Be More

**Be More** is a song by Stephen Sanchez and is the fifth track on his debut album *Angel Face*.

The song stands out by being a steady doo-wop hearty ballad with accompanying piano and simple drums giving it a very jazz-like vibe, leading to a cathartic crescendo.

## Background

It has been described as a "steady doo-wop ballad" with a distinctive 1960's sound to it, "[going] full on old-school, capturing the vibe of '60s pop".

Sanchez's vocal performance has been described as "one of the best of his career so far belting out some extremely beautiful high notes and delivering them with great emotion", with his "persistent use of vibrato to really add punctuation and emphasis to every line", and "his tremulous voice almost shaking with emotion".

Sonically, the soft piano underlines the ghostly echoes of Sanchez’ voice, while the quivering drumbeat gives way to the central plea, "Darling, please let it be more".

Reviewing the song for *MusicTalkers*, Jordan Wisniewski opines: "'Be More' is pure ear-candy with its romantic strings, passionate keys, heavy reverb vocals, and intimate lyrical content [...] it gets more and more gorgeous everytime you hear it". "The balladry is heart-gushing and the timbre of Sanchez's voice is romantic. The shape of his melodies are sweet and simple (in a good way), and his syllabic delivery is hypnotic".

Ellie Schofield of *Wildcats Wired* reviewed the song as "The vibrato of Sanchez's vocals cascade over a soft piano intro, before the song builds to a romantic plea".

### Promotion

It was promoted as "the next ballad of our love story" and "[being lost in 1964]]...now it returns".

On the day of the album's announcement, an online "The Troubadour Post" newspaper article was discovered in which Sanchez details the story of the album, alongside a comic strip promoting the song.

A pre-recorded performance of the song, sponsored by M&Ms Chocolate, was aired live during the 2023 MTV VMAs; it was directed by Luis G Santos on 30 August 2023 at Woolworth Theatre, Nashville.

### Connection to Album Storyline

*For context and more information, please read: The Story of Angel Face*.

"Be More" plays a part in the album's larger love story arc, as the album tells the love stories of many different characters between two distinct years. Here, it's between the characters of *The Troubadour Sanchez* and *Evangeline* in 1964. Sanchez has described the song as being the "peak of the love story".

## Gallery

### Behind The Scenes

VMAs Performance BTSVMAs Performance BTSVMAs Performance BTS
## Meaning

This song is about “a dialogue between lovers, in this case *The Troubadour Sanchez* and *Evangeline*. *The Troubadour Sanchez* is saying how much he wants *Evangeline* and asking her to ‘Be More’. For instance, ‘Be More’ is far more than ‘I love you’ and ‘I need you’. Both sides are begging and proclaiming love. That’s the purpose of the song. It affirms your love is far more than you could ever understand, know, or hold within your hands by yourself” says Sanchez.

Sanchez himself further described "Be More" as "this desperate begging song [...] where the narrator is longing for that one true, divine love"; and, "It's a self confession [from *The Troubadour Sanchez*] to [*Evangeline*], saying 'I want to be more than all of this to you and I want you to be more than all of this to me'".

This song is sang from the perspective of *The Troubadour Sanchez* to *Evangeline*.

## Lyrics

[Intro]

Oh-ohh, oh

[Verse 1]

It must be more than I need you

More than I love you

Be more than wishes on stars high above you

[Chorus]

If words could just hold you

Tell me you feel me

Oh, just to know you

Tell me you see me

I couldn't have said it

You must have just read it in my eyes

Darling, please let it be more

Be more

Be more

[Verse 2]

It must be more than I want you

More than I caught you

Be more than dancing in raindrops

Falling to touch you

Oh, just to touch you

Oh-oh

[Chorus]

If words could just hold you

Tell me you feel me

Oh, just to know you

Tell me you see me, yeah

I couldn't have said it

You must have just read it in my eyes

Let it be more

Be more

Be more

Darling, be more

Be more

Be more

[Chorus]

If words could just hold you

Tell me you feel me

Oh, just to know you

Tell me you see me

I couldn't have said it

You must have just read it in my eyes

Darling, please let it be more

## Music Videos

* Visualiser/Lyric Video
* 2023 MTV VMAs Performance
* Live Visual Music Video

 **Director** | Daniel Chaney

 **Executive producer** | Darren Goldberg

*For the full article, please view: Angel Face: The Live Visual Album.*

#### Additional Credits

* Director of Photography: Aaron Seldon
* VFX & Virtual Production Designer: Ryan Trommer
* Head of Production: Jen Lewis
* Production Designer: Tracie Prichard
* Production Manager: Kayla Fantozzi
* Post Supervisor: Melissa Floreth
* Assistant Editor: Justin Coupe
* Colorist: Kendall Rittenour
* Virtual Production: Vū Network
* Virtual Producers: Megan Hill, Grant Sutton, Jonathan Kindle, Alvin Renz Teves, Tim Moore
* Virtual VFX Design: Tower 33
* Virtual VFX Producers: Kyle Gordon, Elle Sassenrath
* Virtual VFX Artists: Garrett Wycoff, Alex Luloff
* Virtual VFX Coordinator: Lukas Salazar
* Live Audio Capture: Vanguard Recording
* Live Audio Mix & Master: Konrad Snyder

## Trivia

* "Be More" was first showcased via an Instagram Reel on 10 June 2023 with the caption "What is more than 'I love you'?".
	+ It quickly became a fan favourite following more teases of the same chorus snippet, including a "slowed down" version.

* "Be More" was the first song written for *Angel Face*, setting the stage for the rest on the songs.
	+ The high note was not initially in the song and was the last take recorded at ~10:30PM that day, it was the first time he had properly sang since having throat surgery months prior.

* "Be More" was supposed to release on 4 August 2023; however, it, and the album pre-order, were brought forward one day.

* "High" was supposed to be the fourth official single; however, it was superseded by "Be More" due to overwhelming fan reception of its teaser snippet, with one receiving over 6 million views in just as many days.

* The song uses the motif of romanticising 'eyes' or 'looking into somebody's eyes' in the lyric "You must have just read it / In my eyes".
	+ Other songs that use this motif are: "Because Of You", "Caught In A Blue", "Easy On My Eyes", "Kayla", "Lady By The Sea", "Mountain Peaks", "Something About Her", and "The Pool".
		- Clearly, eyes hold a deep, personal, romantic significance to Sanchez; as did many 1950/60s love songs from which he is inspired.

* Sanchez has described "Be More" as a "little heartbreaker".

* The visualiser/lyric music video was filmed in the USA only one week before the single's release, and directed by Daniel Chaney.
	+ Frances O'Sullivan, who portrayed *Evangeline* in the previous two videos ("Evangeline" and "Only Girl, respectively), was not in this video.
		- Instead, Julia Bedeaux was used as a stand-in.
	+ The visualiser/lyric video was filmed after the video for "Doesn't Do Me Any Good" on the same day, despite "Doesn't Do Me Any Good" releasing over a month and a half after.

## Navigation

 *Angel Face* Tracklist
 1958

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/stephen-sanchez-elton-john-glastonbury-radar-3472629
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://weeklyvoice.com/stephen-sanchez-harnesses-old-school-energy-in-new-single-be-more/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 https://musictalkers.com/reviews/8937-review-be-more-new-song-by-stephen-sanchez
4. ↑ https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.musicomh.com%2Freviews%2Falbums%2Fstephen-sanchez-angel-face
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Information taken from a Press Assets Package from Universal Music in August 2023, which has since been deleted.
6. ↑ https://wildcatswired.net/1342/opinion/stephen-sanchez-releases-album-angel-face-transports-listeners-back-to-the-1950s/
7. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@stephensanchezofficial/video/7259422402319322411
8. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu7NsUQuFEE/
9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvFjru\_gcd1/
10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CvaOFj3OK4K/
12. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxJuNfnumgZ/
13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CxHREJlrsGd/
14. ↑ Casting call sheet advertisement.
15. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CxHxQ5huBKX/
16. ↑ https://talkshop.live/watch/72uneQZ0fjJW
17. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@stephensanchezofficial/video/7268817885882092843
18. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtT-q3FAel2/
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6txHu7iFZQg
20. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@stephensanchezofficial/video/7260910182799183150
21. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@stephensanchezofficial/video/7262418592879283502
22. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@stephensanchezofficial/video/7244344682686188842
23. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CvgHlVmOgES
24. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CvP5QxAs8ec/
25. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CvOPzzMr8Jx/