The hit takes Sting back to the top of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as a songwriter.
Though Sting has yet to meet Juice WRLD -- whose breakthrough single “Lucid Dreams” is built around the guitar riff from his 1993 track “Shape of My Heart” -- the British singer/songwriter says he owes the 19-year-old rapper/singer a debt of thanks.
The royalties from “Lucid Dreams” will "put my grandkids through college," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee joked during a stop at the Los Angeles Grammy Museum in early October. On a more serious note, Sting tells Billboard he considers Juice WRLD’s usage of “Shape” a "beautiful interpretation that is faithful to the original song’s form."
The song’s co-writer and Sting’s guitarist Dominic Miller agrees. “I thought it was the most intelligent version of that riff that I’ve ever heard,” he says. “I was really happy with it. I love what he’s saying. He talking about something everyone can relate to, which is a breakup. It’s done in a very beautiful way. We’re really happy for his success and, of course, for us too.”