Robbie Williams
Last year, Robbie sparked fans’ outrage after announcing that he won’t be performing ‘Angels’ anymore during his live shows. It is truly such a shame – the track is an absolute classic. It was even voted the Best Song in 2005 and was Williams bestselling single that kick-started his career back in 1997. The reason behind his was that he gets too emotional and I can definitely see why. ‘Angels’ is an incredibly powerful ballad, that retains its tear-jerking abilities after all those years. Compared to other picks, this one carries definitely the most profound meaning. Through its beauty and lyrics, but also the whole story surrounding it.
Tom Walker
‘Angels’ by Tom Walker is a soulful pop track. It’s another emotional one as it is delivered with passion and honesty. It is the youngest out of all the picks but somehow feels the least original. The vocals are exceptional, however, its instrumental is a default pick for an ‘emotional song’. The chorus: ‘don’t give up… ‘Cause there must be angels…’ is also mediocre at best. The reason behind this effect might be also that Walker was awarded the biggest breakout UK global star of 2018. As a result, his version of ‘Angels’ has become a bit overplayed by now.
The XX
It’s the opening song to the XX’s second album. However, with the perspective that time gives, it turns out to be a much more boring song than it was in 2012. Especially compared to the other tracks by the band, like ‘Chained’ that comes up after it on the record or the other iconic ‘Intro’. In contrary to those, I do not think that ‘Angels’ works as a track by itself. It is also much less exciting than the others feels standard in terms of sound. Of course, we love (the old) the XX for their minimalism and ingenuity with their style.
A$AP ROCKY
One of the now forgotten tracks from Rocky’s first full-length album. Despite this, it is still a banger with an amazing, simple beat. As well as a lovely composition of background vocals. The production is exceptional, as it combines soft choir with hard A$AP’s rap. This one definitely has the most experimental and original sound out of the 4 picks. However, the lyrics are pretty standard for a rap song. They are mostly about how much money he has, how successful and cool he is. Despite that Rocky’s delivery is excellent as always.