Apple Music has introduced its new live Apple Music Sessions, beginning with performances from Carrie Underwood and Tenille Townes.
Apple Music Sessions see artists performing a short selection of tracks, typically from their own hits plus covers of personal favorites. Each one is recorded in Spatial Audio. and is also presented in video.
The intention is that the Spatial Audio and "companion live performance music videos" will be recorded in Apple Music's studios around the world. The initial two artists, Carrie Underwood and Tenille Townes, were both recorded in Apple Music's new studios in Nashville, Tennessee.
"Being in the studio with Apple Music was such an incredible experience," said Carrie Underwood in a statement, "and I'm excited to share these unique, stripped-down versions of three songs I love with my fans."
Her songs were her own "Ghost Story," and "Blown Away," plus a cover of Ozzy Osbourne's "Mama, I'm Coming Home."
"I have always been an Ozzy Osbourne fan and Mama, I'm Coming Home' is one of my all-time favorite songs," Underwood continued. "I've always thought it felt a lot like a country song, and I've wanted to cover it for a long time."
"This was a really fun opportunity for me to be able to finally make that happen," she said. "I hope we've done Ozzy proud and I hope he likes it."
For her Apple Music Session, Tenille Townes performed her own "Same Road Home," and "Somebody's Daughter." She also covered Etta James's "At Last."
"It was so cool capturing the spirit of how it feels to play my songs live with my band during the Apple Music Sessions performance," said Tenille Townes. "The new space feels like it's going to become an anchor for our music community in Nashville, and it was an honor to be a part of breaking it in."
"'At Last' is a song that sets the bar to me as a writer and a singer," she continued. "I've never recorded a version of it before, and I loved getting to include it in my Apple Music Sessions."
Apple has announced that future artists will include Ronnie Dunn and Ingrid Andress, plus more country artists. The company plans to expand Apple Music Sessions into other genres, too.
Apple launches Apple Music Sessions with highlight on Spatial Audio