So Daniel Caesar dropped maybe the greatest R&B song of the past decade with “Best Part.” He did it just with a sparse acoustic guitar arrangement. But it turns out when you spice up Daniel’s vocals with the jazz piano wizardry of Jacob Collier, something truly remarkable happens. 9.7 million music lovers got to find out what that spicy combo sounds like when Daniel dropped into Jacob’s live show in Toronto. Daniel’s voice was all kinds of honey and velvet – what an incredible talent.
Jacob completely revamped the music with a creative piano arrangement that got crazy in all kinds of brilliant ways. And the best part? You better believe Jacob turned the moment into absolute magic with one of his famous audience singalongs. The Music Man has to say the sound of the audience singing “Best Part” as one, as Jacob expertly conducts them, is nothing short of spiritual. Watch the looks of pure joy on the performers’ and audience members’ faces – this is one of those great moments.
Jacob uploaded his collab with Daniel to his YouTube channel, where it became his fourth-most popular video. Viewers were stoked on the energy in the room and added comments such as “Daniel’s face is constantly like his crush just told him she likes him too and he just can’t believe it” and “When your audience is so well-versed that they can effectively act as a choir on command.”
Jacob Collier always seems to hook up the best collabs. The English talent dropped his most popular video in 2024, with a duet on Coldplay’s “Fix You” with none other than Chris Martin himself. Check out the reaction from the crowd at the two-minute mark when Chris walks on stage – totally rapturous. The frontman noted he had to adjust to the new key that Jacob played the song in, but of course, he just sang like a bird. The audience singalong as the two stars harmonise on the main hook is truly sublime.
Daniel Caesar issued “Best Part” on August 25, 2017, as the third single from his debut studio album Freudian. American R&B star H.E.R. joined the Canadian on vocals for the song. “Best Part” became Daniel’s biggest hit, going seven and four-times Platinum in the US and Canada, respectively. The Music Man readers may recall that the song was also critically acclaimed, as it picked up a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance.