(December 3, 2022) The emergence of young singer and songwriter Mariah Hester, aka Mariah., has been one of the notable developments of 2022 in indie soul music. The Louisiana-based performer received a nomination for Best New Artist in the SoulTracks Readers’ Choice Awards, and made a dent on the charts with quite varied performances on “Material Girl” and “Bizness.”
With the holiday approaching, Mariah. puts her imprint on an oft-recorded Christmas classic. “Silent Night” has been performed in countless fashions, from its gentle acoustic origins in 19th century Austria, to regular recorded performances over the past 70 years by the biggest pop, soul and jazz stars in the world.
For her version of this iconic – but difficult – song, Mariah. teams with producer Mike Gardner on a piano and horn-driven recording that neither pays homage to the heavily reverential versions that dominated the most popular mid-20th century versions nor shades toward many of the more bombastic recent versions. The song bears a mild jazzy underpinning and takes its time to unfold as it simply lets this young singer sing.
It is both understated and quite effective. Check out “Silent Night” below and welcome Mariah. back to SoulTracks.
By Chris Rizik
Mariah. – “Silent Night (Special Version)”
