It was all we had

Pretty soon "Brief & Beautiful" is going to take the title of the most recycled song ever. Look, it's lovely--I'll admit that; it's got an exquisite melody. Though Norwegian singer Maria Arredondo's version didn't make my year end countdown of my favorite singles of 2007, it very well could have.



Spanish singer Edurne's Spanish adaptation "Fue Para Los Does" is lovely as well. I believe it was the first version to be released, with Maria's being second but the first to be released as a single (in Edurne's case it was initially just an album track).



For the international pop fan, another version really didn't seem necessary after those two--could any other version really bring anything new--well, new and desirable--to the table? Both Maria and Edurne have perfect voices for the song--they aren't the same, but both have qualities that mean they really bring out its emotion. We'd even got two separate arrangements as a result of Maria and Edurne's version. That meant that I wasn't really excited about Anna Sahlene's version, except for the hope it would mean more new material from Anna--there wasn't really anywhere new she could take the song.



Do you know what we have now, though? ANOTHER Spanish language version! But NOT "Fue Para Los Dos"--it's actually a whole different adaptation--it's got different lyrics. It's by Mexican group Timbiriche, who have called their new version "Vuelvo A Comenzar."



Plus, if you've REALLY not got enough of the song yet, there's always the demo at songwriter Hanne Sorvaag's MySpace page. At this rate, I'm expecting a version on the next NKD album and one by a Japanese artist or group that I'll probably never hear about...