Karen Harding is one of those singers that blur the lines between passionate vocals and strong techniques. In her latest single, It’s Okay, a lot of similarities and influences can be noted, but it amazed me how there was a great level of distinction preserved. To have the nasality of great belters like Dido show in the middle of her range was just a decoy, as the top of her vocal range is far away from the comfortable area she sang the first verse.
The moment the chorus kicks in, you could hear her voice in a more open and forward placement with one of the most beautiful and tender airy mixed vocals you will ever hear. In the middle of the verses, she ascends to higher notes that sound pure and clean while maintaining melody, which sets a prime example for other singers on how belting should be done. After the instrumental bridge, she does some head voice and sighs, as if to tell us that both her emotional capacity and vocal range have no end in sight. This brings me to the second merit I could feel in this song, which is the thoughtful writing That compliments Karen’s voice so well.
The dynamics of the vocal lines match certain transitions and additional sounds in the instrumental that make the song sound extra dreamy and passionate. The whole experience of “It’s Okay” can’t be summed up in one sentence, but if I tried to then I would call it a soothingly melancholic dream you wouldn’t wanna wake up from.