When he was younger, Latin Grammy Award nominee KURT used to sing Sting’s songs at bars where he’d perform in his native Mexico. Now, he’s singing one of them with Sting.
The two have joined forces for “Por Su Amor,” a new Spanish version of “For Her Love” from Sting’s 2021 studio album, The Bridge. The recording will be released this Friday, April 8th, via all streaming services, along with a video (premiering exclusively below) that was filmed in early March in Los Angeles. It follows Sting’s solo version of the Spanish language track, released back in February.
The Spanish rendition of “For Her Love” came about when Sting and his manager-producer Martin Kierszenbaum, were in Cabo San Lucas during a break between shows. “Neither of us are beach people, really,” Sting tells Consequence during a joint Zoom call with KURT and Kierszenbaum, “so we said, ‘Let’s do some work.’ [Kierszenbaum] is a Spanish speaker, so he translated ‘For Her Love’ into Spanish. He promised me it was a good translation.”
Kierszenbaum adds that, “Literal translations of songs are impossible given the difference in syllables, syllable stresses, grammar, syntax, and structure of different languages. However, adaptations are possible that respect the spirit and meaning of the original. I always work hard to respect the original melody.”
Sting learned the song phonetically — “thinking of the music of the language itself rather than the meaning of the words” — and performed a solo version for Univision’s Premio Lo Nuestro Awards on Feb. 24 in Miami. “Then, I believe, KURT heard it and said it wasn’t bad, but it needed him on it to give authenticity. So I agreed,” Sting quips with a laugh.
“No, no, no,” KURT quickly responds with a laugh of his own. “When I heard the song I was with my management, and I loved it. I wanted to record my part the same day that they played me the song. I love the music [Sting] makes. The next day, I was in my studio trying to do my best to have a great version that Sting likes. It’s an honor to be on this song with him.”
