- A transparent, disrespectful cash grab.
- "As a queer person, 'I Feel Love' has followed me to every dance floor in every queer space from the minute I started clubbing," Sam Smith explained after the release of their new cover of the Donna Summer classic (made in collaboration with Disclosure's Guy Lawrence). What might first seem like a heartfelt tribute actually sounds empty. The instrumental is a carbon copy of Giorgio Moroder's original, and Smith—impressively—apes Summer's soaring vocals verbatim, with hardly a stray inflection of their own. The all-synthesizer song was a world-changing revelation when it came out in 1977. Here, it's karaoke.
Beyond its pointlessness, this version of "I Feel Love" leaves a particularly bad taste in my mouth. The song is loaded with meaning and history—it changed the course of music. So what is the purpose of such an exact copy other than to replace the original, which still gets played at dance music festivals, underground clubs and top 40 bars around the world?
The answer is money. "I Feel Love" was recorded for Target's massive Christmas advertising campaign. Smith couched their choice to cover the song in queerness, but what's "queer" about a note-for-note copy made for a corporation? (Those looking for something transgressive should check out Bronski Beat and Marc Almond's wonderful 1985 version instead.) Target has recently become a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ causes, and Smith has made real waves in the mainstream by speaking openly about their gender. But this is a transparent, disrespectful cash grab.
Tracklist01. I Feel Love (Donna Summer Cover)