The original song I chose for this blog is “Monsters” by artist Katie Sky. Katie Sky is a singer from the United Kingdom, and her genre of music is dance/electronic. Her song “Monsters” was released in 2014. “Monsters” was also performed by Chinese singer Zhou Shen in 2020 on the show Singer 2020 in China. Zhou Shen, also known as Charlie Zhou, is well known for his wide vocal range. In the song “Monsters,” the message that is being conveyed is that there is always someone there for you when you’re facing something troublesome, and that you are not alone in your fears and problems. It gives the listener a sense of encouragement to keep on going.

Two similarities between the 2 performances is the form and the melody. Both performances have a verse-chorus form, which parts of the lyrics repeating (chorus) and some of the lyrics being different (verse). The melody of both performances are also generally the same, with the same notes and pitches. Two differences between the 2 performances is the different use of instruments (timbre) in some parts of the song, and the rhythm. In Katie Sky’s recording of the song, instruments that are mainly heard are the guitar, drums/percussion, and piano, while in Zhou Shen’s performance, there was a noticable addition of the electric guitar (ex: 1:50-2:06, and throughout the performance). Zhou Shen’s voice can also be described as fuller and smoother compared to Katie’s rapsy voice, hense a difference in the timbre in the 2 performances. There is also a difference in rhythm, although not as noticeable. In Zhou Shen’s performance, there are pauses in the performances, compared to Katie’s recording where the song is continuous with no pauses. Zhou Shen also adds his own touch to the song at 3:07-3:55. The setting of these 2 performances also made a difference in the quality, because Katie’s seems to be recorded, while Zhou Shen’s was live on stage. In Zhou Shen’s live performances, you can feel his emotions from his facial expressions, and his version of the song also feels like there is more of a climax, with the rise and fall of volume.