Sting‘s partnership with reggae star Shaggy is continuing with a very unexpected project.
The former Police frontman and the chart-topping “It Wasn’t Me” singer won the Best Reggae Album Grammy in 2019 for their joint album, 44/876. Now they’ve teamed up for a new album, due out May 25, called Com Fly Wid Me.
Conceived and produced by Sting, the album features Shaggy singing reggae versions of Frank Sinatra classics like “Fly Me to the Moon,” “Luck Be a Lady,” “Under My Skin” and more. Turns out Sting came up with this unconventional idea three years ago, when he and Shaggy were on a boat in Norway and Sting heard Shaggy singing along with a Sinatra tune that was playing on the boat’s sound system.
In a statement, Sting says, “This idea of getting my friend to sing ten iconic songs from the Frank Sinatra songbook in a reggae style had been brewing for a while…I know, it sounds crazy! But every time the idea crossed my mind, it made me smile. And what does the world need now, more than anything else…something to smile about!”
“He’s not trying to be Frank, he’s Shaggy,” Sting adds. “So, relax and let that smile soothe the cares of the world away,” Sting adds.
A one-night-only performance celebrating the album’s release will take place May 26 at New York City’s Blue Note Jazz Club. Details of the gig will be announced soon.
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.