Recording new version of Whitney’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody was ‘an honour’
Calum Scott has spoken of the “honour” of recording a duet with the late Whitney Houston. The Beverley-born singer was one of the guests on the BBC ’s One Show sofa on Friday (October 10) and performed the stunning new acoustic version of Whitney’s hit, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, with video and photographs of Whitney playing in the background.
First, Calum, who won the Hull Daily Mail’s Star Search talent contest in 2013 ahead of his huge rise to stardom, explained how the collaboration came about, with Whitney’s family seeking him out to record the track, using the superstar’s original vocals. He told show hosts Alex Jones and Lauren Laverne – and fellow guest Stephen Mulhern – about the “magic” of the experience.
Calum, who celebrates his 37th birthday today (Sunday, October 12), said: “Whitney was in our house all the time when I was growing up. My mum’s favourite artist was Whitney – and Diana Ross, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson – huge names.
“Whitney was just always there on the way to school… obviously not ‘there’… but she was with us on holidays and in the house. I heard a lot of Whitney growing up.
“When this opportunity came around it felt just like, so familiar.” Calum said it was one of the “honours of his career”, explaining how when he was touring with Ed Sheeran, they were in touch with some of the writers of I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
A “mash-up” of his song, Dancing On My Own, and the chorus of the iconic Whitney track, happened in front of a stadium full of people who were ”just loving it”, he said. “That video made its way over to the Whitney Houston estate and Pat Houston [Whitney’s sister-in-law] reached out and said, ‘we love this’.”
Calum was offered Whitney’s original vocals to record an official version, which has become the latest single off Calum’s new album, Avenoir. “We turned around a version in a week, we put strings on it – I did what I do best and made an upbeat song sound sad and depressing,” Calum said.
“It speaks to the lyrics in this version and, more impressively than that, Whitney recorded to the upbeat, studio version and we’ve lifted her vocals from tape straight onto this version. It’s so beautiful.
“It lends to both ballad and an upbeat version.” Calum said he had worked closely with the Houston family on the song and it was important he kept Whitney’s voice exactly the same and to try to match her voice was “very intimidating at first”.
“I remember going into the vocal booth and I said to the producer, ‘I don’t want to hear the song until I’m in the room, so I can have that magic, that first-time magic’. Her voice comes through with just the piano and it’s so beautiful and so stunning and then I just completely forgot to sing.
“So we had to wind it back and then I had my chance to sing with her and it was actually quite easy. It’s a voice that I’ve grown up on.
“This opportunity, for the Houstons to give their approval, for me felt like such a high order. The original key is hard to sing in and then we did the key change – I was wearing tight pants like this, I’ll tell you that.”
Calum said: “I had an email from Pat Houston and she said, ’we just love the song, we’ve shown Whitney’s brother the video and he loves it’. I was like, what an email to receive and my next one was a Deliveroo order!
“When you think that life can’t get any better – I mean, ten years ago I was on Britain’s Got Talent and then every step I’ve gone, it can’t get better than this. I’m touring with Ed Sheeran, it can’t get better than this; then I’ve got a duet with Whitney Houston.”
He admitted to having goosebumps listening back to the newly-laid-down song. Details such as the sound of the snare drums from the bleed of the headphones Whitney was wearing have been kept in it.
“We’ve left all of that on because my highest priority was being as respectful to her and all her fans across the world, who are rightly going to judge this version.” He closed the One Show by performing the song, turning to applaud Whitney’s image showing on the screen behind him.
Calum said the past ten years had been “utterly life-changing” and “all the more magical because I would never have been able to predict it”. He said: “I was working in human resources, after school, for eight years.
“This is a dream come true; the dreams keep coming and I think it’s made magical by the fact that I didn’t see it coming. It’s the surprises in life.”
Calum’s Avenoir world tour kicks off next week, opening in Portugal on Tuesday, October 14. Some of the final concerts will take place in Manchester and London next May.