Art imitates life, but sometimes life imitates art. Anyone who grew up in the 1990’s can tell you that A Goofy Movie had a much greater impact on our generation than Disney seems to understand. That film sums up what it was like to grow up in that era better than most. Cheese whiz, Walk Man, VHS, synthesized pop music, Mickey Mouse telephones. All of these were a quintessential part of growing up in that decade and Powerline was the essence of every pop star of that era.
Like Madonna and Cher before him, Powerline went by a single name. In the film, he is sort of an homage to Prince and Michael Jackson (he even does a moon walk). Twenty years after the film’s release comes another one-name singer, Donovan, who has modernized Powerline’s hit song “Eye To Eye” for Disney fans of any age. With a smooth voice and impressive vocal range, Donovan is just beginning to make a name for himself and what better way than to pay tribute to great songs of the past. The new version is still full of synthesized background music, as it should be, but still sounds fresh and new.
For his music video to this classic song, Donovan made the bold choice to film inside the berm of Disneyland. Shots of him roaming and singing through the park are combined with studio footage where he dances in front of an atom, which is Powerline’s symbol but also an old Tomorrowland icon. But the real highlight of the video is when Donovan finds Goofy in the park and the pair perform “the perfect cast” from the film, which you may recall was also Powerline’s signature move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzMn-oGeK8U
Could this get any better? Yes it could. Donovan’s record label, Crissy Field Records, is giving away the single for free! Click here to download it from Soundcloud. For more information on Donovan and future releases from this up and coming singer, be sure to check out his official Facebook and Twitter.