On April 11, the band returned to Columbia to add further (and ultimately final) vocal overdubs. This time, Carl took on the lead. Dillon suggested that Brian may have changed his mind on the lead partly to address concerns over the large percentage of singing roles he was granting himself for the album. According to Carl, Brian later told him that "God Only Knows" was written for his voice: "He says it fits my beautiful spirit. I know I shouldn't be embarrassed by a compliment but ..." Carl quoted the performance instructions he received from his brother: "Don't do anything with it. Just sing it real straight. No effort. Take a breath. Let it go easy." He had rarely sung lead on prior Beach Boys songs.