Jaime Adrian reimagines George Michael's 'Careless Whisper'

Jaime Adrian, a bartender at Sidetrack, heard “Careless Whisper” playing throughout the popular Lakeview bar. This was, of course, a 1984 release from George Michael as the second single from Wham!'s second studio album, Make It Big.

“I couldn’t get (that song) out of my head,” Adrian said. “I wanted to hear it again, but it was too busy, and all the songs were upbeat. I thought to myself, ‘Why hasn’t someone done a dance version of this song?’”

So, Adrian the singer talked with his producer, Velvet Code, about Careless Whisper, “and he was 100 percent on board with doing a fresh new take on it,” Adrian said.

Adrian’s version of “Careless Whisper” was just released. It's titled  "I'm Never Gonna Dance Again."

“Once I recorded it and heard the final version, there was no question about this song being the first single,” he said. “When I heard this song fully mastered, it was the first time I felt like I heard my real voice. I know that sounds weird because I released a full album, but it just felt different this time around.”

Adrian brings unique beats to the song. “It’s such a cool sounding track and I’m so happy I got to do the vocals for it,” he said.

Adrian has another song coming out in November. He also just signed with a talent agency and a booking agency. “So, the next few months I will be working on just getting better at everything,” he said.

Adrian has been “super busy” this summer, not only recording new music, but work overall has been insane, he said. “It did make the summer fly by, though.”

Adrian said Pride Month was a blur with major events or parties seemingly every day and on the weekends.

“It’s a lot of fun, but exhausting,” he said. “This was a pretty smooth Pride Month, so that’s a plus.”

Adrian performed at Manchester Pride in the UK in late August for the third year.

“I always look forward to my trip to the UK. It’s so different over there. They understand me musically,” he said.

“I’ve recorded so many new songs (this summer). I can’t wait for everyone to hear how fun these new batch of songs are. They just hit differently.”

With Halloween right around the corner, Adrian knows many will be leaping out at him from every corner. “Everyone always tried to scare the crap out of me and they do,” he said, laughing. “It’s not fun because I get scared so easily.”

Adrian said his Halloween 2024 look likely will be some version of Jade Thirlwall or George Michael.

"I'm Never Gonna Dance Again" is now available on all major streaming platforms.