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On My Playlist: Top 5 Jean Zenan songs

One of SA’s most versatile musicians to have released a debut album this year is none other than Jean Zenan. Zenan might not be a household name in the SA music industry yet but he actually has two decades of experience in songwriting and performing. It was only in the past three years that he …

One of SA’s most versatile musicians to have released a debut album this year is none other than Jean Zenan. Zenan might not be a household name in the SA music industry yet but he actually has two decades of experience in songwriting and performing.
It was only in the past three years that he has decided to record his debut album, A Perfect Sight, which he released in February this year.
Zenan lets his own style do most of the talking while putting in a wide variety of rock, pop and jazz-oriented sounds into his music. Think of it as SA rock meets Queen with a little bit of old-school rock and pop sounds thrown into the mix.
Honourable mentions: ‘Goodbye Miss Thunderstorm’, ‘Perfect Sight’, ‘Singer in the Band’
5. You’re Making Me Feel
This is one of the most appealing songs from Jean Zenan with a real upbeat feel that demonstrates the emotion of love. It has a great vibe with a keyboard melody that forms its backbone. The track has a Queenesque feel to it with dual vocals creating a real sing-along sound. The guitar solo at the end is also one of the sultry pieces of this track that gets better with each listen.


4. Follow Your Heart
The acoustic guitar melody in this song is truly fantastic and blends in brilliantly with the poignant and truthful message of the need to ‘Follow Your Heart.’ The track starts off slowly before it builds up to an upbeat rhythm passage when Zenan sings ‘all you need is some inspiration and some motivation,’ as he instils one of life’s great lessons, which is to follow your heart in order to experience happiness in life. This is one of my favourite songs because of its Laissez-Faire approach and interesting slow-fast dynamics.


3. Be Someone
This is another one of Zenan’s uplifting tracks as the guitar intro transports its listeners to a sunny, happy place with a truly inviting opening.
The verses are a real pleasure to the ear with the piano and guitar melodies bouncing off each other in delight. ‘I know that I can be the one, I know that I can be someone,’ sings Zenan to emphasise the positive message of this number. The use of an organ in the bridge also adds a real ‘The Doors’ feel to the song and takes you back to something out of the late 70s. Zenan has really perfected his songwriting craft and this track is one of the great examples of this. It is rhythmic, melodic and catchy – everything a good pop-rock song should be.


2. Love Me As Your Friend
‘I like you more than you know. I like you, even more, when it’s raining. I like you even when it snows,’ sings Zenan on this, the sixth track of his debut album as he focuses on love and all its intricacies in a great sing-along track with a really contagious, uplifting chorus. The song will definitely get you jumping and singing along with its melody and relatable message. One of the highlights of the song is the contagious guitar solo in the bridge that really puts some extra spice in this hot-and-happening track.


1. My Angel
This is one of Zenan’s earliest tracks and the message behind it, together with its delivery makes it one of the best. One can truly hear that Zenan has put every bit of himself in this number as his crooning voice hits you from the first note: ‘Did you know there is an angel that keeps an eye on your life and did you know there’s no danger when you have an angel in your life?’ This song has a strong Queen feel to it. This is a really great thing as this melody and the composition of the song draws the listener into the important, heart-warming message. It is simple, without too many frills and this truly makes the song stand out.
Everything works together on this track and really showcases Zenan’s talent.

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