By Fadekemi Ajakaiye
American-Nigerian singer, Nnennaya Kelly has released a cover version of My Funny Valentine from Babes In Arms.
Produced by GK, My Funny Valentine isn’t only a fun and enjoyable take on a classic, it is an impressive effort from the singer as she delivers loving fidelity to the melody and flaunts her versatility, other than dance tunes.
According to the songstress, she drew inspiration for the cover from exploring some of the best jazz aesthetics.
She said, “My Funny Valentine is a beautiful and now-iconic piece of music for a reason. It is one of my favourite oldies and doing a cover of this song is fun and exciting. I decided to do something different and unique with this song because I am passionate about creating music that feels honest yet extremely personable and easy to relate to.
“Everything about this song is intentional, from the crisp sound to the excellent production, the mix is balanced and very detail-oriented, making for a lively, edgy, and stark sonic approach. If you listen to it, you’d see that the background music that accompanies the vocals is dynamic and beautifully understated, perfectly driving the song. The piano parts are beautiful as well, matching the vocals very beautifully, giving the song a slight R&B vibe while still retaining that amazing smoothness of this timeless song.”
Speaking further, Kelly revealed that a portion of the earnings generated from the song will be donated to her foundation.
“I am very passionate about charity. My goal is to help build several wellness centers for Children in Africa. I will be partnering with an orphanage in Africa, which actually has a focus on music. The kids in the orphanage are excellent dancers who love to move to the rhythms of Afro-Beat! They appeared in my music video, and they were paid for the performance too! The money is going to enable them to attend school and have a shot at a great future, where the possibilities are truly endless.”
Nnennaya Kelly also shared how music has impacted her life, saying, “I am American born and raised but did secondary school in the Northern part of Nigeria, so I enjoyed my identity years in Nigeria. I did my first degree in Washington DC at Catholic University of American and did my masters in Science at London School of Economics (LSE). I studied music in opera mezzo soprano for two years during my bachelors as I wanted to get a degree in Music voice but stage fright blew me away and I changed my BA degree to HR Mgt.
Family life and other factors kept me away from pursuing my heart’s desire to do music and now I took a bold step to do it again but with a mission to use a portion of my proceeds with my music to raise money for my charity for children. I also have other projects cooking like a remix with my 15 year old son Sammy Smack.”
My Funny Valentine is currently available on Spotify, and other digital music streaming services.
