Sting
These stars can be heard on his new album "Duets"
On "Duets", Sting presents his most beautiful duets with other artists.
© Universal Music / Mayumi Nashida
The most beautiful duets of the past 30 years and loads of stars: This is what Sting's new album "Duets" has to offer.
The long-awaited album "Duets" by Sting (69) will be released on March 19th. The publication had previously been postponed by a few months due to the corona pandemic. With the new long player, Sting not only travels through music history, but also through various genres. The album unites the most beautiful and successful duets with other artists – an all-round hit from 30 years of Sting history. Every now and then, the British music star takes himself back in such a way that the focus is not on himself, but on his duet partners.
The album's journey begins in 1992, about 30 years ago. At that time the jazz rock song "It's Probably Me" was created with Eric Clapton (75). He became known as the title track for the film "Brennpunkt L.A. – The Professionals Are Back" starring Mel Gibson, 65 and Danny Glover, 74. While Clapton wrote the music with Michael Kamen (1948-2003), Sting was responsible for the lyrics. Two years later I started working with Julio Iglesias (77): The hit "Fragile" developed over the years into a hymn of hope and was covered by many other musicians.
Another big hit was "Desert Rose" (1999), with which Sting and the Algerian musician Cheb Mami (54) immersed themselves in the world of Raï music. "Rise & Fall" followed in 2002 with Craig David (39). The song is a sample of the hit "Shape Of My Heart", but Sting was so enthusiastic about the new version that he stood behind the microphone with David. "Sting was not only incredibly generous and humble, but also the ultimate professional, from whom I learned a lot in the short time we worked together," explains David on the website of the "Duets" album. "I remember him telling me that his daughter was really impressed that he was working with me, but believe me, I was the one who loved working with her father!"
Duets with strong women: Mary J. Blige and Annie Lennox
In 2003 Sting got a real star by his side: the Brit composed the song "Whenever I Say Your Name" for Mary J. Blige (50) and won a Grammy for it together with the exceptional singer. The next duet with an absolute power woman followed just a year later: The hit "We'll Be Together" with Annie Lennox (66) was so well received by the audience on Sting's 2004 tour that the two recorded the song together in the recording studio – for the soundtrack to "Bridget Jones – On the Edge of Wahnsinns" (2004). It got jazzy in 2005 with Herbie Hancock (80) and the jazz standard ballad "My Funny Valentine", with which Sting was able to show even then that excursions into other genres are no problem for him.
The same applies to the soul hymn "None Of Us Are Free", which he recorded in 2006 with Sam Moore (85). The song is still current because of the "Black Lives Matter" movement, Sting said in a YouTube video for the song. "I'm sad that we still have to say this. It seems ridiculous that we still have to make a statement, but we're doing it." Sting recorded one of the most beautiful duets on the album in 2008 with Charles Aznavour (1924-2018): "L'Amour, c'est comme un jour". The chansonnier is still a great role model for Sting to this day.
Shaggy: "Sting is a very special person in my life"
Another highlight is certainly the duet with Shaggy (52), "Don't Make Me Wait". In fact, the two stars released an entire album with Caribbean sounds in 2018 under the title "44/876", which was named "Best Reggae Album" at the 2019 Grammys. "Sting is a very special person in my life and someone I have a lot of fun with. He's one of the most sincere and kindhearted people with an incredible work ethic. The great thing about working together is that we get each other out of our comfort zone. I love that he's not afraid to try new things, "Shaggy explained of his fellow musician.
There is also a new song on "Duets": In 2020 Sting released the atmospheric duet "September" with the Italian singer Zucchero (65). The two found inspiration in the corona pandemic and the hope for better times. Other artists who can be heard on the album include trumpet players Chris Botti (58), Jo Lawry, Mylène Farmer (59), Gims (34), Gashi (31) and Melody Gardot (36).