You’ll be hard pressed to find an artist who loves Sade – both the band and the woman who it’s named after – more than Norelle. The in-demand singer-songwriter who most recently toured with Leon Bridges as a supporting vocalist, released a tribute EP dedicated to Sade Adu and her iconic band back in 2018 entitled To Sade, Love Norelle (eventually shortened to Love, Norelle). The project featured her reimagined versions of selections from Sade’s vast catalog in celebration of Ms. Adu’s 59th birthday at the time. With the living legend’s 65th birthday approaching on January 16, 2024, Norelle revisits the EP with the single release of her cover of “Like A Tattoo.”
Sade released “Like A Tattoo” on their 1992 album Love Deluxe. The haunting love song written by Adu and Stuart Matthewman was never released as a single, but it became an immediate fan favorite and has stayed that way for over 30 years.
Remaking a song with such an enduring legacy may be a daunting task for lesser singers, but Norelle puts her unique spin on her version of “Like A Tattoo.” She chooses to defy convention and revamps the song to fit her voice and style instead of singing a straight-ahead cover, which she could have easily done. She’s joined in this creative endeavor by producers Romero Mosley and Iyeball, Keyon Harrold on horns and Eric Nicholas on keys who contribute their talents to the song’s modified instrumentation. It’s a bold decision for such a beloved song, but when people talk about an artist making a song their own, this is what they mean.
We adore Norelle’s dedication to Sade and what she brings to her rendition of “Like A Tattoo,” which you can listen to below. We also hope that she has more new music on the way in the near future.
