Viewers are obsessed with the vibes on Jorja Smith’s soulful live cut of her breakout hit “Blue Lights”! The English songstress had 127 million viewers smashing repeat on her live studio sesh of the song, which was a masterclass in R&B and trip-hop vocals. Smith channeled a brooding vibe on the cautionary tale of life on the streets gone wrong, creating a captivating performance that had fans raving in the comments.
Smith didn’t go for any vocal theatrics, but when you have a voice that smooth and gorgeous, you don’t need any of that. The English singer-songwriter has the ability to seemingly effortlessly string the right melodies and phrases together to create a mesmerizing performance. She mixes up R&B vocals and hip hop verses in a heady brew that perfectly accentuates the dark lyrics of “Blue Lights.” The Music Man has to say that with performances like this, Smith is really leading the pack in UK R&B this gen!
Smith performed “Blue Lights” for Colors Studios, and her performance became the third most popular upload on the 8 million sub channel. Viewers were vibing big time to the studio sesh, and added comments such as “I just ran across this song, thank the heavens I heard this! The vocals, lyrics, delivery is just beautiful, and the song is just perfect” and “She doesn’t even look like she’s trying and yet she’s flawless. What a powerful song. Jorja Smith’s voice is incredible.”
There’s something about Smith’s live studio sessions that really makes them pop. She showed this off again when her NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert went viral shortly after her Colors performance. In the 43-million-view session, Smith fronts a four-piece band, and she really takes flight while working off the groove of the band. During the concert, Smith performs her singles “On My Mind” and “Teenage Fantasy,” before closing with her biggest hit “Blue Lights.”
Jorja Smith came out of the gate strong with her debut single “Blue Lights” on February 26, 2016. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that the R&B tune initially gained traction on her SoundCloud account. “Blue Lights” was picked up for rotation on national British radio within a month of its release. Smith eventually scored Platinum certs in both the UK and France for the song, as well as Gold certs in Australia and New Zealand.