In The Eye, music’s best up-and-coming artists take to an intimate and minimal studio space to perform highlights from their discography, with only one microphone and one take. This time, in the studio is Sabrina Claudio, one of the most intriguing rising stars in R&B.
The Miami-based singer-songwriter got her start, as many do, on SoundCloud, uploading songs there, generating attention, and working her way up. The hustle eventually landed her a label deal with Atlantic and she’s made good on it so far by staying busier than most of her peers: Between albums, EPs, and mixtapes, Claudio has put out a whopping six releases since 2017, with three of those being albums. The future is looking bright, too: In addition to another album, Based On A Feeling, set to drop on May 6, she also earned the favor of The Weeknd, who granted her an opening slot on his upcoming After Hours tour.
Before all that, though, Claudio has taken to The Eye for a performance of her latest single, “Better Version.” As is often the case with The Eye performances, Claudio goes for a more stripped-down arrangement of the song here, which makes it feel more like a tranquil ballad than the original. The minimal instrumentation gives Claudio’s voice plenty of room to breathe, which, when you’re blessed with as much vocal talent and beauty as Claudio, is never a bad thing.
Claudio previously told Paper of the song, “This song stems from the perspective of someone who’s in a relationship with a person who is internally toxic, they choose to remain in this relationship because of those once in a blue moon glimpses of who their partner has the potential to be. It feels like this person is in a relationship with two completely different people and doesn’t want to leave either of them at the risk of losing them both.”
While a studio rendition like this shows off what Claudio is like as a performer, it’s not the same as getting on stage in front of a crowd. However, we know she thrives in that setting, too: Uproxx’s Caitlin White saw her live in 2019 and noted, “Silky, effortless voices like Claudio’s don’t come around that often, so when they do, seeing a performer like her live is the way to go.”
Watch Claudio perform “Better Version” for The Eye above.
Sabrina Claudio is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.