Kane Brown’s “I Can Feel It” Is The Third Pop Song This Week To Interpret Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”
Sometimes, a random old song suddenly starts popping up everywhere. Nobody knows why that happens. Maybe some publisher just started pushing the song really hard, or maybe it’s simply something in the air. It’s happening right now with “In The Air Tonight,” the 1981 Phil Collins hit with the gigantic drum break.
At least in the US, “In The Air Tonight,” the first solo single that Genesis drummer Philthy Phil ever released, was not a huge hit upon its release. But “Feel It In The Air” has never left the zeitgeist. It keeps coming back: The iconic montage in the Miami Vice pilot, the sample on 2Pac’s “Starin’ Through My Rear View,” the namecheck on Eminem’s “Stan,” the Paid In Full scene outside the club, the Cadbury commercial with the gorilla. Now, we’ve got three big new songs this week based on “In The Air Tonight.”
Last Friday, Diddy released “Another One Of Me,” a single that features an “In The Air Tonight” sample along with appearances from French Montana and 21 Savage, as well as what’s apparently supposed to be the Weeknd’s last-ever feature. A couple of days later, a bizarre “In The Air Tonight” cover from Chris Stapleton, Snoop Dogg, and young drum prodigy Cindy Blackman became the new theme for ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Now, we get “In The Air Tonight” interpolation number three.
Kane Brown, the country star and cowboy-boot nut-shot survivor, just released his new single “I Can Feel It.” The song opens with the “In The Air Tonight” drum fill, which kind of loses the point of the slow-building tension of the original. On the chorus, Brown sings about how can feel it in the air, feel it in the whiskey, in your hand, in your hips, etc. It sounds like the Nashville industry trying to manufacture its own “Blinding Lights.” Check it out below.
Phil Collins was never in any danger of going broke, but I have to wonder what his direct-deposit situation looks like after the past seven days.