Loren Allred reveals what it’s like to sing as Aerith in the ‘Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’ theme song

nme.com:

NME recently caught up with Loren Allred, the vocalist behind Square Enix‘s newly-revealed Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth theme song ‘No Promises To Keep’, to learn about the process behind singing as fan-favourite Final Fantasy character Aerith.In Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, the song is performed by Aerith during a performance of the stage play Loveless.

But in the real world – including its live debut at The Game Awards 2023 – ‘No Promises To Keep’ is performed by Allred, who is best known for singing ‘Never Enough’ in 2017 musical The Greatest Showman.Speaking to NME, Allred shared that although she didn’t play Final Fantasy growing up, she became a fan of composer Nobuo Uematsu through watching her friends play.

When she was contacted by Square Enix to sing ‘No Promise To Keep’, she wasn’t told that it would be for Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth – only that it would be a song by Uematsu, which was enough to keep her hooked.“It was such an honour to have someone that’s such a legend in this industry give me notes in the studio,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if he was going to be there, but he was!

It was really special.”Outside of the recording booth, Allred’s process also involved finding her “connection” to the song, which meant spending a lot of time “learning about Aerith’s character, [protagonist] Cloud, and the story of Final Fantasy 7“.“It made me feel like I got to know a sense of her personality, so I tried to channel that whenever I’m singing the song,” said Allred.Despite not playing Final Fantasy 7, the significance of singing as Aerith – one of gaming’s most famous love interests – wasn’t lost on Allred. “It’s such an honour,” she said. “These characters have been so beloved over so many years – to even be able to attach my.