GG Vibes’s cover of Whitney Houston’s cover of Saving All My Love For You should be required listening for anyone wishing to cover a Whitney Houston song. Houston’s voice coach Gary Catona describes Houston’s voice as Mezzo Soprano with a range of a bit over 3 octaves – from about B flat2 to about C6. So it wasn’t Houston’s range that was exceptional, it was how “The Voice” used her voice.
Whitney had a gift for singing high-range in-chest voice that seemed effortless compared to most other singers. Her lower range was good, but she tended to favour her middle and upper range. So if you can’t sing in the high range and make it seem natural, like Gigi De Lana from GG Vibes, stay away from Whitney songs. Watching De Lana and her band play Saving All My Love For You is a pleasure.
Paul Clarke notes on YouTube: “So naturally smooth in her approach to the long held high notes. You can only have full admiration for a truly talented artist such as this beautiful lady.” DLo MD says “This is awesome! She has a pure & unique tone and doesn’t rely on runs & riffs to showcase her voice. Kudos!” De Lana deserves all the praise she gets, but many feel the band also deserves some love.
Phil Piper from Scotland is one viewer who gives a shout out to the band: “Gigi & her Vibes killed this classic song. A great singer needs a great backing group & Gigi’s vibes are fabulous. All of them are so talented. As a musician I really appreciate both their individual skills, and their group musicality.” GG Vibes cover of Saving All My Love For You has 13M YouTube views. Their most popular track on their channel has 44M views. Here is GG Vibes with Through the Fire & Piano in The Dark:
Through the Fire was released by Chaka Khan in 1984. Piano in The Dark was a hit for Brenda Russel in 1988 (#6 on the Billboard Hot 100). GG Vibes (aka Gigi Vibes) medley of the tracks was uploaded on 21 July 2021.
Born in September 1995 in the Philippines, Gigi De Lana’s full name is Mary Gidget Orfano dela Llana. De Lana first came to public attention in 2016 when she was a grand finalist on the Philippines TV show It’s Showtime’s amateur singing contest segment Tawag ng Tanghalan. Thereafter she appeared on a number of television shows including an impression contest where she was a grand finalist for her impersonation of Jennifer Hudson.
De Lana’s career kicked up a gear when she was cast in Four Sisters Before the Wedding (2020), the prequel to the Filipino Family comedy-drama movie Four Sisters and a Wedding (2013). She was soon signed onto the roster of Rise Artists Studio. GG Vibes released the album Gigi De Lana in 2022.
On 14 May 2023, Gigi De Lana made headlines in the Philippines when she passed out on stage. The 26-year-old artist appeared unwell before she collapsed on stage during her 2nd song. She was carried backstage. Earlier that day, De Lana and GG Vibes was involved in a car accident while travelling between gigs. They were given the all clear to play by the medics who checked them over after the accident. Judging from their YouTube releases and Facebook posts, Gigi De Lana and the band have fully recovered.
If you would like to see more from Gigi De Lana & GG Vibes, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel or follow her on Facebook or Instagram.