So Mother’s Day is long over… and I know, I know… I didn’t do a special post for it – “I’m sorry Mom! I love you!”

I just hope everyone had a great one and got to spend it with their mom. Let’s face it – moms are awesome and they deserve to be shown love and appreciation every day of the year, not just that one.

Speaking of… has anyone seen that Canon commercial with the new born in it? It’s so tender and brilliantly shot, and I instantly fell for the charming song it featured too. The song is called ‘Surprisingly So’ by Amy Seeley (confirmed here, on Amy’s own Twitter status). I found a live version for your listening, but you can go to her website here and download it for just a $1 USD. And all the money goes straight to the artist, so that’s really great!

Enjoy!

Amy Seeley - Surprisingly So

{photo from the Flickr stream of Shanna Rae {Florabella Collection}}

I originally couldn’t decide which version of this song to upload. Frank Sinatra, Diana Krall and Olivia Ong all have very different interpretations of this song – one more upbeat and fun, one more jazzy, and one simply sultry. But even though I already featured a song by Olivia Ong, I decided to go with her mesmerizing version. Each version could not be compared to another, and I just felt this was more suitable for wedding inspiration :)

I absolutely love this song, as it has been a childhood favourite. When I found myself humming this last week, I knew I had to post it up to share inspiration. I love the sweet innocent lyrics!

Olivia Ong - Fly Me To The Moon

PS. Love these photos from Vogue Girl Korea 2007 :) So sweet and delicious!

{photo from Fashionation}

While everyone is carolling to Christmas tunes this week, listen to a heart-warming and sweet song for inspiration…

{photo by Adam Baker on Flickr}

Having grown up in Hong Kong, I listen to a lot more Asian music from local, Taiwanese, Japanese and Korean artists. As the music industry is very influenced by Western music, we get a lot of covers and remixes. They are often very different from the usual mainstream pop culture.

Here is Hong Kong’s recent up and coming singer, Khalil Fong’s cover of the classic, Wonderful Tonight, originally by Eric Clapton. It’s really grown on me, and I think the lyrics and tune are beautiful.

Khalil Fong - Wonderful Tonight

{image from Conny Lundgren from Flickr}

Here’s a little samba tune that just makes me feel so cheery :)

{photo by ShotgunxSerenade}

One thing you’ll realize very quickly about me (and perhaps you already have) is that I am a huge fan of covers. So here I go again with a song that was originally released by The Beatles in 1964, Eight Days a Week. I grew up listening to The Beatles thanks to my dad and I am forever grateful. Their songs stand the test of time as being some of the most charming and moving out there. Other versions of this song have been recorded, but this West Indian Girl version is by far my favourite. It’s tender and feels like warm sunshine when I listen to it. If you want something light-hearted and fun to add to your playlist, this is the one!

{photo from Michele Ronja on Flickr}

Sweet and vulnerable.

{photo from thealphafemale on Flickr}

Since Nat King Cole’s original version, there have been so many, so many covers for this song. But this one by young Singaporean artist, Olivia Ong, is my personal favourite :)

Olivia’s voice is innocent and soothing. This interpretation is accompanied with very simple music, which is what makes it suitable and sweet to play at a wedding.

{photo by annaluxx from Flickr}

Remember how I mentioned that I’m a Cat Power fan? Well that got me thinking that one of her songs deserves a post. And since her full-length version of How Can I Tell You wasn’t available, I decided to mention another cover: Sea of Love.

You may recognize it from the 2007 comedy/drama film Juno. It’s the scene where… wait, I’d rather not spoil the ending for those of you who haven’t seen it. If you haven’t seen it, get on it. And if you haven’t heard this song yet, you’d better get on that too. Let’s just say as soon as this song chimed in during that scene, my cheeks were soaked with tears. (It only lasted a minute though, I swear).

{photo from OregonLive.com}

I’m not usually a sucker for commercials, especially not diamond commercials (too dramatic for me). But I am kind of a sucker for Cat Power. And when I heard her singing for this 2006 commercial by DeBeers titled “Morning Surprise”, my heart went all warm and fuzzy.

Ever since I have been trying to find the mp3 from that commercial. I realized it was a cover of a song called How Can I Tell You, originally sung by Cat Stevens, but apparently the Cat Power version was never released, so… it basically doesn’t exist anywhere in full.

And so for the past 3 years I have remained very sad over this, until through my dedicated searching this past week I found a version by Liz Durrett. Hooray! An updated acoustic version by another talented female vocalist. Durrett’s voice is much more haunting in comparison to Power’s, but both speak honesty and tenderness. I adore the soft xylophone in the background. It adds a lullaby-like quality to the track. Enjoy!