Although Rob Thomas ended up singing “Smooth,” that was not the original plan. He had never written a song for another artist before and jumped into this collaboration because he believed it would strengthen his reputation as a songwriter. When they finished the song, he himself suggested George Michael, one of his great musical heroes, as the vocalist for the track. In the end, Arista asked Thomas himself to do the vocals, and when he did, he approached it exactly in George Michael’s style