"I Still Believe" - Brenda K Starr vs. Mariah Carey Battle Royale
During the late 80's "I Still Believe" was one of my favorite songs on the radio. As I was still in elementary school and not completely following music trends, I never knew who performed the song. It wasn't until later on in life, hearing the cover performed by Mariah Carey, that I began to look into the origins of the song and the interesting history surrounding it.
"I Still Believe" was originally recorded and popularized by pop singer Brenda K. Starr. The song made its debut in 1988 and peaked to #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. This was her only song to make the Top 20. She went on and had a career making Latin music and had continued success with a string of popular albums.
Also in the same year the song was released, a young woman named Mariah Carey moved from Long Island to New York City. While working part time to pay the rent, she landed work as a backup singer for Brenda K Starr. Later on that year, Mariah met Tommy Mottola at a party. Brenda gave Tommy a copy of Mariah's demo tape and upon playing it, he was so impressed he went back to find her, but she had left. Tommy tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract. The rest is history.
While Mariah's version of the song is the most popular, the 80's version of the song still is my favorite. The music videos are vastly different and the original music video seems, from today's standards, corny and dramatic but those of us who remember the 80's can still feel that time emanate from the original. The feeling of a simpler, happier time when all things were easier and love songs were fun and fresh. Watching the original "I Still Believe" video definitely gives me a feeling of nostalgia, though it also shows you how much has changed since those days. An eerie feeling sinks in when scenes of the the twin towers of the World Trade Center, standing tall on the skyline, come into view. It especially gives the end of the video an almost ominous feeling.
How different the world is.
What do you think? Comment below!!
Brenda K Starr - I Still Believe (1988)
http://www.youtube.com/v/wv_CcfwO3Is&hl=en_US&fs=1&
Mariah Carey - I Still Believe (1998)