"I Love You Always Forever" is a quiet little miracle of a song. The Welsh singer Donna Lewis wrote and co-produced the shy, bubbling pop gem, and she released it as her debut single in 1996. "I Love You Always Forever" stealthily rose up to become a global smash, getting stuck at #2 behind "Macarena" in America. Donna Lewis never made another big hit after that, but she's still working today. And in a beautiful moment last night, Lewis sang "I Love You Always Forever" with Japanese Breakfast in Brooklyn.
There is some context for this. In March, Japanese Breakfast were getting ready to release their album For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women), and they stopped by the BBC Live Lounge and covered "I Love You Always Forever." Michelle Zauner's friend SASAMI happened to be in London that day, so she helped out -- a nice thing on a song that really relies on its harmonies. JBrekkie has done it concert since then, including at Coachella’s second weekend. On Monday night, Japanese Breakfast finished up a four-night stand at the Brooklyn Paramount. During their set, Michelle Zauner introduced the band's "I Love You Always Forever" cover and told the crowd that "something crazy might happen, and you better lose your fucking mind." She sang the first couple of lines and then introduced Donna Lewis, who glowed.
We post videos like this sometimes, and they're always cool, but they're rarely this cool. Donna Lewis and Michelle Zauner both seemed absolutely delighted with the moment, for different but overlapping reasons. The crowd sang along ecstatically. The stage looked cool as hell. The song is amazing. There's just nothing about this that I don't like. Watch some fan footage below.
For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women) is out now on Dead Oceans.
