Northern Irish X Factor alumna Janet Devlin has joined forces with legendary troubadour Engelbert Humperdinck for a new take on the classic Elvis Presley track Can’t Help Falling In Love With You. The cover, which Essentially Pop describe as “a cross-generational ode to love and loss that seeks solace in troubled times“, features on Engelbert’s new EP Sentiments, which is available to download now.
In a press release shared with Essentially Pop, Humperdinck – whose wife Patricia lives with Alzheimer’s Disease – spoke about the song’s personal resonance for both collaborators. He said “I have always adored Can’t Help Falling In Love by my good friend Elvis when he recorded it almost 60 years ago…Janet and I have performed it not as a love song, but as a loving tribute to people very near and dear to our hearts. I am dedicating it to my wife of 54 years, Patricia. Janet is dedicating it to her grandfather Michael. Together, we have created a new version which we believe packs an emotional punch with its hopeful message of love… especially in these difficult times.”
Humperdinck, known for his prodigious vocal range, rocketed to international superstardom in the 1960s on the back of a succession of sweeping ballads and singalong easy-listening anthems; including the classics Am I That Easy To Forget; The Last Waltz; Quando Quando Quando; Spanish Eyes; A Man Without Love; The Way It Used To Be; There Goes My Everything; and the country-tinged humdinger Release Me, arguably his signature tune.
The Leicestershire-raised singer, who represented Great Britain in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Azerbaijan, recorded Sentiments remotely during the 2020 lockdown. In a post to fans on Instagram, Engelbert said “During these troubled times that we are all living in, I decided to remotely record a special album of songs that have great meaning for me and I hope for you as well. I have never done a project like this where the musicians were all at their own homes, the producer was in New Jersey, and I was in my studio. I think that you will find special meaning in the lyrics to these songs as I do.”
His OK! Good Records stablemate and new collaborator Janet Devlin has also been active this year. The County Tyrone-born folk-pop singer released her third studio album Confessional in July – her first full-length LP in six years. She told Prelude Press that she was glad not to have rushed the follow-up to 2014’s Running With Scissors, which had topped the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart.
Devlin said “I’ve definitely matured a lot in the last six years – both musically and personally. I feel like I really found my sound with this album. I don’t think I would’ve been confident enough to try fusing Celtic sounds with pop six years ago. I’m also really glad that I’ve waited, as I’ve done so much personal growth in these past years – so I’ve never felt more ready and supported to put out an honest album such as this.”
The singer, who starred in the eighth series of The X Factor alongside eventual winners Little Mix, has spoken of her frustration at not being able to perform Can’t Help Falling In Love on stage with Engelbert this year – an experience which she says would have been the “icing on the cake.” Meanwhile Humperdinck is scheduled to begin a mammoth 22-date world tour starting with a show at Rancho Mirage in his adopted home turf of California on January 8th 2021. The tour will also take in two UK dates: London Palladium on May 30th, and the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on June 16th.
