Something special happened when Sam Smith teamed up with Mary J. Blige for a live duet on “Stay With Me.” The English star’s hit is always an absolute treat vocally, but when you add the likes of Mary to the mix, then get ready for a real tour de force! Aside from the incredible vocal talent on display, there was one thing that fans appreciated about Mary’s approach to the duet. As one fan said: “I love how Mary didn’t overshadow Sam’s voice. She is a legend, but she is still humble and let Sam have the spotlight.”
Sam kicked off the duet with a heartfelt vocal, and that hook never gets old! Mary took up the mic in the second verse, and her vocal was a masterclass in dynamics and soul. You can really tell that she deeply understood Sam’s style and exactly what she needed to do to subtly elevate those timeless melodies. The Music Man has to say we could listen to these two talents style on the mic all day long! And don’t sleep on their a cappella ad lib at the end.
Sam uploaded the duet on “Stay With Me” with Mary to his YouTube channel, where it hit a whopping 110 million views. Viewers gave plenty of love below the video, adding comments such as “Mary J. Blige literally makes everything better. What an incredible talent. Her voice is perfectly modulated with his” and “When Sam puts his hand to his heart, he’s thinking, ‘Mary freakin’ Blige is singing my song!’”
Sam sure has a knack for delivering iconic duets. One of his finest hours came when he sang “I’m Not the Only One” with Alicia Keys at a live studio session at Jungle City Studios in New York. Although they work in the same genre, Alicia’s style couldn’t be more different from Sam’s approach to vocals. But that tension is what makes this duet so memorable. Alicia’s gentle, soulful voice is so compelling when paired with Sam’s more dramatic delivery. The smile Sam gives at 1:57 as he watches her sing says it all!
Sam dropped “Stay With Me” as the third single from their first studio album, In the Lonely Hour. The English singer co-wrote the tune with James Napier and William Phillips. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that the origin of “Stay With Me” became a legal point of contention. This is because the melody of the hit shared similarities with Tom Petty’s song “I Won’t Back Down,” which was written by Tom and ELO’s Jeff Lynne. The parties reached an agreement to give Tom and Jeff 12.5% songwriting credit for the song each. Tom went on record to say he didn’t believe that it was a case of intentional plagiarism, and commented, “these things can happen… Sam’s people were very understanding of our predicament and we easily came to an agreement.”