Ascendant soul singer and BBC Sound of 2020 winner Celeste releases her sweeping, optimistic new single “I Can See The Change,” today via Interscope Records. Produced by FINNEAS, “I Can See The Change” is a song about finding hope in the wake of adversity and realising that a brighter future lies ahead.
Speaking about the story behind the new single, Celeste explains, “It was a strange time for me as externally lots of exciting things were happening in my life, but internally I was feeling flat. I felt disconnected from myself and the world around me, so I knew something needed to change… It’s difficult for me to fully articulate, but when I started writing the song I pictured a blurry, unidentified image far off in the distance that I knew I had to move closer to in order to understand what it was and perhaps what it meant, but also realizing that the journey wasn’t going to be easy. Ultimately the song is about hope and change but knowing that to obtain this requires effort,patience and conviction.”
Celeste and FINNEAS met at the Brit Awards and ultimately stayed in touch. They decided to collaborate on the new song, finishing it during lockdown. “I saw Celeste perform at the Brits back in February and was blown away,” he reveals. “She commanded the stage in a way that was simultaneously intimate and massive, and I immediately went home and downloaded her entire catalog. When I was approached about producing ‘I Can See The Change,’ I was thrilled. I have been lucky to produce songs for a few artists who I think will never go out or style and Celeste is certainly on that list.”
Celeste has kept herself busy throughout the UK lockdown with stripped-back and socially distanced performances for the likes of COLORS, the World Health Organisation’s Global Citizen sessions (hand-picked by Chris Martin), The Graham Norton Show and BBC Children
In Need’s Big Night In, for which she performed a poignant cover of the late Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me” live from her living room. In these strange times with live shows cancelled and artists having to adapt to the new normal, Celeste has come into her own – that singular voice shining through.
