Vocal bombshell Sabrina Claudio has done well to gracefully rise in the ranks of R&B singers who are dominating 2018. After blessing fans with her enticing bedroom ballad “All To You,” the Miami native got sidetracked from her usual slow jam vibe for her brand new single with Khalid called “Don’t Let Me Down.” On Wednesday (Apr. 4), Claudio debuted the track with none other than the UK’s OG Beats 1 radio host Zane Lowe and talked about going in a new direction for her latest song, which is apparently becoming “everyone’s favorite.”
“We never had the initial thought of like we need an uptempo because you know I don’t really do uptempo,” Claudio told Lowe about the song. “But it just seemed really naturally and I think melodically it stays consistent. It still has soft tones with the more uptempo background and sonics and all that kind of stuff but it just happened and it became everybody’s new favorite. And I still felt like I was being true to myself when it came to the melodies and the lyrics and all that kind of stuff. I was like this is like something I can see myself doing.”
Although the record starts off slow, producer Sad Money allows Claudio’s vocals to glide over the cloudy synths and high-pitch guitar before he pulls the ill switch-up by integrating a quicker bass line. That’s when Khalid pulls up to make the record even more interesting. When it comes to features, Claudio admits she’s picky, however, she said she believed Khalid was the perfect fit for the record.
“I think vocally, besides the fact that I want to be personal with whoever I have a future with, vocally it’s really important for me that it just fits,” the Atlantic Records signee said. “So Khalid came to mind and I just sent him the song over text and I was like tell me what you think. Honestly, I hear your voice on this. If you’re willing to jump on it I’d be honored. So he came to the studio the next day I think and wrote his verse, up in the booth for a good hour, perfected it and it was done.”
Listen to Sabrina Claudio and Khalid’s new collabo below.