Fly Girl | [Novel] (Wattpad Version)

29| Promising Changes

"Where?"

Stepping out of the booth, Marliss sat in the chair beside me and played back what he'd recorded. He was so certain that he hit several bad notes and strained his voice, but what I heard was as close to being a great remake as anyone could get. At least, when it comes to a song like an Isley Brothers' song. "Alright, I know you heard the way my voice went up and then dropped back down, at the wrong time when I sang Atlantis, when I was stretching it out just before the chorus started again. I didn't pronounce paradise fully either, and I'm not even going to go in on that note I butchered around the word sea."

I just sat there, chewing my gum as I stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. If I hadn't been with him all morning, I would have sworn he'd lost it. "Marliss, from one perfectionist to another... from me, your girlfriend, I'm going to need for you to stop tripping."

"But Baby..."

"It's fine! Look, remakes are hard. No matter how well we sing our hearts and souls out, it's very rare that every single person who will hear it will like it. Your issue is that you always want every song to be liked by every single person it falls into the hands of. The truth is, there's always going to be one song a fan doesn't like, there's always going to be one vocal performance someone doesn't approve of. And that includes album vocals. Stop looking for mistakes that aren't there because it's not going to be completely perfect. You're trying to compete with the original, and Boo, let me tell you... you could never top The Isleys. Just like the girls and I can't top Five Star and anyone else we cover in the future. We can only give our best and pay homage, and what you've recorded is just fine. I promise."

He sat back and folded his arms across his chest before poking his bottom lip out. "I don't want you to be right about that."

I laughed, stroking his cheek with the back of my hand. "But you know I am. All of that stuff you pointed out, it's just in your mind. Take yourself out of artist mode right now, and listen to it as if it were something you're just dying to hear. Listen to it as a fan. Aren't you a fan of yourself, of your group?"

"Of the group, sure."

"Then listen as a fan."

Marliss pouted for a few more seconds before leaning forward and restarting the song again. And there we sat, listening to the song in full, what they'd managed to finish anyway, with his added vocals.

Again, what I heard was good. Noticeably different from the original, but they'd definitely given it their own style, and brought in fresh flavor, one that music fans of the nineties could appreciate without thinking or feeling that it was outdated. If anything, it sounded like one of those remakes that made you want to go and discover the original if you didn't already know it.

Leaning with his elbow on the arm of my chair, Marliss nodded his head. He would look at me every few seconds before refocusing. When the chorus came around, I sang along, just because I'd heard it so much within a five-hour time frame.

"Alright, you were right. But, I am re-recording that second verse. I strained during that part."

I shook my head. "If you say so. Just please hurry so that we can go. I am starving and I want to eat before I have to come back and record my own song."

"You're always hungry. When I own my own studio, I'm going to keep two mini-fridges stocked just for you."

"Right, and what if we aren't together then? Don't make me no promises."

Marliss smiled, those dimples flashing. "That's a guarantee Baby. And if I let you go, I'll be a damn fool. A fool, I am not. Give me fifteen minutes to get this right and we can go."