When I was growing up, I listened to a lot of British artists, all thanks to mom. My mom loved artists like The Police, Genesis, Seal, and The Beatles. She was the DJ in her own car as she would always play her favorite songs during every car ride. But for me, I had a different set of favorite British artists. One of them was Bananarama. If you didn’t know, Bananarama was one of the best selling girl groups of the 80s. They were produced by the legendary production trio Stock, Aiken, and Waterman (SAW).
When I was searching for other artists that SAW produced, I found Sonia. I began to listen to her first album and fell in love. As I mentioned before in a past blog post, my favorite Sonia song is “Counting Every Minute”. So, when I recently found out that she released a new single to celebrate her 30th anniversary, I was thrilled! I wanted to review it on my blog!
The Early 90s Sounds With “A Night That’s Never-Ending”
“A Night That’s Never-Ending” is the first single by Sonia to be released by Energise Records. The song was co-written with Gordon Pogoda. He has written songs from Steps, Hi-5, Sergey Lazarev, Tereza Kerndlová, and others. You also can hear songs written by Pogoda in movies and shows like Hannah Montana, Little Miss Sunshine, Kim Possible, ER, and others. Along with Gordon Pogoda, “A Night That’s Never-Ending” was produced by Pete Ware and Matt Pop.
I would suggest listening to the Matt Pop Radio Mix of “A Night That’s Never-Ending” as it is more entertaining than the original mix. That version sounds similar to a SAW-produced song. One similar feature is the mixed voices singing the “Aaaah” at the beginning. Also, the backing vocals throughout the tune. They are style in a similar way as SAW songs. Just listen to any SAW song like Jason Donovan’s “When You Come Back To Me” and then compare to those found in the song below. Don’t they sound sort of similar?
The synthesizers featured in “A Night That’s Never-Ending” are super catchy. They are great to dance along with due to their bright sound, a steady tempo, and aren’t too overpowering. The synthesized instrumental actually reminds me of a song from the late 90s discography by the UK group Steps. What do you think? Do you hear the similarity too?
The biggest highlight of Sonia’s newest single is the singer’s vocals. Sonia has always had a strong voice with a deep timbre. But, don’t think that with her slightly deeper voice that this talented singer cannot hit higher notes. The truth is she can! You can hear her powerful range in past and present songs. She still has that vocal power and I am glad that she does! She continues to dazzle and amaze listeners with her amazing vocal skills!
Even though “A Night That’s Never-Ending” is a modern pop tune, it features sounds that hark back to the 90s. It is an enjoyable song with Sonia’s powerful vocals, enjoyable melodic lines, and it’s upbeat mood. It is a perfect single to celebrate Sonia’s 30th anniversary!
What do you think of “A Night That’s Never-Ending”? Listen to the Matt Pop Radio Mix below on Youtube or the whole single on Spotify. Afterward, tell me what you think about the song in the comments!
About the Artist: Sonia
Sonia, whose real name is Sonia Evan, got her start in 1989 after proving to Peter Waterman that she could sing on his weekly radio show. She made her debut soon after with the single “You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You”. The single reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. Sonia was the youngest artist at the time to achieve this feat as she 18 when she released the single.
Sonia released the album Everybody Knows on April 1990. All five singles from the album were top 20 hits, the first for a female solo artist to do so at the time. However, it was the only album that was produced by the SAW team. Tensions flared up between SAW and Sonia, leaving Sonia to release her 1991 self-titled album with Nigel Wright. The album spun a Top 10 hit, “You’ll Never Stop Me Loving You”, but the album wasn’t as successful as her first.
Sonia had another big break in 1993 as she was chosen to represent the UK at the annual Eurovision contest. She sang “Better the Devil You Know” (which is not related to the hit Kylie Minogue song) and placed second in the competition. She then released an album with the same title as the song, which #32 on the UK charts.
Sonia also became a musical theater star by first starting in Slice of Saturday Night as Dennis Waterman at London’s West End. She then starred in other productions like Grease, What A Feeling!, and Eternal Flame. She also has appeared in various TV shows over the years.
In recent years, Sonia has been busy appearing all over the UK. She has appeared at 80’s retro festivals and headlining sold-out shows in London, where she has treated fans to tracks she had never sung live before.
