“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time,” Ecclesiastes 3:11.

The above scripture may have inspired Alice Mckenzie’s new single titled ‘Beautiful’. After releasing songs ‘You Alone’ and ‘Omo God’ she is out with this thanksgiving song to God for the great things he has done in her life.

The song is released and marketed under her personal record label, AM Music.

Instrumentation/Production: Kaywa of Highly Spiritual Music is responsible for the beautiful piece of music. Composed in Key F Sharp, the beat encapsulates pulsating hip hop kicks, sandwiched with intermittent gome drum patterns, tinged with latent dancehall-induced clappers at the beginning of the song. The cross-pollination of rhythms and the variations on the piece give it a beauteous feel.

Message: Alice speaks about the power of God to transform people from worst situations to become the cynosure of all eyes.

She highlights that even when she thought she had lost her way and it looked like she was failing, God made a way. The theme of the song is one that a lot of music lovers and Christians for that matter can relate to.

It promises to imbue in people, the trust and belief in the potency of God. The message reassures music lovers of how merciful God is in caring for the weak, the sick, and the beleaguered.

Vocal Delivery: Although Alice McKenzie sings the beautiful melody of the song, the auto-tune on her voice seems to have dimmed the beauty of her vocal timbre. I would have loved to hear her raw voice and how she would treat the song with it.

Also, it would have been nice of she had followed the switching patterns in the instrumentation for her vocal delivery. Although, Kaywa alters the beat patterns for about four times in the production, Alice keeps singing in the same style. It sounded more exciting if she also switched her style to be in tandem with the beat switches.

'Beautiful' is performed in English and Twi languages: possibly a strategy is to make sure the song gets a cross-over effect to a wider audience.

Gospel music goes beyond entertainment. The core functions of gospel music: are worshipping God and evangelising to lost and troubled souls. 'Beautiful' by Alice McKenzie, aside from its music and artistic qualities, satisfies these virtues.

Artiste: Alice McKenzie

Producer: Kaywa

Author of Review: Kwame Dadzie

Listen to 'Beautiful' below: