Watch Sam Smith & Disclosure Cover Drake’s “Hotline Bling”
At first, Drake’s airy booty-call lament “Hotline Bling” seemed like a total throwaway track, the type of thing that he’d play once on his Beats 1 show and forget about. But the track has had remarkable staying power, and now it’s crossed over into Billboard’s top 20, which makes it a bigger hit than anything on Drake’s last album. Earlier today, Sam Smith and Disclosure visited the BBC’s Live Lounge to play a live-in-studio version of their new collab “Omen” and to try out a cover of “Hotline Bling.” In their hands, it becomes a blippy dance track with an overwrought, emotional vocal. And even though it’s nothing like the original, it works. In fact, I might like it better than any of the tracks I’ve yet heard from Disclosure’s forthcoming album Caracal. Watch the performance below, where you can also listen to the full session.