DZEKO and RIGGI & PIROS and VERONICA, “Heaven”
Indeed, the 80’s #1 by Bryan Adams that originally started life as a ballad in a film called “A Night In Heaven” with Christopher Atkins and Lesley-Ann Warren has been reinvented and transformed many times, but none more successfully than DJ Sammy’s Europop version that became a worldwide smash in 2003. As readers know, I’m particularly selective about what cover versions I enjoy. And while some may think that 15 years may not have been long enough to welcome a new version to clubland, Toronto’s Dzeko and New Jersey’s Riggi & Piros fire it up and set it ablaze, aided by a winning vocal by another Torontonian, Veronica, who did well in Europe (and particularly Belgium with a #1) last year with “In The Mood”. So this new version is definitely less pre-fab and more anthemic than the DJ Sammy version, from which it still draws inspiration. And does it work? Yep it sure does, for both clubs and radio. I’ll put money on radio stations – particularly in Canada, to support homegrown talent of Dzeko and Veronica – playing it to follow up Dzeko’s collaboration with Tiësto on “Jackie Chan”. And I’d love to hear some remixers share their new takes on this pop classic to help broaden its appeal to receptive club DJ’s.
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