I'll admit I love the Hallmark Christmas
movies. There's something about that
time of year that makes even the mediocre movies seem good or magical. But the best ones always have great music
behind them. Olivia Penalva's new
Christmas song 'Dream You Home' would fit well as a background track
for one of the well produced Hallmark Christmas movies, or any other, for that
matter. This song is far beyond mediocrity.
Olivia, who hails from Vernon ,
BC in Canada Holiday
movie. The chorus of the song is very
memorable and powerful and even having this as a background track would make
any movie even better. (Great tracks can MAKE a great movie)
Not only does the song have a great mix of
sounds based around a sort of shuffle march type drum beat on the verses but
the lyrics are well written and paint a perfect picture of what she is trying
to convey.
My favorite lyric in 'Dream You
Home' is 'The light in your soul shines brighter than gold in my
heart – that’s where you are.'
The images invoked by the song could be any
number of situations. It could be a lost loved one or a significant other who
is separated by distance or time, or even a soldier gone in a far away land
during the Christmas Season and the song is almost like the soldiers’ spouse
singing to bring him home even if it's only at home in the heart.
The song does indeed grab your heart and imagination,
which is, to me, the ultimate goal of a song - to speak to anyone or everyone
in any situation. This is one more thing
that makes it an easy shoo in for anyone considering it for a spot in a
Christmas movie.
Often, it is this time of year when many
find themselves missing a loved one in some capacity, and it isn't always the
best time for many, but even still and even if you are not into Christmas or
the spirit of it, and even if you are the Grinch himself, this song still
weighs in on its own merit as a song with a powerful chorus that demands
attention and speaks to the soul.
This isn't Olivia's first Christmas song. I
reviewed 'Christmas For Two' which was published in Starlight Music
Chronicles' December issue back in 2015 which can be found (here) as well as on my own blog (here). (see video below)
Since that time Olivia has progressed even
further as an Artist and has honed even further her vocal and songwriting
skills. Recently reaching a million plays on Spotify, her newer music bears out
how far she’s grown since then.
Her voice still has that same special
warmth to it but with a sultry yet still innocent sound that will capture your
ears, heart, and will leave a memorable impression when you hear it. I compared her voice before, in a sense to
that of Nora Jones, or Colbie Caillat.
In fact, since the last review, Olivia was able to be mentored by Colbie
Caillat after winning teen artist of the year in the Starlight Music Chronicles
"Artist of the Year Contest" in 2016.
As a
winner, Olivia got to attend ArtistMax an Artist Development program in L.A.
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