Recorded before Faith Hill later turned the song into a signature country hit, LaCosta Tucker’s previously unheard version of “It Matters to Me” carries the remarkable intimacy of an artist hearing her own story preserved in a song long before the world knew it. Now, decades later, that voice finally gets its moment.
The track opens with gentle guitar strumming and delicately plucked strings, creating a soft, glimmering backdrop for Tucker’s rich vocal. She sings with an aching sincerity, keeping her delivery tight with frustration as the lyrics confront the painful distance that can grow between two people who are supposedly in love. Her voice eventually soars above the restrained, slow-moving beats, bringing an almost mesmerizing intensity to the repeated confession at the song’s centre.
The arrangement is subtle but wonderfully alive. Strings swell and writhe beneath the vocal, while the surrounding soundscape glimmers softly rather than crowding her out. There is a sense of emotional pressure constantly building underneath the surface. When she asks what happens when two people no longer talk, touch, or feel connected, the question lands because it sounds deeply personal rather than theatrically performed.
That makes the history behind this recording especially poignant. Tucker had already chosen and recorded the song before hearing Faith Hill’s version on the radio years later. Recognizing the introduction and then hearing another voice sing what she considered her song was understandably heartbreaking.
“It Matters to Me” is therefore more than an archival curiosity. It is an emotional snapshot of LaCosta Tucker’s artistry—rich, restrained, wounded, and sincere. The song may already be familiar to country listeners, but Tucker’s version reveals another side of its heart, proving that a great song can hold entirely different shades of feeling depending on whose voice carries it.
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Review by: Naomi Joan