It was 13 years ago on this day that Pocahontas hit the theatres for everyone to experience. Although it wasn't the blockbuster like its predecessor, The Lion King, this film was still beautiful in terms of artwork and animation. However, many criticized the film for its inaccurate portrayal of Pocahontas and her history. (But what Disney movie is 100% faithful to its origin?)
Today's cover is by Asian superstar COCO LEE who recorded this song for her second English-speaking album COCO'S PARTY in 1996.
CoCo Lee has had over a dozen and a half hit singles, but they are all over seas. So if you don't recognize her name, it's okay. CoCo has been recording music since 1993 and is still popular to this day in Asia. Although she hasn't seen the same sort of popularity here in North America, she released a few songs that you may know: A Love Before Time for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Before I Fall In Love which can be found on the Runaway Bride soundtrack.
Colors of the Wind - Ashanti featuring Lil' Sis Shi Shi
Say happy birthday to JUDY KUHN who was born fifty years ago on this day! Judy Kuhn, as many of you know, provided the singing voice for Pocahontas in Pocahontas and its sequel, Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. To celebrate her birthday, I am posting a cover of one of Judy's songs, Colors of the Wind, this time performed by R&B/pop singer ASHANTI and her little sister Shi Shi.
Ashanti was one of those kids who was born to sing. Before she hit high school she had recorded a demo and set it to all the major record labels. But after a failed attempt to launch a career with P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records and Jive Records she decided to focus on high school. A smart move, returning to a normal life and taking some time to grow up before being thrown into the world of entertainment because very soon her whole life was going to change.
In 2001 Ashanti started singing background vocals for many big name stars. It wasn't long before her talent was noticed and she was featured on Fat Joe's What's Luv? and Ja Rule's Always on Time, two songs that hit #1 and #2 respectively in 2002, making Ashanti the first female to occupy the top two positions on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart!
So naturally, this was noticed by record execs and later that year she was in the studio recording her first album. The self-titled album, Ashanti, was released in April 2002, debut at number 1 on the R&B charts where it stayed for a few weeks, and sold over 504,000 thousand in its first week, making it the most successful first week debut sales for any female R&B artist! The album went on to win a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album and has since gone triple platinum.
It comes as no surprise that everyone wanted a piece of the pie, including Disney who asked Ashanti to record Colors of the Wind for DISNEYMANIA. As far as covers go, this one is pretty dull. It doesn't at all give any clue to the amount of talent in Ashanti's voice. And her little sister Shi Shi is not that great of a singer. If you are hearing Ashanti for the first time with this song, please don't judge her. Check out some of her other work.
Ashanti's career has stayed strong since her debut and now she is getting into the acting career (one of her first roles was Dorothy Gale in Disney's The Muppets' Wizard of Oz). She has her fourth album coming out in a few weeks.
Don't forget that DISNEYMANIA 6 hits the stores today! I'll post a track from it as soon as I get a copy of my own.
Colors of the Wind Ashanti feat. Lil' Sis Shi Shi 2002
Here is another track off of MICHELLE NICASTRO'S TOONFUL TOO, an album of Nicastro singing cheesy showtune versions of mostly Disney songs.
The track I have chosen is from the Academy Award winning soundtrack from Pocahontas. Just like Ariel's Part of Your World, Just Around the Riverbend is Pocahontas' expression of the need to break out and forge her own life. She feels restrained by family commitments and, like Ariel, ends up disobeying orders to pursue the love interests.
But unlike Ariel, she remains with her family at the end of the film as Captain John Smith sails away. To have the love interests not get together in the end was a bold move for Disney that ended up being a sour note as most fans were expecting the traditional Disney fairy tale ending.
Many Disney fans should recognize the name LEA SALONGA. If you don't recognize the name then perhaps you will recognize the voice. Lea Salonga was the singing voice for Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan from Mulan I & II.
Her career started in the Philippines in 1978 when she was seven. She took part in many Broadway musicals including The King and I, The Sound of Music, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Annie. By the time she was seventeen she had already recorded two albums and starred in her own tv show, Love, Lea!
Her big break was moving to the UK to star as Kim in Miss Saigon, a role that she would reprise numerous times between 1988 and 2001. She continued to do many musicals and recorded many albums, the latest of which came out a month ago.
This cover of Colors of the Wind is taken from one of her live concerts in the Philippines in 2001. Lea has a great voice and I enjoy listening to her sing these classic movie songs. I think I even like her singing this song more than Judy Khun.
VANESSA HUDGENS has been making quite a name for herself here on the internet. So I decided to post a song that the Disney Channel and High School Musical star recorded a few years back for DISNEYMANIA VOLUME 5.
This is what I like to call a karaoke cover. There really is nothing special about this version of Colors of the Wind. The music is plain and ordinary. Whoever reworked the music didn't really out any effort into making it special. And Hudgens doesn't go out of her way to do anything with her vocals to make this version better than the Pocahontas original.
I do like that she included the 'You think I'm an ignorant savage' part at the beginning. It shows that this is actually a cover of the movie version of the song and not the radio version. But other than that, the song is pretty drab. But that is my opinion. What do you think?
Over the years, many musical artists have paid tribute to the music of Disney. This blog pays tribute to those artists.
You won't find any original Disney songs here, these are all covers, interpretations and variations on the tunes we all love.
Covering the Mouse is not associated with Disney or any major record label. If you wish to have a song removed from my site, please email me and I will be happy to comply.
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