On this day in 1999, George Michael and Mary J. Blige released a Babyface-produced cover of the Stevie Wonder classic ‘As’.
The track appeared on George Michael’s compilation album ‘Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael’, and Mary J. Blige’s album ‘Mary’ in selected countries. It did not appear on the US releases, nor was the song released as a single there, but it still received some airplay on US radio.
‘As’ had moderate chart success across Europe and Australasia. In the UK, it peaked at #4 and was certified Silver.
The music video shows hundreds of George Michael and Mary J. Blige clones filling a nightclub, and reportedly required more than 1,500 hours of post-production. In 2020, the video was uploaded in 4K quality to George Michael’s YouTube channel, along with an official lyric video.
Watch the music video:
Watch the lyric video:
I recently came across this cover. I had no idea it existed and I consider myself a big fan of Mary J. Blige. I wrote a brief post about it as well: https://rindgeleaphartmusic.wordpress.com/2022/10/29/as-an-original-and-a-cover/