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Watch Sam Smith Delicately Cover Whitney Houston’s ‘How Will I Know’

Sam Smith Whitney Houston How Will I Know

Covering Whitney Houston is a daunting task. Surely this wasn’t an afterthought when Sam Smith decided to step up to the mic and take a swing at her 1985 hit “How Will I Know” for SiriusXM. The performance comes on the tail end of a busy week for the young crooner, following a wowing performance on Letterman and a duet with Mary J. Blige at New York City’s Apollo Theater. In his rendition of the ’80s single — seen above — Smith cuts the tempo in half and strips away all of Houston’s hip-shakin’ pop orchestration (awesome sax and all). Rather, the In the Lonely Hour man keeps it simple with mellow keys and light guitar, putting his voice on full display for winning results. Typically this is one to sing along to, but for this take we’ll just leave the heavy lifting to Smith.