“Charles Connolly never fails to release a chart-worthy single that mesmerises you from start to finish.”
On the 22nd April Charles Connolly teamed up with the New Artist Spotlight, a large group of artists who support each other’s music, creating a song called Spotlight that very easily could be a melody by The Beatles, with some hints of modern production and authentic sounds to make a refreshingly fantastic hit.
Spotlight begins with a clear catchy beat that guides us throughout the song. Soon we hear vocals sung solely by Charles, revealing his high vocal range that resembles a couple of 80s icons, like Curt Smith from Tears For Fears and Paul McCartney. You know, one of those voices that could sing pretty much any pop song.
The collaboration of the chorus syncs perfectly with the lyrics, particularly lines like You could be one of us, happy with all of us which foretells how great it is to work as a team. Connolly explained in his blog how all the musicians came together to sing at the chorus, saying “And then I had the lightbulb moment. What if I made it known what I was planning (something I’m not a fan of), then asked everyone to sing the chorus with me…? Sounds planny. I put down a basic piano part and sung a melody (pretty badly), and sent it to the masses. After not too long I had a handful of recordings and things were starting to feel real. It was rather exciting – not to mention daunting. Then eventually I found myself with 20 set of vocals. Yes, that is 20 artists (well, 19 plus me). Golly! Just 5 sounded pretty huge already! This was to be the unofficially official New Artist Spotlight song. But I needed it to work as a standalone song in its own right for all the streaming platforms, which was tricky in terms of lyrics. And yes, I sent out the melody and words of the chorus before actually finishing the song… This all worked pretty well because of the multiple meanings of Spotlight and what it could suggest.”
Production reaches perfection at the bridge. I’ve never heard an instrumental feel so embellished yet crisp at the same time. You will not be surprised to hear that Charles is also a mixing engineer for other artists, and the bridge is where this brilliant skill is most showcased. In fact, how well thought out the production of this song is makes it sound like a classic already, as if it could have been written in any generation.
If you want to check out Charles’ blog for more information on Spotlight: https://www.charlesconnollymusic.com/post/spotlight-out-now-here-s-the-story-behind-it-all
If you want to check out the New Artist Spotlight: https://www.newartistspotlight.org
You can listen to the song here: