Music Review: Brenda K. Starr "I Still Believe"
Brenda K. Starr
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I Still Believe
Album: Brenda K. Starr
Year: 1988
Brenda K. Starr has hope she will be reunited with her first love again in the yearning ballad “I Still Believe.”
Blue synths open the single, setting a heavy-hearted tone. In the first verse, she runs into him at a restraurant. He catches her gaze, holding onto it for nearly a minute. Although it’s been years since they had seen each other, her love for him is still strong as it was then. She thought it would dissipate over time but it didn’t, surprises her.
In the chorus, she says she thinks they will be a couple again. It’s one of her major wishes in life.
In the second verse, she says she never has been as happy as she was with him. She has to search to find positive things to feel good about. Even as a little girl, she was not the type to believe in a long lasting love from afar. But losing him has made her re-think the idea. Now, she’s willing to hang onto him and aggressively seek him out. If he blows her off, she will at least know and no longer wonder what-if.
In the bridge, an inconsolable saxophone appears to accompany Starr. She says they are meant to be together. A possibility exists, even if it’s remote. It has to.
In the second chorus, she has faith but it’s getting hard to sustain it. She’s let go of the romantic fantasies. Now, she’s willing to take a conversation than nothing.
The chorus is sung once to close the single.
Losing her first love was the worst thing to happen to her. They broke up due to circumstance. They were both going to different colleges and felt it was best they separate. They would talk occansionally but lost contact eventually. She always wondered what happened to him and how her life would’ve turned out with him in it.
Starr’s devoted vocals are languishing and naïve. Her youth and inexperience aid her in making the feeling truthful, especially when she belts.
The pitying synths tinkle with concern while the the saxophone aches for every day her heart breaks more. The sentimentality’s strong dosage is hard to swallow.
The theatrical ballad is loaded with every cliché to make it a hit but Starr is able to salvage it with her straightforwardness.
Album: Brenda K. Starr
Year: 1988
Brenda K. Starr has hope she will be reunited with her first love again in the yearning ballad “I Still Believe.”
Blue synths open the single, setting a heavy-hearted tone. In the first verse, she runs into him at a restraurant. He catches her gaze, holding onto it for nearly a minute. Although it’s been years since they had seen each other, her love for him is still strong as it was then. She thought it would dissipate over time but it didn’t, surprises her.
“You look in my eyes/And I get emotional inside/I know it's crazy/But you still can touch my heart/
And, after all this time, you'd think that I/Wouldn't feel the same /But time melts into nothing/And nothing has changed.”
In the chorus, she says she thinks they will be a couple again. It’s one of her major wishes in life.
“I still believe/Someday, you and me/Will find ourselves/In love again/I have a dream/Someday, you and me/Will find ourselves/In love again.”
In the second verse, she says she never has been as happy as she was with him. She has to search to find positive things to feel good about. Even as a little girl, she was not the type to believe in a long lasting love from afar. But losing him has made her re-think the idea. Now, she’s willing to hang onto him and aggressively seek him out. If he blows her off, she will at least know and no longer wonder what-if.
“Each day of my life/I'm filled with all the joy I can find/You know that I/I'm not the desperate type/If there's one spark of hope left in my grasp/I'll hold it with both hands/It's worth the risk of burning/To have a second chance.”
In the bridge, an inconsolable saxophone appears to accompany Starr. She says they are meant to be together. A possibility exists, even if it’s remote. It has to.
“And, oh/No, no, no, no, no/I need you, baby/I still believe that we can be together/If we believe that true love/Never has to end/Then we must know/That we will love again.”
In the second chorus, she has faith but it’s getting hard to sustain it. She’s let go of the romantic fantasies. Now, she’s willing to take a conversation than nothing.
“I still believe/Someday, you and me/Will find ourselves/In love again/(Oh, baby, yeah, yeah)/I had a dream/Someday, you and me/Will find ourselves/In love again.”
The chorus is sung once to close the single.
Losing her first love was the worst thing to happen to her. They broke up due to circumstance. They were both going to different colleges and felt it was best they separate. They would talk occansionally but lost contact eventually. She always wondered what happened to him and how her life would’ve turned out with him in it.
Starr’s devoted vocals are languishing and naïve. Her youth and inexperience aid her in making the feeling truthful, especially when she belts.
The pitying synths tinkle with concern while the the saxophone aches for every day her heart breaks more. The sentimentality’s strong dosage is hard to swallow.
The theatrical ballad is loaded with every cliché to make it a hit but Starr is able to salvage it with her straightforwardness.