Hear 3 Sara Bareilles Demos of ‘Little Voice’ Songs

Sara Bareilles just finished recording her concept album of songs used in her Apple TV+ series, Little Voice. While she and her team mix and master that, lucky fans have some new tunes to enjoy. Sara just shared the demos of three Little Voice songs! Exclusively on Apple Music, fans can hear Sara’s demos of “Hemingway (Dear Hope),” “More Love,” and “Simple And True.”

“Hemingway (Dear Hope)”

In Little Voice, we heard Bess King (actress Brittany O’Grady) sing “Dear Hope” in episode three. But that version is very different from Sara’s original demo, and the overall theme seems to have shifted. In Sara’s version, the first line starts about the same, but the verse quickly changes course; then the chorus is completely different and doesn’t mention anything about hope. Instead, Sara sings, “You said, ‘don’t cry, baby; someday soon the space between us will move.'”

What sounds like a poignant breakup song here works as an empowering ode to expression and hope in Little Voice. “Hemingway (Dear Hope)” clearly went through some major transformations from Sara’s early demo to the version heard in the show. It seems that Sara had written it for one of her own albums in the past before reworking it for the TV series. Both versions are beautiful, but this Sara demo is exceptional. What a stunning, heartbreaking song. We hope her concept album will feature the song like this… or, even better, both versions!

“More Love”

Episode five of Little Voice featured the song “More Love” as the characters filmed its music video. In the show, it’s a gentle and airy song about loving freely. Sara’s demo sounds very true to the cast version. It’s a bit shorter, as it lacks the bridge that further heightens the Little Voice recording. Sara’s demo also sounds a bit more rootsy and weightier. Of the three songs, this is probably the one that changed the least between Sara and the TV series. We may like the Little Voice rendition of “More Love” just a bit more.

“Simple And True”

Finally, we get “Simple And True,” the heartbreak song heard in episode six of Little Voice. Sara stated last month that she had written “Simple And True” for a previous album (Kaleidoscope Heart? The Blessed Unrest?). She loved the song, and didn’t seem to know why it wasn’t included on a record. Luckily it’s found its way out now.

As with “More Love,” “Simple And True” sounds nearly the same between Sara’s demo and the cast recording. However, this one is a full minute longer. It features an extra bridge not heard in the show, as well as an added outro version of the last chorus. Sara’s demo here is just as stunning and tormented as the rendition in Little Voice. It’s an incredible and heart-wrenching song, and we’re excited to hear how it sounds on Sara’s concept album.

Listen to Sara’s demos of “Hemingway (Dear Hope),” “More Love,” and “Simple And True” below:

In addition to Sara’s three new demos, be sure to also enjoy her recording of “Little Voice” below. Though she originally wrote it for her 2007 major label debut album, not coincidentally titled Little Voice, the song didn’t get the justice it deserved until 15 years later. It’s a worthy theme song for the new Apple TV+ series.

More About Sara’s Little Voice Songs

In several recent interviews, Sara has explained that the songs used in Little Voice were all written or co-written by her. (She worked with collaborators Justin Tranter, Lori McKenna, and Jack Antonoff.) Many are older songs that simply never got used on any of her past albums. “Little Voice” and “Simple And True” are both examples of songs from her own back catalogue. However, Sara also wrote some new songs specifically for the series, such as one called “Ghost Light.”

The first eight episodes are out now, and they’ve come with nine songs so far. We would expect all of those to appear on Sara’s concept album. A partial tracklisting may look something like this:

1. Little Voice
2. I Don’t Know Anything
3. Coming Back To You
4. Dear Hope
5. King Of The Lost Boys
6. More Love
7. Tell Her
8. Simple And True
9. Ghost Light

There will also likely be at least one more song, to be heard in the Little Voice season finale next Friday.

While we await Sara’s concept album, be sure to enjoy the latest Little Voice cast album out now:

Little Voice: TV Series

The new Little Voice show centers on a young songwriter, Bess King, navigating New York City and trying to find her own voice. The plot loosely resembles Sara’s own start in the music business, and it’s fitting that the TV show’s theme song also serves as its title track. The half-hour dramedy series is available exclusively on Apple TV+, and first season will feature nine episodes.

According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Little Voice stars Brittany O’Grady (Fox’s Star) as Bess King, a uniquely talented performer struggling to fulfill her dreams while navigating rejection, love, and complicated family issues. The show will also feature original music from Bareilles as it tells a story about finding your authentic voice and the courage to use it.

The first eight episodes of Little Voice are available now. We’ve watched them all and are truly loving the show! We can’t wait for next week’s finale episode!

Girls5eva Acting Role

Little Voice isn’t the only TV series Sara’s a part of! While she composes the music and serves as an executive producer there, Sara’s moving into acting in another TV series. Earlier this week, it was announced that Sara will star in a new comedy series called Girls5eva, coming to Peacock in the next year or two.

In the show, Girls5eva is a retired ’90s girl group who had only one hit in their short career. Now, over two decades later, a popular young rapper sampled their song, and the girl group reunites to give their pop star dreams another chance. Sara will star as Dawn, one of the Girls5eva members, who’s now managing her family’s Italian restaurant in Queens. She’s reluctant to get the group back together, but it may be exactly what she needs right now.

We never saw this move coming, but we’re excited to see Girls5eva! Sara has continued to prove how talented and capable she is. From pop music to books, from musicals to TV production, she continues to shine. We’re sure her acting will be nothing short of spectacular. It’s unclear when Girls5eva will premiere, but we’ll keep you posted.

Amidst The Chaos

In April last year, Sara made her big comeback to (pop) music with the release of her album, Amidst The Chaos. It launched the singles “Armor” and “Fire,” plus promo singles “No Such Thing” and “Saint Honesty.” Though, truth be told, some of our favorite songs weren’t even singles. Check out our track-by-track review of the stellar album and be sure to listen to it (and maybe all of Sara’s albums… we’re feeling nostalgic!).

Last August, Sara Bareilles released a new EP, What’s Not Inside: The Lost Songs From Waitress. It followed Sara’s 2015 album, What’s Inside: Songs From Waitress, which featured songs she wrote for the hugely popular Broadway musical, Waitress. The EP features 6 songs that didn’t make it into the musical, plus Sara’s show-stopping ballad, “She Used To Be Mine.”

In November last year, five old Sara demos leaked online. She recorded them in the 2000s with Ryan Dusick, formerly of Maroon 5. Earlier this year, Sara also appeared on lovely acoustic version of “Teach You” with Emily King.

Upcoming Concept Album

Enjoy the three new demos Sara just shared! They’re currently exclusive to Apple Music. They promise more goodness to come in Sara’s upcoming Little Voice concept album. We’re thrilled that she’s already done recording it and has moved on to the mixing and mastering phase. At this rate, we could very well have this album playing in our ears before 2020 is over! Until then, enjoy the enw demos, and of course the Little Voice series; the first eight episodes are out now. Keep checking back here for all the latest Sara Bareilles music news.