There is a Santa Claus! In our second installment of Idol Christmas, I posted excerpts from an article article discussing a Justin Guarini performance of “Motherless Child”. Thanks to a December 16th concert at Bright Hope Baptist Church and a fabulous fan (justicelvr) from JMan’s World we now have pictures and video of another amazing performance of this incredible song. To be honest, although I was moved to tears by Justin’s performance, I had never heard or heard of the song, so I didn’t “get” it. A quick Google search brought up this information from composer Gwyneth Walker’s website:
Motherless Child is derived, in part, from the African-American spiritual “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” The original song dates back to the era of slavery when it was common practice to sell children of slaves away from their parents.
Watching the video is a much different experience after learning the true meaning…
Justin also performed my all-time favorite song, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” Needless to say, I absolutely love his slowed-down, jazzy, smooth, soulful version. I had previously posted (and enjoyed) Clay and Carrie’s version, but Justin’s performance had me crying in my keyboard. It is conceivable that I am a the tiniest bit biased, but I don’t think so…
December 19th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
It’s amazing to see a true artist crafting song the way Justin does. Thank you for highlighting this because THIS is something to Idolize. Love it, love it, love it.
December 20th, 2006 at 3:26 am
I haven’t seen Justin since he was on the first season of American Idol. I just happened across his rendition of Motherless Child and have to say I loved this rendition. Justin’s voice was filled with so much emotion you could almost feel the aching. Good job Justin!
December 20th, 2006 at 7:40 am
Justin has matured into such an elegant, controlled singer since I saw him on Idol. His rendition of “Motherless Child” moved me to tears.
December 20th, 2006 at 11:24 am
“Motherless Child” was pure art. Brilliant.
December 20th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Justin did a fabulous job with both songs. “Motherless Child” had me in tears. Justin has an incredible range that was never seen on American Idol. Thanks so much for sharing the good news about Justin.