If you thought “Drivers License” was sad before, just wait until you hear Lewis Capaldi‘s new cover. The 25-year-old singer-songwriter teamed up with Spotify Singles to record his own version of Olivia Rodrigo‘s smash debut single along with a reimagining of his new song “Forget Me,” both of which proved that no one does raspy vocals over heartbreaking piano quite like him.
For his take on “Drivers License” — which dropped on the streaming platform Wednesday (Sept. 21) along with the new “Forget Me” — Capaldi distilled Rodrigo’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 into a simple, effective piano ballad, assisted only by the occasional touch of atmospheric reverb and strings.
“Sidewalks we crossed, I still hear your voice in the traffic, we’re laughing over all the noise,” he sings, his scratchy trademark belt soaring over melancholy keyboard chords — aka the musical formula that made him famous with songs such as “Somebody You Loved,” “Bruises” and “Hold Me While You Wait.”
Two days after the cover was released, Capaldi shared his excitement by tweeting a few of Rodrigo’s lyrics in all caps: “I KNOW WE WEREN’T PERFECT BUT I’VE NEVER FELT THIS WAAAAAYYYY FOR NO ONEEEE.”
The musician also returned to form with his remake of “Forget Me,” an easygoing pop mix released earlier this month as the lead single and title track off his upcoming second studio album. For his Spotify Singles version of the song — which earlier this week earned him his third U.K. No. 1 — Capaldi again stripped it down to simplistic piano that put his raw voice on display.
“CLASS TO BE BACK AT @abbeyroadstudios RECORDING THIS FOR THE PALS OVER AT @spotify,” he wrote on his Instagram story Friday (Sept. 23). “ALSO DID A BRAND NEW VERSION OF ‘FORGET ME’ EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE V V HANDSOME PALS AT @spotify.”
Stream Lewis Capaldi’s Spotify Singles cover of “Drivers License” and his new version of “Forget Me” below:
