’I love this song. I love the chorus, how it’s quite big and then it goes down.’
2018 has been the biggest year to date for rising star Jorja Smith. First she appeared on the heavily acclaimed Black Panther soundtrack with “I Am,” a song she co-wrote with Kendrick Lamar, and a few months after that, she dropped her debut album, Lost & Found. Now the UK songstress has found a way to increase her footprint on the Black Panther soundtrack, by covering one of the songs she didn’t originally appear on.
Smith visited BBC Radio 1 on Monday, and she gave a performance that turned SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s smooth and energetic R&B banger “All The Stars” into a more intimate piano ballad. Smith’s dynamic voice carries the performance, which is both gentle and powerful, and an example that when a cover is done correctly, it can show off how versatile a great song is.
Smith told BBC host Clara Amfo, “I love this song. I love the chorus, how it’s quite big and then it goes down. We’ve done a nice little rendition of it.” Smith also performed “The One,” from Lost & Found, which she played in a similarly stripped-down style.
Watch a sample of Smith covering “All The Stars” above, or listen to the whole thing here, at the 2:10:00 mark. Also revisit our review of Lost & Found here.
