R&B and Soul singer Jorja Smith took us all by surprise when she performed on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge yesterday. The musician, who released her sophomore album Falling Or Flying last week, covered popstar Harry Styles’ smash hit “As It Was.”

The 2022 single, which has strong elements of synth-pop and new wave, saw the track stripped down into a raw and soulful version by Smith and her live band. The rendition, which can be watched below, showcased the remarkability of Smith’s breath-taking vocals.

Smith explained why she decided to cover the pop song and said: “I keep hearing it. I find it hard sometimes to do a cover – it needs to be a song that I know even though I’ve deffo got the lyrics in front of me. But this one I’ve been hearing a lot and I thought, ‘Oh, this will be really nice’. It’s a bit more toned down…”

The 26-year-old musician also covered her own single, “Little Things”, on the show. “Little Things”, which was released earlier this year as the second single from her latest album, has gained over 29 million streams on Spotify. Additionally, the remixed version of the single, “Little Things x Gypsy Woman – L BEATS MASHUP”, has topped the stars’ popular songs on the platform with over 46 million streams.

Last week, BBC’s Live Lounge also saw other acts perform on the show, including Olivia Rodrigo and Troye Sivan. Other artists that are scheduled for the series include YungBlud, Usher and Madison Beer.

Falling Or Flying is Smith’s second studio album, after her extended EP Lost & Found in 2021. The 2021 record, which included hit singles such as “Addicted” and “Gone”, was a commercial success for Smith – peaking on various charts around the world, including Australia, Belgium and Scotland. The record peaked at number nine on the UK Charts and hit number one on the UK R&B Albums Chart.

Her latest record has been praised by critics. Thomas Smith from NME gave the album four out of five stars and said that Smith “finds her rhythm with an expanded sonic palette… Flying or Falling was the record she was destined to make.” Meanwhile, Amiee Cliff from Pitchfork complimented the album’s daring freedom of exploring Smith’s relationship with fame.

Listen to Smith’s latest album on Spotify.