Sam Smith And Demi Lovato Are An Olympic Dream Team In 'I'm Ready' Video
The 2020 Olympics may have been postponed, but Sam Smith and Demi Lovato are here to fill that sports-sized hole in your heart with their own glam Summer Games. After days of teases and snippets, the pair's first-ever collaboration, "I'm Ready," has arrived alongside an action-packed, gold medal-worthy video.
The Jora Frantzis-directed clip opens on Smith circling a man on the wrestling mat as they sing about "waiting patiently for a beautiful lover" and vowing to "take that risk tonight" with someone new. As the skittering, "Panda"-like instrumental gives way to a big, choir-backed chorus, Smith lines up for the most glamorous 100-meter sprint you've ever seen — they and their equally glam competitors dash off in sky-high stilettos, voluminous skirts, and impeccably applied makeup.
The second verse, meanwhile, is all Demi. She holds court on a tall diving board, rocking a sophisticated suit and belting her heart out as swimmers dive into the pool around her. She and Smith eventually come together for the song's big climax, which takes them to a gymnast-filled medal ceremony. "I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready," they sing, their voices rising higher and higher until they reach that pivotal next line: "for someone to love me." Going for the gold never sounded so good.
Prior to the video's premiere, Smith and Lovato hopped on a video chat to reminisce about writing the song together. "I've released duets with other people, but I haven't released one with a close friend for a long time. It feels really exciting," Lovato said. "I'm just so excited that we get to take our friendship on a whole new journey now by releasing a song together. ... There's so much more we can do together. This is just the beginning."
The collaborators also joked that the "I'm Ready" video is the "Queer Olympics" the world needs right now. "There was so much love in that place and so many beautiful people," Smith said about the video shoot, with Lovato agreeing, "Yes, beautiful people that were so talented."
"I'm Ready" will appear on Smith's upcoming third album, which was previously titled To Die For. The British singer announced in March that the project has been renamed in light of the global coronavirus pandemic, and that it's been pushed back from its original May 1 release. "Don't worry though, there will be an album this year, I promise!" Smith wrote.
Lovato, meanwhile, has been slowly but surely reentering the public eye this year — in February, she stunned the Grammys with her emotional performance of the new ballad "Anyone," then sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Then, in March, she returned with the self-love anthem "I Love Me," which she confirmed will appear on her upcoming seventh studio album. Between her and Smith's new projects, there's a lot more music to look forward to this year. Until then, hit play on "I'm Ready" above.