Magandang buhay馃挌
No sunshine today. It seems to be a classic postlude of yesterday's incessant rain. That set the mood for some tunes. It's Tuesday after all, reminding me of Ablaze's TTT initiative (it's been quite a while since my last participation).
While making breakfast this morning, we listened to a replay of the songs by the 2024 winner (Reuben De Melo) on The Voice Australia. We were quite impressed with his vocals and got curious about how he was doing since. The quick search led me to a recording of a duet with his wife in 2019. While Reuben mentioned during his audition that his spouse also sings, it still surprised us to discover this piece:
Olivia & Reuben De Melo - Let It Rain
A warm, intimate, and heartfelt delivery from the couple, each complementing the other. The track gives off a folk-like feel, thanks to the stripped-back instrumentation that supported the vocals.
By the way, the story goes that his wife secretly entered him into The Voice, which led to his discovery. A good wickedness I say!
Okay, the next tune:
Reuben De Melo - The Boys
A beautiful song, which accordingly is a tribute to the singer's mining colleagues he lost to suicide, hence the emotional delivery and the somber tone. The minimal acoustic arrangement left space around the voice and the lyrics, giving them more intensity.
A little backstory: before The Voice, Reuben released the song Consumed in 2018 that blended indie folk with elements of pop, R&B, and acoustic influences. He also had other releases while working as a FIFO rigger in a mine in Western Australia.
Anyway, we move on to the third tune for the day:
Reuben De Melo - Monsters and Men
This is a new single released recently (the 9th of this month). It's a warm, soulful, and emotional song, which seems to be the singer's signature style. The sparse (guitar-only) instrumentation, especially in the intro, allowed the rest of the song to build up.
Reuben's lyrics mostly tell stories, and his emotional and heartfelt delivery adds depth to his songs. Overall, we like his musical style, and we'd probably be listening to more of it as the day progresses. His Sweet Oblivion (2020) is playing as I drafted this.馃槈
Lead image is a screenshot from the second MV. No copyright infringement intended. 14072026/09:35ph*