Feels different compared to the well known version by [
Wakana and Keiko ].
I listened to both and think I understand what you mean. I liked ChiYoko's cover and felt it captured a fuller melancholy to the lyrics in my ears, in comparison to the beloved OG FJ cover duetting W and K, which always has a special place as my first introduction to this classic song, also being in the same key as the original.
The lower key ChiYoko sang in gave another interpretation to the sad feel of the song's theme, while W and K sang it bright and brilliant (tone-wise), both in their vocalizations and facial mannerisms/movements. Also, Yuriko's brilliant head voice (especially in the "you call my name..." section before her solo vocalizations) added an extra layer of shimmer to the FJ, really setting apart from Emily Bindiger's original (I went back to listen to that too).
In my view, Joelle's take in the Kanagawa was probably a bit closer to Emily's original, and in the "la la la" vocalization Emily's voice sounded a lot like Joelle's does (!), iņ terms of tone, use of the cry effect, and expression. Joelle also understood each word and so could carry the meaning for each passage of the lyrics (her use of head voice to soften those top high notes was appropriate, going for gentleness rather than power).
The lyrics talk about longing and forgetting, tears, a feeling of being buried (dress me up in white), a wandering/lost soul waiting to be remembered. A visual expression from the FJ cover I always liked was Kaori's glazed look at
https://youtu.be/l_4oMkb_WQY?si=tN35eW4rWQr0Gx0D&t=76 though she wasn't singing at the time. It just seemed to emphasize the character's angst a bit (my fan fiction).