“He was always trying new things and taking risks and being unashamedly himself,” says Olly Alexander of Years & Years on George Michael. And that is very much the spirit with which we encouraged nine LGBTQ+ artists to tackle this project. Their task: to select a George Michael track and put their own personal spin on it. The results: Well, you’ll soon hear for yourself, but we couldn’t be more thrilled with the imagination, heart, and talent injected into George classics including “Fastlove” (MNEK), “Faith” (Pale Waves), “Careless Whisper” (Tiana Major9), and “Outside” (Years & Years), plus some deeper cuts. “What I love about his career,” Billy Porter—another contributing artist—tells Apple Music, “is that he did get to see some of the fruits of his labor, but not nearly all what he left us and the influence and impact that it will have on generations and generations to come.” “I really hope,” fellow contributor Jake Shears adds, “that he’s out there somewhere digging it.” Pale Waves, “Faith” Heather Baron-Gracie: “What made George Michael so special is that he did everything himself. Everything that he put out there was completely his own creative direction. He was very open about his sexuality; he was very unapologetic about it, and that’s how I strive to be. I think a lot of people look up to him and admire him for that. The entire band immediately gravitated to ‘Faith.’ It’s our favorite song by him. It’s obviously a challenge trying to do it justice, but we brought it into our own world and did the best we could. It was really fun to do.” Years & Years, “Outside” Olly Alexander: “One of the things I love most about George Michael was his ability to own his narrative. He was a huge, huge star. I’m sure he struggled with some of the attention and issues that come with worldwide fame, and he still remained so iconic, so true to who he was. He still had fun with it. ‘Outside’ is one of my favorite George Michael songs. He got arrested in 1998—I think the terminology is ‘soliciting a police officer in a public toilet’—then goes and writes a song about it. And it’s such a banger. Wow! I just think it’s so incredible for him to just own that narrative and really go, ‘Yeah, I like to have sex outside.’ And it’s such a bop.” MNEK, “Fastlove” “For me, what made George so special was his ear. He’s always been an incredible songwriter. I don’t think anyone ever really realized that he was writing and producing his material all himself, and he was genius. There was no one who made music quite like him. I loved Older—where ‘Fastlove’ is from. And to me, George is just the epitome of the white man who can really just turn it and be respectful of him being a guest in R&B and dance and electronica and Black music, which he was clearly a fan of and just really good at.” Self Esteem, “Praying for Time” “I don’t think I can remember when I first became aware of George Michael. I’m a bit worried because I think it might have been when Robbie Williams did ‘Freedom’ [in 1996—Taylor was nine]. I’m getting treated now to the catalog of George Michael. I only just heard ‘Praying for Time’ in the last couple of years. Recording this has been gobsmacking in a way. It is talking about things that are hot-button topics right now, and it was 1990. And that’s what George always did. I see now he could see through the b******t and call the b******t out. There’s a bit of me that tries to do that, too. I’m learning that the more successful I get, the more brave I have to be—and I can’t believe someone as big and famous as him was so brave. Because the scrutiny and the f*****g piss-taking, to still just be your authentic self—no one gives him credit for that. He was hard as nails.” Billy Porter, “Monkey” “This was a white boy who could sing. This was a white boy who really had soul. He wasn’t trying to be Black. He wasn’t trying to sound Black. You could hear the influence of Black music on him, but he wasn’t trying to be a Black person, which I think served him. It was like he was subliminally speaking to all of us through his music. There was an inherent sass in ‘Monkey’ that not a lot of men were doing. I like the subversive energy of what it’s about because in the queer and gay scene back then, we used to try to alleviate some of the pain that was the AIDS crisis. We came together with the knowledge and the understanding that this little ecstasy pill that we took could transport us away. We were with our friends, we were with the community for the weekend, and then we could lock back in on Monday and go back to fight. And you know what happened, which is what happens very often with drugs, is that it went too far. I think the song just speaks to me in that way. It’s nonjudgmental and not about shaming.” serptentwithfeet, “Kissing a Fool” “George Michael’s career and impact reminds me that I do not have to leave my heart behind. I think in many industries, we are told to leave some parts of ourselves at home. And I think what he has done is remind me that it’s best to bring your whole self to the office, your whole self to the studio. I chose to cover ‘Kissing a Fool.’ There’s one line that I think about: ‘You’ll never find peace of mind till you listen to your heart.’ And I think that’s just a great reminder for everyone that the path to peace, the path to joy, is listening to your heart.” Tiana Major9, “Careless Whisper” “I chose to do ‘Careless Whisper’ because I wanted to do my own take on a classic. I wanted to pay homage to an icon—but I would say my main concern when it came to recording the song was to nail it, honestly. Just nail it. I wanted to make sure that it still felt like a song that I could sing today without it being a cover. I wanted to do it in my own way.” Calum Scott, “One More Try” “George’s talent was undeniable. His writing and his attention to detail, his performances—his vocal is unmatched in terms of tone and quality and consistency. He could perform and write and produce—he was a one-stop shop. People I’ve spoken to in the industry that have either worked with him or around him have said how humble or gracious he was, how human he was. He was always putting himself down and thinking he could do better—and that’s something that I massively relate to as an artist. Listening to his music just shows how much he cared about what he did. What makes him even more special is all of the charity work he did that he kept completely hidden. He was such a special person and should be celebrated every day.” Jake Shears, “Amazing” “I first became aware of George Michael when I was about four years old. Wham! was out in force with ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,’ [which] was on TV. I remember my older sisters watching it. And they were everywhere. Their faces were everywhere. You were seeing them on T-shirts at malls and on people. And I just remember thinking that I love his voice and that he was a very handsome man. I remember feeling really influenced and inspired by ‘Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)’ when I was making early Scissor Sisters stuff. I felt like it gave me a license to have fun with music that we were making and allow myself to get a little bit goofy with the writing. There’s a joy that I plugged into and identified with. There’s so many George Michael stylings that I use in my own voice. And so, it was fun to sing ‘Amazing.’ Also, it just made me realize, singing it, how much of an influence he has been to me. It’s an honor to get to do it, and I really hope that he’s out there somewhere digging it.”

George Michael Covered

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