Candi Staton is very excited to be performing with rapper Little Simz at the MOBO Awards tonight (22.10.14).
The legendary singer will be taking to the stage at the ceremony at the SSE Wembley Arena for a special one off performance of her hit ‘You’ve Got the Love’ with the rising star, the first time she has ever performed the track with a rap part.
Candi knows very little about Simz and only met her at rehearsals yesterday (21.10.14) but their chemistry is great.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, Candi said: "I hadn’t met her, I’m not familiar with her music but I’ve read some of her lyrics, other than that I met her yesterday.
"She’s a new artist though. It’s going to be exciting for me too. I have never had anyone rap on you’ve got the love before so that’s going to be different."
Candi – who released new album ‘Life Happens’ this year – had put forward the idea to duet with Sam Smith at the ceremony, as he is up for four awards and she is a huge fan, but the organisers couldn’t make it happen.
The 74-year-old soul diva was first introduced to the ‘Stay With Me’ singer’s music when she saw him performing on television and she immediately rushed out to buy his debut album.
She said: "When they first started to arrange it one of my publicists was thinking about coupling me with Sam Smith, I said, ‘Oh wow!’ I was so excited.
"He’s a great singer, he’s wonderful. I saw him on some awards show in America and everyone was talking about Sam Smith afterwards. I went to the store and picked up something by him straight away."
Other artists performing at the MOBOs, supported by HTC, include Jessie J, Nicole Scherzinger and Ella Eyre.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on ITV2 with a highlights show on ITV.
Candi Staton excited about MOBOs rap
