First Listen: Will Downing knows “The Power of Love”

(November 4, 2024) Whether he’s putting vocals and his own unique spin on the John Coltrane classic “A Love Supreme,” teaming with Avery*Sunshine to reimagine Dionne Warwick’s “Déjà Vu” or covering remaking ballads by soulful chanteuses like Angela Bofill and Denise Williams, Will Downing has proven that he knows how to make a cover song his own.

So, one can be forgiving for seeing “The Power of Love,” the Downing’s latest single, and thinking it might be a remake of the Luther Vandross classis “Power of Love/Love Power.” The silky-smooth baritone crooner often gets compared to Vandross.

However, “The Power of Love” is all original and all The Prince of Sophisticated Soul. The track is an ultra-smooth R&B track that features piano riffs and guitar solos that nod toward jazz and is aimed directly at couples looking to spend some time together – whether they be nuzzled together for an intimate dinner for two or pairing up on the dance floor.

Downing’s baritone, which is both smolderingly sensual and rangy, is the star of the show here as he sings about the transformative power of love. In Downing’s distinctive way, he expresses disbelief for the good fortune of having this special love and his life and how looking at her when she gazes at him sparks his imagination. “The Power of Love” is classic Will Downing. Check it out here