Sarah Brightman has an unusual and beautiful duet partner on the latest song to arrive from her new album. “Hawaii ’78” features the late and great Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, who originally released “Hawai’i ’78” for his 1993 album “Facing Future.” That album also featured his most famous track, his cover of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” and coincidentally “Hawai’i ’78” was another expression of hope and prayer.
Here, Brightman is joining in that vision with this interpretation, “Hawaii ’78.” A bonus track available only on Target’s limited edition CD of “Dreamchaser,” this version sends the roots-laden song space-bound, with the famed soprano’s voice padded with harmony, synths and strings.
Listen to the exclusive premiere of “Hawaii ’78” below, and then give a go at the original.
Brightman’s interstellar sound here is part of the larger aesthetic on “Dreamchaser,” which expresses the Broadway star’s ultimate goal of traveling into space. And she may yet: last year, it was announced that Brightman is “anticipated to be the first musician to travel to the International Space Station.” You can learn more about the voyage in the vid below.
On the remainder of “Dreamchaser,” she offers renditions of other artists’ songs, like Sigur Ros’ “Glossoli” and Elbow’s “One Day Like This.” The album — her 11th studio effort — is out on April 16; pre-order it from the Sarah Brightman Webstore. She’ll be on tour all of this summer, with North American stops starting in September, so check out all the live performance dates here.