Sam Smith, whose “In The Lonely Hour,” came out this Tuesday, has been on the promotion circuit this week. In addition to playing his own songs during a stop at Sirius XM, he covered Whitney Houston”s “How Will I Know.” And when we say “covered,” we mean “owned.”
He took her early, peppy hit and turned it into a heartbreaking ballad of uncertainty, longing, and with just the right amount of ache. Accompanied only by a keyboard, his restrained version upends the original. So now we have Houston's incomparable, exuberant original to make us smile and dance and Smith's rendition to make our bottom lip tremble a little. If you want a little more delicious synchronicity, both Houston and Smith were 22 when they recorded their versions of the song.
This is how you do a cover, folks…