How Sam Smith And Demi Lovato Made Their 'Bright And Soulful' New Single

Sam Smith and Demi Lovato’s grand new love manifestation anthem, “I’m Ready,” is finally here to lighten liven up our socially isolated days. Their new group effort was recently described as “musical theater” by Smith because of its huge, over-the-top sound — and according to songwriter Savan Kotecha, that was exactly the point.


“We wanted to prepare something very dark that got bright and soulful, with characteristic of gospel that also still has a bite,” Kotecha told MTV News over the phone from Sweden. “It’s very dynamic — very big and dope.”


Apart from Smith and Lovato, Kotecha is one of three credited co-writers on the track, and also guitarist Peter Svensson of Swedish metal band The Cardigans and producer Ilya Salmanzdeh, who recently helped pen Beyonce’s The Lion King: The Gift track “Spirit.” Kotecha, a songwriting veteran, has certainly written on a couple of of your preference pop records; his fingerprints are on Ariana Grande's “God Is a Woman,” Katy Perry's “Rise,” The Weeknd's “Can’t Feel My Face,” and dozens more.


Over the course of his lengthy career, Kotecha has also snagged numerous BMI and ASCAP awards, not to say 17 Grammy nominations. His history helped “I’m Ready” come with each other in the way it did, a stan story of Olympic-sized proportions. It all began with Kotecha’s long working relationship with Lovato; right after they penned her 2014 song “Really Don’t Care,” the two paired up for five more songs in her repertoire, becoming good companions in the process.


Meanwhile, Kotecha also worked with Smith. “The starting day that we met was once we recorded 'How Do You Sleep?,'” he mentioned. “We created this fantastic bond and friendship.” Sometime later, Kotecha was in a studio in Sweden with Smith, Ilya, and others, having a conversation about some of their preference artists. Lovato’s name came up.


“I mentioned how big of a fan that I am of Demi’s voice, and so they mentioned ‘Oh my god, I love her.’ I texted her because I knew that she was already a big fan of Sam, and she immediately agreed to do a song,” Kotecha says. “Months later, we were in Los Angeles with each other at a studio and got it done. It took a number of days to get written perfected, and also some weeks on the production side, although it was just really natural and out of two artists being fans.”


While recording “I’m Ready,” the booth was full of smiles, laughs, and good energy. “They got along so well,” Kotecha says. “They clearly had so much respect and love for each other.” He had a little bit of a fanboy moment as soon as he realized the scope of what was happening. “We were sitting there, and I was pinching myself because you rarely ever get two such wonderful talents in a room together.”


you could hear all manner of high fives, chest bumps, and tight hugs on “I’m Ready,” just by way of chemistry that manifests by way of the celebratory air. As their voices swell and soar together, you’re reminded of what the song is saying: The time for affection is currently. Kotecha underscores this with more agency: “‘I’m Ready’ is about being open and living in a space where you aspire to be loved and accept love itself.”