Back in Season 2 of American Idol, Kimberley Locke rose to national attention before building a substantial pop career. She then chanced upon the story of Frances Herbert and Takako Ueda on CNN. Deeply stirred by the same-sex newlywed couple determined to push back against the deportation laws that threatened to tear them apart, Locke and a team of talented collaborators put pen to paper, and the rest is history, with ‘Feel The Love’ finding its audience on both the dancefloor and Pride Playlists. Now, more than a decade later, it’s getting a second life.
‘Feel The Love’, a “call to action and call to love”, was originally released in June 2013, before it quietly disappeared from streaming platforms for several years. Now with the same urgency and heart that made it such a hit the first time around, we see Locke working closely with long-running UK dance project Cahill, a commercial dance production powerhouse with support from Radio 1, Galaxy, Kiss, and MTV Dance, and more than 200 official remixes to their name for artists including Mariah Carey, Calvin Harris, and Rihanna. ‘Feel The Love’ is the same celebration of connection, an unapologetic act of solidarity, and a much-needed reminder of what makes love so worth fighting for.
With a bright piano melody and an enchanting atmosphere, ‘Feel The Love’ brings with it a “hands in the air” vibe and a feel good sound that will introduce this classic to a whole new generation of listeners. While on the one hand it’s a celebration of summertime, the emotional weight of the story behind it is central to why it still hits just as hard, if not harder, than when it was first released all those years ago.
Speaking of the track, Kimberley Locke said,
“You never know where inspiration is going to come from or when it is going to hit. The important thing is to act on it. Feel the Love was born out of a purely inspirational moment while sitting at home on my couch watching CNN. I am beyond excited that Feel the Love is being resurrected. I hope that it finds it’s way to Frances Herbert and Takako Ueda. Everyone has a story and because they shared theirs a song was born. A song of hope, empowerment, a call to action, a call to love. This songs asks everyone to be love, feel love to be present to the love that is around us everyday. This is the anthem that is needed now. Dance like no one is watching and sing at the top of your lungs. My hope is that this song inspires others in the same way I was inspired to write it.
A takeaway from this story, for me, is that there are people rooting for you and holding you in a place of love who don’t know, that you have never met. That is powerful and not to be underestimated”.
The music video for ‘Feel The Love’ us heartwarming and sweet right from the very start, with a meet-cute on the London Underground. The two strangers quickly forge a close bond, as they flit and flirt their way across the City, spontaneous and uninhibited. Of course, being London, they’re never truly alone, and all around them, others share their own passionate embraces, and feel the love. Re-edited from the original footage from 2013, it’s still as warm and alive as it was 13 years ago, and stands in testimony to something the world can never take away – the beauty of two people choosing each other, no matter what obstacles might lay in their path.
Be enlightened by the stunning music video for ‘Feel The Love’, and find out more about Cahill x Kimberley Locke online on Cahill’s official website, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook. Follow Kimberly Locke on her official website, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
