Dancing with a Stranger

The harmony is intentionally lean — a four-chord diatonic loop in A-flat major repeated across virtually the entire track. At 103 bpm in 4/4, the groove is the engine; harmonic complexity would only crowd out the vocal interplay between Smith and Normani, which is the song's real draw. The 1980s disco-R&B character comes from production texture and arrangement, not from the chord choices.

According to Billboard, the collaboration came about entirely by chance. Sam Smith was in a Los Angeles studio writing with their frequent collaborator Jimmy Napes and the Norwegian production duo Stargate when Normani happened to be recording in the adjacent room. After the two artists met and talked, they decided to work together on the spot. Smith, Normani, Napes, and Stargate all contributed to the songwriting, with additional production credits going to Danny D and Tim Blacksmith. Murda Beatz is also listed as a co-writer.

Sam Smith and Normani recorded the track after meeting by chance at a Los Angeles studio, their overlapping sessions turning into an impromptu collaboration. Released January 11, 2019 on Capitol Records, it pairs Smith's seductive falsetto with Normani's smoky counterpoint over 1980s-inspired R&B production by Stargate and Jimmy Napes. The song topped charts in Mexico, Iceland, and Lebanon, reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 across 45 weeks, and won Song of the Year at the 2020 BMI London Awards.