"As" is a song written and performed by American singer and musician Stevie Wonder from his eighteenth album, Songs in the Key of Life (1976). The song was released in October 1977 by Tamla and reached number 36 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart. It gets its name from the first word of its lyrics.
Wonder was injured in a car accident on August 6, 1973, and considered quitting the music industry as a result.[1] He briefly relocated to Ghana in order to help underprivileged children and focus on humanitarian efforts, but eventually made a U-turn on his musical career. During his time in Ghana, Stevie gained a new perspective on life, finding a new love for humanity and the world around him.[2]
The song implies that the love the singer has for their partner will never diminish, as they say that they will love them "always" (the song's main lyric) until the physically impossible becomes true. The impossible feats include: rainbows burning the stars out in the sky, oceans covering the tops of every mountain, dolphins flying, and parrots living at sea, dreaming of life and life becoming a dream, day becoming night and vice versa, trees and the seas flying away, 8×8×8 equaling 4, this day becoming the last day, the Earth turning right to left, the Earth denying itself (for the Sun), Mother Nature saying her work is through, and "until the day that you are me and I am you."
By the most straightforward interpretation of the lyrics, this is a lover serenading his beloved. By another possible interpretation, the song expresses the lyricist's own love for humanity.
By another possible interpretation, Stevie wrote it from the perspective "As" if it were God speaking to all of humanity and/or creation.
In 1998, British singer George Michael and American singer Mary J. Blige covered the song for Michael's greatest hits album, Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael. Released outside the United States on March 1, 1999 by Epic, as the second single from the album, "As" became a top-10 hit in Michael's home country, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart, and also charted within the top 10 in Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
"As" was not released on the US version of Ladies & Gentlemen or as a single in the US. Michael cited Blige's record company president, Jay Boberg, for pulling the track after Michael's arrest for committing a lewd act in a public restroom.[5] In 2019, Kirk Burrowes, who executive produced Blige's fourth album Mary, told Rated R&B that it was indeed Boberg's decision not to release "As" in the US: "[Boberg] did not want to let George Michael, who initiated that original production, use it as a single in the U.S. to launch his greatest hits album. It pissed everyone off at Sony. It pissed George Michael off. It pissed everyone off, but we couldn't make Jay Boberg bend. He should have put it on the Mary album, but we couldn't put it on the album in the states because he wouldn't let George Michael put it on the Ladies & Gentlemen [album] in the states."[6]
Scottish Daily Record commented that Michael "drafted in US soul diva Blige, but the ex-Wham! star is playing safe with his third Stevie Wonder cover."[7]
A music video was made to accompany the song, directed by Big TV!. It features Michael getting out of a car and entering a club where many doppelgängers of himself and Blige are chilling out and having a drink. Towards the end of the video, most of the people are dancing on the dance floor. It was made available on YouTube in 2010, and as of July 2024, the video has been viewed more than 31 million times.[8]
The original Stevie Wonder version was featured in The Best Man Holiday's predecessor The Best Man in a more lighthearted scene.
In 2014 it was covered by American singer Camille for her Stevie Wonder tribute album I Sing Stevie: The Stevie Wonder Songbook, an album that received an Independent Music Awards nomination for Best Tribute Album.[47]
In 2021 a re-mix from the original version of "As" was featured in the In Memoriam moment of the Academy Awards ceremony, credited as "I'll Be Loving You Always".[49]
In the 2024 experimental film ***** created by Arthur Jafa the character Scar sings along to "As" in one scene, the song then becoming the non-diegetic soundtrack of the following scene. [50][51]
^As (UK cassette single sleeve). George Michael, Mary J. Blige. Epic Records. 1999. 667012 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^As (UK CD2 disc notes). George Michael, Mary J. Blige. Epic Records. 1999. 667012 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^As (European CD single liner notes). George Michael, Mary J. Blige. Epic Records. 1999. EPC 666870 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^As (Japanese CD single liner notes). George Michael, Mary J. Blige. Epic Records. 1999. ESCA 7455.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^As (European 12-inch single vinyl disc). George Michael, Mary J. Blige. Epic Records. 1999. EPC 666870 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^As (Australian maxi-CD single liner notes). George Michael, Mary J. Blige. Epic Records. 1999. 667362 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
