Since appearing on Disclosure‘s “Latch” last year with what proved to be a breakthrough performance, R&B singer Sam Smith has taken his career to another level. With the recent release of his solo album, In the Lonely Hour, Smith has proven his chops with a solid showing on the album, and has made a number of appearances on late night television in support of the record.
The singer followed up the hype that he has been receiving with a cover of heartwrenching rendition of Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know.” While Houston’s version is upbeat and easy to dance to, Smith’s cover is slow, downtempo and ever-so-slightly morose in a rather beautiful way.
Smith recently put together a list of Top 10 R&B singers for Rolling Stone, of which Houston was a must for the list. Smith described “How Will I Know,” in particular, to Rolling Stone as, “A Whitney Houston song that makes me happy – it’s a feel-good song,” he said, ironically. “I love the juxtaposition of a melancholy lyric with an upbeat sound. People forget that’s how she rose to fame. The more mature Whitney, like ‘I Will Always Love You,’ came later.” At merely 21 years old, Smith is a star in the making. Check out his version of “How Will I Know” below.
[via Rolling Stone]