's a quiet storm that gets off to a slow start and then builds, but not enough to make the nine o'clock news. 

I like the ending. This was rather lovely. Stewart is a very underrated vocalist. 

Mariah Carey

Carey on the other hand... became a very overrated vocalist. By the time she recorded this, her voice was... shot. Don't get me wrong. Vision Of Love? The first time I heard that I felt the earth move. She destroyed. It remains her finest moment and one of the finest vocal performances on record. 

She's smart. She doesn't confuse paying tribute with imitation. That's a nice warm intro. You listen to her vocals and they are all scratched and halting - the way most people's voices sound if you've had a screaming argument and then try to sing. 

Wow... we are not even five words into the damn song and she's making zero musical sense. That is the weirdest phrasing. And what is she doing with individual words? It's like she's dodging the possibility of actually having to hold a note. The word 'heart' barely registers as anything but raspy air. 

She still has her pop smarts. That sharp attack is golden, but... what is she singing? What is she communicating? Why do I want to ask her if she needs a lozenge? I feel for her. That throat sounds pained. Not emotionally, but like... inflamed. 

And then she sings the chorus like a record that keeps cutting out. Okay. I'll shut up now. 

"Lipstick of my life?" What?

Thank goodness there are back up singers. They need to move up front. 

Wow... her voice actually cracks on 'spot of hope'. And the producers are like... yeah, just... let it go. Get it in the can, so we can all go home. 

I have to say, I do not know of another singer who could get away with singing like that and still have her stuff released. That was the power of Mariah Carey. She could do no wrong and there are fans to this day that swear she is still the best singer in the world. They're wrong, but for them it's not about musical integrity, it's about being protective of someone you love. I get it. I do. 

She sounds a bit better on the C-section, and I sure like her fire, but her vocals are still cutting in and out like a badly tuned radio. 

Oh... "I had a dream." Really? Sounds like a nightmare. And from that moment on it just gets messier. A back up vocalist is brought in Minnie Riperton-style to try and smooth out a rough patch, but it just calls more attention to how wrecked Carey's voice sounds. And then the cavalry arrives, but all the horses seem to be heading in different directions.

By the way: the 3:00 mark is the most re-played moment. Probably because listeners are trying to figure out what's going on. 

There's another 57 seconds to fill...  And I... I don't want to. 

They wisely fade early... though I would love to hear Carey's second Minnie Riperton moment at full volume (if it is her.)

Okay. Well. That ends. 

The Verdict

I'll be very curious to hear what you have to say on this one. 

I don't think the penultimate version of this song has been recorded. I think its a great ballad - a little by the numbers, but sweet. Diana Ross could mop the floor with this, given the right arrangement. And Vanessa William would tear off the roof with it.

Of the three? I'm going with Amii Stewart. Yes, it's not perfect. The opening remains too hushed for too long. We're a minute-twenty into the song before Stewart starts bringing the sweet stuff. I am a sucker for quiet storm drama. I like that bedroom stuff. 

I want music to kiss to. 

Not gonna kiss to Brenda K. Too shrill. Too bright. To many shiny toys. 

Not gonna kiss to Mariah Carey, either. I keep thinking she need some hot lemon tea and year off to rest those chords. Ouch. So much pain - and not the emotional kind. The hurting/ouchy kind. 

Stewart? Yeah.

I'll kiss to that. 

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And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn... you know what to do: leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I love to hear a differing opinion. 

That's all for now.

Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!

I Still Believe - Brenda K. Starr

I Still Believe - Mariah Carey