We recently featured Carter Ray for his vulnerable and empowering anthem, SCARS, and the song’s incredible and inspiring music video, so when we heard that he was releasing a cover of Dancing With A Stranger featuring Fia Nyxx, who we were obsessed with from their genre-bending sophomore album, Red Umbrella, we couldn’t wait to hear what the pair had to offer!
Drawing us in with astral textures and immersive clicks, Carter Ray opens Dancing With A Stranger, which was originally made famous by Sam Smith and Normani, with a polished pop energy, cohesive and not wholly dissimilar from the original, although more atmospheric.
The lyrics remain true to the original, and we love the impactful and vocally diverse presence of Fia Nyxx who demonstrates iconic performance prowess.
The synthscape is luscious and we appreciate the harmonies and dimensionality of the echoes and shooting drums. The intention that both Carter Ray and Fia Nyxx share with their emotive rendition of the song is tangible.
Carter Ray is an influential LGBTQ+ advocate and trans activist with 35 million TikTok views, whilst Fia Nyxx was recently featured by Rolling Stone and deemed “one of the greatest vocalists of our generation”, by us! This also marks the first collaborative release for Fia Nyxx!
We have added the cover of Dancing With A Stranger to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we continue to stream the wider discographies of both artists!