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.

Renée Zellweger is glad people are saying she looks different.
The 45-year-old actress has been the subject of plastic surgery accusations on social media sites after she stepped out looking almost unrecognisable at the ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills on Monday (20.10.14), but insists her latest look is down to her doing a much better job of taking care of herself.
Describing conversations about her appearance as "silly", she told PEOPLE magazine: "I'm glad folks think I look different! I'm living a different, happy, more fulfilling life, and I'm thrilled that perhaps it shows.
"My friends say that I look peaceful. I am healthy. For a long time I wasn't doing such a good job with that. I took on a schedule that is not realistically sustainable and didn't allow for taking care of myself."
The 'Bridget Jones' star has admitted she previously made "bad choices" in life when she felt "exhausted" and instead of stopping to rest and recuperate she just kept going, but she is now "happy" with her appearance.
She added: "Rather than stopping to recalibrate, I kept running until I was depleted and made bad choices about how to conceal the exhaustion.
"I was aware of the chaos and finally chose different things.
"People don't know me in my 40s. People don't know me [as] healthy for a while
"Perhaps I look different. Who doesn't as they get older? Ha. But I am different. I'm happy."

Nicole Scherzinger tried to jump out of a moving limo, it has been reported.
The 'Your Love' singer is said to have caused a rush-hour crash when she leaped out of the back seat of her driver's car after shouting that she was feeling sick and ordering him to pull over.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "She was in the car back to her hotel at 7pm when she started to feel ill.
"She screamed at the driver to pull over, but it was impossible to stop. She must have been really disorientated because all of a sudden she opened the door."
The driver had refused to bring the car to a halt because of the busy traffic but was forced to slam on the breaks when the 36-year-old star jumped out.
However, in his rush to get to the side of queasy Nicole, he left the car in gear causing it to lurch forward and crash into the rear end of another vehicle on the busy carriageway.
Nicole - who is dating Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton - had been filming the music video for her new single 'Run' on Victoria Embankment in London.

Lady Gaga spent £8,000 on a British shopping spree.
The 'Pokerface' hitmaker visited Afflecks Palace emporium in Manchester earlier this week unannounced, shocking shoppers as she spent thousands at the vintage boutiques.
The 28-year-old singer arrived at the store wearing a gold floor-length gown before swapping it for a black lace ensemble she purchased from the Elysia boutique.
She reportedly told staff at the store: "Don't wrap it I will wear it!"
Gaga also bought retro clothes from American Grafitti and Kuhl Vintage and crystals from the Crystal Henge store.
According to the Daily Mirror newspaper, Kuhl Vintage's owner Kathryn McDonald, pointed the star towards a beaded 20s dress and a some World War Two utility clothing, adding that she was "absolutely lovely" to serve.
Kathryn said: "Lady Gaga was absolutely lovely - really polite and approachable.
"She was here quite a while and was a really good customer.
"We're all independent traders so it really means a lot that she came - we're over the moon. She's welcome back any time."
Following her spree, Gaga stopped by Ginger's Comfort Emporium ice cream parlour for dessert with her friend and tour DJ, Lady Starlight.
The pair also posed for selfies with staff, who described her visit as "pretty amazing".
American Graffiti boutique owner, Vanessa Cawley, said:" We've had a few famous people in before but Lady Gaga is the most famous one yet.
"I wouldn't want to say how much she spent but it was more than most customers. It was pretty amazing."

Mitch Winehouse has revealed that Peaches Geldof's death brought back the pain of his daughter Amy Winehouse's passing.
The 63-year-old singer has admitted that when 25-year-old Peaches died in April 2014 due to a heroin overdose, he couldn't help but be reminded of his own daughter's death from alcohol poisoning in July 2011, and he relates to the grief Bob must be feeling.
Talking to the Daily Mirror, Mitch said: "When Peaches died it brought everything back to me. It was a similar situation because Peaches seemed to be doing so well and Amy in the last five weeks of her life didn't drink, except for small periods where she drank a lot.
"We were convinced [Amy] was moving towards sobriety as I'm sure Bob Geldof and his family thought Peaches was. But with toxic substances like alcohol and heroin, terrible accidents can happen."
Mitch noted that he hasn't spoken directly to Peaches father, but added that it must be particularly hard for the Boomtown Rats musician after he lost his ex-wife Paula Yates to heroin overdose in September 2000.
He said: "Bob Geldof hasn't been in contact. I wouldn't know what to say to him, it's so sad. She was a beautiful girl and had two wonderful kids.
"But that is the nature of addiction, that becomes the greatest love of their life and Bob probably knows that. It's terrible, especially what happened to Peaches mum."

Gwen Taylor has revealed she is battling cancer - but "feels guilty" she is winning the fight following the death of her friend Lynda Bellingham.
The 75-year-old actress underwent surgery for breast cancer two months ago but admits she feels like "one of the lucky ones" after she was left "deeply upset" by the death of her 'Calendar Girls' co-star, who passed away on Monday (20.10.14) after losing her battle with colon cancer.
She said: "I was in the bathroom listening to the radio when it came on that she had passed away. It was just so shocking and deeply upsetting. She was such a nice person.
"It made me think how lucky I am. I had breast cancer and underwent surgery in August. I also had radiotherapy but I haven't needed chemotherapy.
"I'm lucky because the lump was quite tiny and we managed to catch it early. Of course, it was nowhere near as serious as what we've seen happen with Lynda.
"I feel like there's a future for me and I'm really pleased. But I feel guilty - I'm one of the lucky ones."
The 'Barbara' star - who played Frank Foster's mother Anne in 'Coronation Street' - was left devastated after losing both Bernie Nolan, who she also starred alongside in stage production 'Calendar Girls', and Lynda, who she has described as a "wonderful person".
She added to the Derby Telegraph newspaper: "Bernie Nolan of course died and now Lynda has, too. It's very sad. I was shocked when I heard how bad Lynda's situation was a few weeks ago.
"When I heard her talk on the radio, I thought it was one of the bravest things I've heard. The way she spoke about it really got me.
"She was a wonderful person. She worked so hard and tirelessly and did so much for charity.
"Off the screen and stage, she was exactly the same smashing woman.
"She was very stylish. I would arrive at the stage door looking like a tramp and she would look like a million dollars with her clothes. She always looked smart and was a very nice person to be around."

Wendi Peters regrets watching old episodes of 'Coronation Street' ahead of her return to the soap opera.
The 46-year-old actress is reprising her role as Cilla Battersby-Brown and couldn't believe how much she "hated" her alter ego when she looked back on her earlier stint in Weatherfield.
She said: "I did watch and I shouldn't have done. I sat down with my husband and watched Cilla's last week of episodes before she left in 2007 and I hated her.
"Afterwards I said, 'What am I doing? Why am I going back?' "
And Wendi admits she was stunned to be asked to return because she had moved on so far from the soap but is finding her brief comeback "lovely".
She told Closer magazine: "It was a bit of a shock really. I'd put Cilla to bed, I'd moved on, done lots of theatre, TV and had a bit more time with the family.
"I hadn't considered a return but it's lovely just for a short time to find out where Cilla's been and what she's been up to."
Though she hated seeing Cilla again, Wendi admits she can see herself in her character.
She said: "I think there always has to be a bit of you in every character you play. I'm very impatient and a bit of a control freak.
"I'd like to think I'm a much, much nicer version of Cilla but who knows."

Fleur East is being advised by J.B. Gill.
The 'X Factor' hopeful has already attracted some former contestants, including the 2008 runner-up - who was a member of boy band JLS - and 2010 winner Matt Cardle.
In an interview with HELLO! magazine she said: "Matt Cardle has messaged me, given me some encouragement.
"Also J.B. from JLS, who is a very good friend of mine, has been advising me."
Fleur is mentored by show chief Simon Cowell and appreciates the advice he gives and is thankful that he "has her back".
She added: "He's the boss man and he knows what he's talking about - he's like Mel B in that he's straight-talking and almost never wrong.
"But he really does give good advice and people give you more credit if he's got your back."
Ahead of every performance, the singer has a brief ritual she undertakes to steady her nerves.
She explained: "I always take a really deep breath and say to myself, 'Go out there and give a performance you'll be proud of'. I never want to leave the stage and have regrets."

Billy Bob Thornton insists 'Bad Santa 2' will not be as good as the original film.
The 59-year-old actor played an alcoholic thief who worked as a department store Santa Claus to steal from shops in the 2003 movie, and while he is still waiting to see a script for the follow up film, he has already conceded it will never be able to better the first motion picture.
He said: "We're just waiting for a script, you know. I mean we're never going to beat the first one but you got to get as close as you can.
"I mean, you know you just can't go out there and do it halfway. So we're waiting for something that's close enough. And you know it will do real well, I would imagine.
"And then you know people will say, 'Well, it wasn't as good as the first one.' And we'll say, 'Yeah, we knew it wouldn't be.' But I think it should be fun. I think people who like this one will enjoy it. And hopefully we'll get it off, yeah."
Thornton joked he was drinking from 7am on the set of the original movie and insists acting in a comedy film can be a lot harder than starring in a drama because the audience are expecting a laugh.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he joked: "I prepared for this one by drinking from 7:00 o'clock in the morning."
He then added: "But yeah, I mean comedy is different. There's no doubt about it. And when they say comedy is harder than drama, in some ways it is because with comedy you're expecting a result, you know, from the audience."

911 used to fix competitions for the "fittest female adults" to win - and then sleep with them.
The 90s boy band - made up of Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Simon "Spike" Dawbarn - have claimed they enlisted the help of their tour manager to select the best-looking women who had entered their competitions, so they could try to bed the lucky ladies when they met them.
Lee said: "We used to have competitions and we got our tour manager to only pick out the fittest female adults.
"He'd keep the tickets and the nicest bird would win it because it was fixed and one of us would take her back and sleep with her."
The group - who have reunited on TV show 'The Big Reunion' - also revealed other naked antics nearly got them into serious trouble one night in Bahrain when they stripped off and went swimming in a hotel pool which nearly landed them 10 years in jail.
Spike told The Sun newspaper: "We were all naked in the swimming pool with our dancers. It's a Muslim country and we were all there with our danglers out.
"We were doing a show for the king. If we weren't doing that we would've been jailed for ten years.
"Instead, they just placed us under hotel arrest and deported us."
Five - who are now a trio made up of Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson - have also revealed they had some crazy experiences touring in the 90s, such as when former member Abz Love accidentally set fire to a hotel, causing serious damage to the building.
Scott explained: "We told the fire brigade it was a cigar in the ashtray by the window which set fire to the curtains.
"What actually happened was that Abz was flicking matches out of the window and one went inside the valance. It set the whole room on fire. That whole floor was shut for a year."

Ed Sheeran has admitted he was a bit of a "****" to Miley Cyrus.
The 23-year-old singer previously blasted the 21-year-old star for performing a "stripper's move" at the MTV Video Music Awards last year, but he now regrets his comments and insists he would be "f***ing livid" if anyone said the same sort of thing about him.
He said: "I was a bit of a c***. I do feel bad about it as I'd be f***ing livid if someone said that about me.
"My general point was I wanted her to sing the songs so people could see what an amazing artist she is. I just worded it wrong."
Ed has also admitted he has forgiven the subject of his song 'Don't', about his then-girlfriend cheating on him with a pal - heavily rumoured to have been written about his One Direction band member friend Niall Horan and Ellie Goulding.
When asked if he is a forgiving person, he added to The Sun newspaper: "I guess. I got over the anger the moment I wrote the song.
"That's the end of it. I'm grateful I could get a song out of it, to be honest.
"I don't feel it's about anyone any more, I'm not attached to that. The moment you attach someone to a song it becomes more difficult to sing every night."
What's more, the 'Lego House' hitmaker has also backed his good friend Taylor Swift after Olly Murs slammed her for writing songs about her ex-boyfriend Harry Styles.
Following the former 'X Factor' act's comments, Taylor insisted she some people are "sexist" towards her because they talk about her writing about her former lovers but don't ever mention male singers who do the same, such as Ed and Bruno Mars.
Ed explained: "She's right, man -- she gets a tougher rap than other people. No one talks about Bruno Mars' or my lyrics like that."

Jennifer Lopez has splashed out $22 million on a luxury penthouse.
The 'Booty' hitmaker forked out the huge sum on a four-bedroom Manhattan apartment in a building which also houses stars such as Chelsea Clinton and NASCAR racing driver Jeff Gordon, sources have told the New York Daily News newspaper.
Jennifer should feel safe in her new abode as there is a doorman for just four homes in the building, which boasts its own gym and lifts with private landings.
Speaking about the plush pad last year, broker Melanie Lazenby said: "It's like a luxury fortress. There's a full-time doorman for only four apartments."
The apartment also features six bathrooms and picturesque views of Madison Square Park, and the 45-year-old singer will have no trouble feeling nice and cosy in the winter as her new abode includes a home system on which she can control the heating, lights and music from her iPhone or iPad.
Last month, Jennifer was spotted out and about in New York City's Chelsea area looking for a new apartment to purchase.
The brunette beauty's latest abode will be quite different to what she experienced growing up in the Bronx as she recently revealed she had to share a bed with her two sisters, Lynda and Leslie, when she was younger because her parents could only afford a small house in New York City.