"Like I Can" is a song by English singer

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...

. It was released as a digital download on 5 December 2014 as the fifth single from their debut studio album, ''

In the Lonely Hour ''In the Lonely Hour'' is the debut studio album by English singer and songwriter Sam Smith. It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2014 via Capitol UK and Method Records. In the United States, it was released on 17 June 2014 through ...

'' (2014). The song was written by Smith and Matt Prime and produced by Steve Fitzmaurice, Jimmy Napes and Mojam. It debuted and peaked at number 9 in the United Kingdom, becoming Smith's fifth UK top 10 single.

Background, composition and inspiration

On 24 October 2014, Smith announced via

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that they would be releasing "Like I Can" as the fifth single from their debut album ''In the Lonely Hour''. They posted, "Incredibly happy to announce that my next single will be LIKE I CAN!!". The song's central theme can be interpreted to be about lost or unrequited love. The singer describes different types of people that may approach their love interest but emphasizes that no one will love them as deeply as the singer does. "Like I Can" is a

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

song written in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

(sheet music originally published in

) at 100bpm. Smith's vocals span from F₄ to D₆.

Commercial performance

"Like I Can" peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, giving Smith their fifth UK top 10 single. It was the 100th biggest-selling song of 2014 in the United Kingdom, as well as the 58th biggest in 2015. It has also charted at number 19 in New Zealand, number 20 in Australia, and number 99 in the United States.

Music video

The music video is in black and white and features Smith and several men on what appears to be a

stag party A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...

Live performances

Smith performed the song on 9 November 2014, on the fifth live results show of series 11 of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

''.

Track listing

Covers

On October 12, 2015, Jordan Smith and Regina Love covered as a duet battle through song choice selection in '' The Voice''. On February 25, 2016, Trent Harmon covered the song during the Top 10 round on the fifteenth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. On October 24, 2016, Dave Moisan sang this song during the knockout rounds in '' The Voice''. On April 4, 2023, Jerome Godwin III and Talia Smith covered as a duet battle through song choice selection in '' The Voice''.

Appearances in media

In mid-August 2021, the song went viral on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, appearing in more than 2.4M videos as of September 25, 2021 at 6:59 PM EDT. This song also previously went viral on the same platform in May 2020.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{authority control 2014 songs 2014 singles Sam Smith (singer) songs Songs written by Matt Prime Capitol Records singles Songs written by Sam Smith (singer)