Maybe because the island isn’t all that big (smaller than Wyoming, actually), the latest crop of buzzworthy UK acts all seem to maintain a rather close (and musical fruitful) social circle. Disclosure, Sam Smith, and Jessie Ware established their early careers through collaboration. Of late, Smith has also forged a relationship with Charli XCX, as they recently hung out together at the VMAs. Of course, that means, via the law of syllogism, Charli is also now friends with Kim Kardashian-West and RiFF RAFF, but that’s a tale for another time.
Their friendship would certainly help inform why Charli chose to cover Smith’s smash hit “Stay With Me” during a recent session for Portland’s 95.5 Bing Lounge. (Her cover comes just days after a rendition by another rising UK singer, FKA twigs, thus proving my point how they’re all super BFFs.)
Perhaps recognizing she doesn’t have the same sense of grandiosity, Charli takes the song in a different direction, pairing it down into a low-key, almost jazzy ballad with bits and pieces of trip-hop rhythms. The heartache and forlorn isn’t quite as sharp, but it does feel a bit more suited to Charli’s somewhat bubblier persona, making the cover all that more organic.
Watch the video below.
During the same session, XCX performed two tracks from her upcoming sophomore album, Sucker, due out October 21st via Neon Gold/Atlantic Records. Watch “Boom Clap” and “Break The Rules” here.
