The Disclosure album Settle was listed by many publications as one of the best of 2013. Which is why, when I first heard this song on pop radio as a big hit, it didn't register with me that it was the same artist. I mean, as much as I love pop radio, I know not everyone does, and it isn't usually considered the best of ANYTHING.
But this song, originally released in the UK as a single in 2012, is different. First of all (and this will make more sense to those of you who know music), the song is in 6/8 time, unlike the usual 4/4 so popular on pop radio. This is an EDM song, meant for clubs. Lyrically, it's a little creepy.
And yet something so very weird is a massive worldwide hit. Compare it to everything else on pop radio. This song is weird. But perhaps it is that weirdness - musically, lyrically, comparatively -that makes it resonate with so many. Sam Smith's amazing vocal range - Sam is a guy (a fact that shocked the guys in Disclosure when they met him), by the way - only deepens the allure of the song even more.
As an added bonus, here is Smith performing the song without Disclosure, with a piano accompaniment. It's a little more torch song-like than the original, and beautiful. You can truly hear the ache in the lyrics.
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