Katie Coyle & Nadia Berry - Cheap Flings and Diamond RingsOOC: Song by genocidal king & GirlSpice // Artwork by GirlSpice
Track: Cheap Flings and Diamond Rings
Label: Chaos & Nomad/Liberation Records
Release Date: June 24th 2012
Genre: Pop
Recorded: Auckland, NZ
Recording Dates: May/June 2012
Written by: Katie Coyle & Nadia Berry
Produced by: Katie Coyle
The Track
Katie Coyle and Nadia Berry are proud to announce the release of their debut single as a duo. The two, arguably the biggest names in the world of music at the moment, have decided to pen and record a track which coincides with their memorable hosting of the Chaos Awards VI in Hollywood, CA, on June 23rd 2012. Cheap Flings and Diamond Rings opened the show with a bang, as the glorious pop track from the pair won over the audience immediately. It is now available to buy as a double A-side from Chaos and Nomad/Liberation Records, with the first track containing the original recording, and the second being the live recording of the performance given by Nadia and Katie at the Chaos Awards. The track will be available to purchase from iTunes, Amazon, Play.com, Zavvi and all top high-street music retailers, with all of the funds from the sales of the song being donated to help women's rights in Indonesia, following on from Katie and Nadia's recent run in with the oppressive regimes that exist in the country when their "raunchy and inappropriate" acts were deemed as unsuitable for the teenagers of the country.
The theme of the single is that of a lack of commitment, and a failure to take the plunge and step into the future with a person that you love. It seems to be a lament to the fact that many guys across the world fail to step up to the plate, leaving their other halves feeling like they exist only in a world where their emotions are bought out with tacky gifts, and they are only useful for their company and their abilities in the bedroom. It deals with the theme from two separate perspectives, one of which is that of someone on the outside looking in on such a relationship, while the choruses and the pre-choruses take a look at the inner-workings of the mind of a girl caught in a vicious circle like this.
The track begins with a few quiet and slow piano notes, which are echoed in the background by a slightly electronic sounding keyboard, just audible in the background behind the much more dominating notes of the piano. After a few bars, the piano notes play softer, and the voice of Katie Coyle takes over as the more prominent feature, her flowing velvety vocals draping and smoothly running their way across each of the lines of the opening verse of the song. There is a slight echo over her voice as she sings the verse, which remains quiet, up until the last line, when the keyboard overpowers the piano at last, and a drum beat plays repeatedly and steadily, getting louder and louder until the end of the final line.
At the end of the first verse, a guitar chord plays out, sounding cheery against a backdrop of keyboard and drums. Just then, the far louder, commanding and more confident voice of Nadia Berry comes into the track, changing the pace and the feel of the song. Her words are delivered with a joyous punch as she delivers each of the lines of the pre-chorus, lamenting the way that love is portrayed to young girls in films, and how they are only set up for a fall. As she reaches the last line of the section, Nadia holds the last word brilliantly, and four quick drum beats sound out.
Just after this, the chorus of the song kicks in, and Nadia and Katie's harmonised vocals play off against each other perfectly throughout the mid-tempo chorus, slightly bouncy and catchy in its style, while still retaining the serious edge that the theme of the song suggests is so important. The duo's voices, while very different in style, work very well when put together on this style of song, and it is clear, even although this is just an audio recording, that the two are having a great time working together.
For the rest of the track, the verses take on a similar rhythm to the opening one which Katie sang slowly and in her own solo style, but are far faster, the absence of piano offset by the fact that the electric guitar and drums are present throughout. The two girls alternate the verses, with Nadia singing the second and Katie the third. The pre-choruses and choruses are sung in the same style as the first ones throughout the duration of the track.
As it reaches its final minute, the song changes one last time. When the penultimate chorus ends, the music slows considerably. The electric guitar is played with a much cleaner channel, and the piano has come back in, very softly, in the background of the track ,as Katie's haunting voice meanders through the bridge of the track.
And finally, the track ends with a very soft and emotional finale. The music returns to its similar style as the opening verse, with just piano coming back in, as Nadia slowly, and beautifully sings the emotive and tear-jerking chorus, her voice smooth and confident and sweet, before the piano softly fades away into the distance.
Katie says
If someone had told me recently that I would ever have the chance to work with someone as perfect, beautiful and amazing as Nadia, I think I would have just laughed at them. But to get the opportunity to do so is just...wow. Honestly, you would not believe how proud and amazed I was to get the chance to do so. When we sat down to write the song, when we went into the studio briefly to record it, everything was just beyond an amazing experience, that I will always be thankful for and never forget. Nadia is a hero and a friend, so to transfer that sort of thing into a working environment was just amazing. It really was.
The song itself is something really great for me. I got to sing about something that I haven't ever sung about in my life before, I got the chance to sing something that is a style totally alien to me, and I got to sit and write with someone else. Each of those things were really fun. To not have my guitar at any part of the process was very very odd, but to be honest I enjoyed the freedom for just a little while. There's no way that I'll ever go to that full time, because my guitar is my life, but this was still really really great.
Throughout it all, Nadia and I had great fun recording it, and I think I also even managed to learn a good few things from her which was really cool. All in all, I'm very proud of what we did here, and I hope that our fans enjoy it.
Nadia says
It was a pleasure to work with someone as talented as Katie, the making of this song couldn't have gone any better. We sat down in the studio and the idea of this song just popped up really quickly, and from there, we were just writing all these lyrics down that came into our head, it was a really natural, quick process.
I love songs that have something to tell, and "Cheap Flings and Diamond Rings" certainly does do that, there's a lot of meaning behind it. When you're in a relationship with someone, and they're not giving you as much as you want, you seem to feel like you're stuck in this everlasting cheap one night fling that seems to go nowhere, that was the main point behind it.
I've always preferred to write alone, because I can definitely be fussy when it comes to writing songs, but Katie's such a great writer, so it was just great to work with someone who has such talent in that area. We aren't worlds apart when it comes to our music, but there is a difference there, and I think this song really brought both our styles together in the best way possible. Katie's someone that I've looked up to for many years, so to actually collaborate on this song with her was an incredible experience, and who better to work with on a song than your best friend?
The Lyrics
Nothing seems so easy for this girl
Her mind so filled with doubts, is still where wishes linger
The journey's always breezy in her world
With a hope deep in her heart and a space on her finger
But where did she get so lost?
Just like a battle with the bottle she knows the cost
Of always running around
Of always chasing him down
Can't she see he's nothing more than a hollow crown?
Perfect couples plastered on a movie screen
Doesn't Hollywood look so romantic?
Really, everyone there is either paper thin or high on heroin
But I know we'd be the real deal, the American Dream
When you say you love me, I feel so cold and empty
Can't help but feel that one day you'll run off and forget me
And when you say you need me, I always think you're lying
Can't help but feel that one day you'll just give up trying
I wanna be something more, but you won't let me play the part
You give me cheap flings, but I want diamond rings
We're wearing thin, moments away from falling apart
Yeah, all you'll ever give me is cheap flings, but I want diamond rings
She cries at night for a time she feels she wasted
Is she blindly being led around a circular trek?
Why won't he let her see, see the life that she's already tasted?
Is a ring on her finger really a noose around his neck?
But his drug doesn't ever give her a high
She needs the pills in her pocket just to help her get by
The stinging tears dull the sparkle which was once in her eye
Don't fill this beautiful girl with empty hopes
Why don't you give her the freedom away from these incessant rings?
Why does she feel like she's always stood on downward slops
Only you can help her soar if you just give her her wings
No wonder she lost all signs of light
When you extinguished her passion she lost her flight
But just like a phoenix she can still rise, just please give her a reason, a reason to ignite
Perfect couples plastered on a movie screen
Doesn't Hollywood look so romantic?
Really, everyone there is either paper thin or high on heroin
But I know we'd be the real deal, the American Dream
When you say you love me, I feel so cold and empty
Can't help but feel that one day you'll run off and forget me
And when you say you need me, I always think you're lying
Can't help but feel that one day you'll just give up trying
I wanna be something more, but you won't let me play the part
You give me cheap flings, but I want diamond rings
We're wearing thin, moments away from falling apart
Yeah, all you'll ever give me is cheap flings, but I want diamond rings
Born free, like a gust of wind across a lonely bay
Stop living in this endless circle, and wipe her tears away
All she wants is a glimpse of what you will be
But she's not a crystal ball so you gotta let her see
If you won't take her to the future then set her free
set her free
set her free
When you say you love me, I feel so cold and empty
Can't help but feel that one day you'll run off and forget me
And when you say you need me, I always think you're lying
Can't help but feel that one day you'll just give up trying
I wanna be something more, but you won't let me play the part
You give me cheap flings, but I want diamond rings
We're wearing thin, moments away from falling apart
Yeah, all you'll ever give me is cheap flings, but I want diamond rings
