Fans have been eagerly awaiting the return of Lucy Kay with her second album ‘Dark Angel’ (due out Friday, November 12th, 20201). The soprano studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and won her way into hearts around the world with her audition on Britain’s Got Talent. What sets Lucy apart is not only her powerful voice, which soars both on high notes and also in the chest register, but her authenticity as an artist. Lucy is a wonderful ambassador for classical crossover and has rightly been called ‘The People’s Soprano.’
Classical Crossover Magazine is pleased to present an exclusive series where Lucy Kay goes behind the song of her upcoming singles from the album starting with Enjoy the Silence and now Creep which is available to stream everywhere Friday, October 15th.
Natasha Barbieri: What does this piece mean to you?
Lucy Kay: Creep by Radiohead has been one of my absolute favourite rock songs because of the raw vocals and lyrics. In my opinion, the lyrics represent the majority of people who feel like they are different or feel as if they don’t fit in and conform to society’s stereotypical views on what is normal/ beautiful. I’ve always felt the odd one out, whether in school or just life generally and I used to be ashamed of that side of me and for a long time I chose to hide it away as trying to expose that side of myself always seemed to have the adverse effect I had desired. It’s taken until my 30’s to actually realise life is too short to hide away and that being different is beautiful. So now I choose to embrace it!
Natasha Barbieri: When did you first hear it?
Lucy Kay: Gosh, I think I must have been around 16, so at that time I was going through a lot of changes, and this song really resonated with me.
Natasha Barbieri: What are some of the elements from the original that were important for you to keep and what were some of the new ideas you are most excited about?
Lucy Kay: I wanted to keep my version of Creep relatively the same melody-wise and words (all bar a couple of naughty swear words!) I decided that although I’m trying to push boundaries with classical music maybe swearing in this song was probably not quite appropriate, so I changed those words to a cleaner version. My cover of Creep focuses on exploring different vocal textures to represent the fragility and vulnerability of the words. The orchestral score goes hand in hand creating a tentative start with the violins playing tremolo notes to reiterate the nervousness of the singer. During the song I become more self-aware and confident in being different, my vocals embrace a more powerful tone leading up to the powerhouse notes I’m well known for. The orchestra joins the crescendo into the climactic words ‘Run’ with the crash of cymbals which is reminiscent of a firework display or crashing waves spilling over and fading away into a single vocal line ‘I don’t belong here’ which almost sounds to the listener as if I am once again alone and singing just to them. I’m just thrilled with how the song turned out changing the rock instruments for a big symphony orchestra thus creating a huge cinematic soundtrack!
Natasha Barbieri: Were there any challenging moments in this piece?
Lucy Kay: Yes, actually this was one of the most challenging pieces on the album. I had to really get into a vulnerable state in order to try to get the meaning of these words across and connect to the listener. Being a classical singer, I’m used to singing through notes and connecting them as I’ve been trained to do, however, in order to convey this nervousness, I had to completely ignore what is natural to me and almost speak these words very tentatively.
Natasha Barbieri: How does this song fit into your album as a whole?
Lucy Kay: I wanted to take popular original pop / rock songs and completely turn them on their heads by transforming them into Hollywood Film inspired soundtracks. Creep just seemed to be the perfect song for this. While rock and heavy metal songs are considered to be dark and grungy, I wanted to show that there is beauty in this darkness too.
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