The judges of Belgium’s Got Talent are impressed with Lady Xena, a sweet dog that sings when she hears Whitney Houston’s hit cover “I Will Always Love You.”
Lady Xena is a sensation with the audience and judges. Owners Mick Depreytere and Daphnée Naessens who live in Ostend, said they don’t know why their dog started to sing.
“We bought Xena when she was 12 weeks old. We went to a café, she was sleeping and the place was playing the song by Whitney Houston. But when Xena heard the sound of the song, she began to sing/cry . It was really weird,” they said to HLB News & sport.
Based on the audience’s reaction, a star has been born.
Of all the songs to choose
Xena could hardly have picked a more dramatic song to sing along to. “I Will Always Love You” is one of the most famous ballads ever recorded, and one of the hardest to perform. Its big, sustained notes and that famous key change near the end have defeated many talent show contestants, human ones included.
The song was not originally Whitney Houston’s. It was written and recorded by Dolly Parton in 1973, as a farewell to her mentor and business partner Porter Wagoner, and released as a single in 1974. Nearly twenty years later, Houston recorded her own version for the 1992 film The Bodyguard, in which she also starred. Her version spent a then record 14 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, and became the best selling single ever by a female solo artist.
Parton has joked that the money she made from Houston’s recording could have bought Graceland. Xena, for her part, seems to prefer the Houston version.
The show behind the moment
Belgium’s Got Talent is the Belgian version of the international Got Talent format created by Simon Cowell. It is broadcast in Dutch on the Flemish channel VTM and first aired in 2012. Xena’s audition came during the show’s third season, in 2015, when the judging panel included Rob Vanoudenhoven, Karen Damen and Ray Cokes.
Animal acts have always been a favorite on Got Talent shows around the world. Dancing dogs, trick performing cats and even the odd parrot have made it onto the stage. But a dog whose “act” is simply to howl along with emotion to a power ballad is something special. As the video shows, the judges were won over within seconds, and the audience could barely stay in their seats.
Why do some dogs sing along to music?
Xena’s owners said they have no idea why she started singing. Scientists do not have a complete answer either, but there are a few common explanations for why some dogs howl when they hear certain music.
- It is a wolf instinct. Howling is how wolves communicate over long distances and keep a pack together. Many domestic dogs keep this instinct and respond when they hear a sound that resembles a howl, like a siren or a long, high note.
- Some sounds hit the right frequency. Sustained high pitched notes, the kind Whitney Houston was famous for, seem especially likely to trigger a response.
- They are joining in. To a dog, a voice that rises and holds may sound like another member of the group calling out. Howling back is a way of answering.
- They get rewarded. Once a dog discovers that singing makes its owners laugh, cheer and give attention, it has every reason to do it again.
Not every dog does it. Some breeds, especially hounds and northern breeds such as huskies, are known for being more vocal than others. But plenty of mixed breed dogs, like Xena, have one particular song that sets them off every time.
Is it a sign that a dog is upset?
Owners often wonder whether a dog that howls at music is in distress. In most cases, the answer is no. If the dog is relaxed, its tail is loose and it stops when the music stops, it is probably just joining in. But if a dog howls when left alone, paces, drools or damages the house, that can be a sign of separation anxiety, and it is worth talking to a vet or a qualified trainer. Very loud music can also be uncomfortable for dogs, whose hearing is much more sensitive than ours, so it is kind to keep the volume reasonable.
Should you encourage a singing dog?
If your own dog likes to join in when a certain song comes on, there is usually no harm in enjoying it. Many owners find it a lovely way to bond, and some even build a little routine around it, playing the song and singing along together. The key is to keep it fun and short, to watch for any signs of stress, and to never force a dog to perform for guests who find it more amusing than the dog does. A dog that sings because it wants to is a happy dog. A dog that is pushed to do it again and again for a camera may quickly lose interest, and the magic disappears with it.
A star is born
Xena’s story began by accident, in a café where a Whitney Houston song happened to be playing while she slept. It ended with her on national television, in front of a crowd that laughed until it cried. She may never hit the high notes the way Whitney did, but few performers have ever put more feeling into that final chorus.