The recent trend of reviving 90s dance classics for the modern day with new pop singers is getting truly tired by now, but we still get some great results every once in a while, especially when it’s done with reverence and respect for the original material. Rita Ora has a strong history of her own in dance music, working with Sigala, Avicii, Clean Bandit, Tiësto, Sigma, DJ Fresh, and more. (It’s actually crazy she hasn’t worked with Calvin Harris yet.) That’s to say, she knows what she’s doing and what the scene is about.
When she originally wrote the first draft of “Praising You” with Romanian producer Serben, it was their dream to flip “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim but they had no idea if it would become a reality.
“Honestly, I had to chase [Fatboy Slim] down 3:00 AM at Glastonbury,” Rita told Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1. “I was there at his set. I was ready, waiting. Also a massive fan. But 3:00 AM to talk business is not the right thing to do. It’s a rave of classic. This is a cultural, incredible moment, especially in the nineties. Fatboy Slim’s Praise You was a moment.”
She continued, “And then he turned around and he said, ‘You know what? I’ve heard a lot of people trying to do something like Praise You or take it or flip it. And I’ve held back for so many years and I’m going to give it to you.’ And I was like, ‘Why?’ And he said, ‘Because your perspective is different.’”
Listen below now.