"As" is a song written and performed by Stevie Wonder from his 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life. It reached number 36 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Black Singles chart. The song gets its name from the first word of its lyrics.
In 1999, George Michael and Mary J. Blige covered the song for Michael's greatest hits album Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael (1998). Released outside the United States on March 1, 1999, as the second single from the album, "As" became a top-10 hit in Michael's home country, reaching number four on the UK Singles Chart, and also charted within the top 10 in Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain.
"As" was not released on the US version of Ladies & Gentlemen or as a single in the US. Michael cited Blige's record company president, Jay Boberg, for pulling the track after Michael's arrest for committing a lewd act in a public restroom.[4] In 2019, Kirk Burrowes, who executive produced Blige's fourth album Mary, told Rated R&B that it was indeed Boberg's decision not to release "As" in the US: "[Boberg] did not want to let George Michael, who initiated that original production, use it as a single in the U.S. to launch his greatest hits album. It pissed everyone off at Sony. It pissed George Michael off. It pissed everyone off, but we couldn't make Jay Boberg bend. He should have put it on the Mary album, but we couldn't put it on the album in the states because he wouldn't let George Michael put it on the Ladies & Gentlemen [album] in the states.""As" was covered by pianist Gene Harris on his 1977 album Tone Tantrum, with 30 additional seconds.
Sister Sledge covered it and included it on their 1977 album Together. They later performed the song on a 1984 episode of The Jeffersons.
Kimiko Kasai with Herbie Hancock covered it on the 1979 album Butterfly.[33]
"As" was also covered by violinist Jean-Luc Ponty on his 1982 album Mystical Adventures.
Smooth jazz saxophonist/flautist Najee covered the song for his Stevie Wonder tribute album Songs from the Key of Life.[34]
In 2000, singer Nichole Nordeman covered the song on her album This Mystery.
Dutch singer Esmée Denters covered the song for Billboard's Mashup Mondays series in 2011.
In 2011 the season 2 winners of vocal competition The Sing-Off, Committed, also covered this song on their self-titled debut album.
Anthony Hamilton and Marsha Ambrosious make cameos in the 2013 film The Best Man Holiday, in which the singers appear as themselves and perform the song as an R&B ballad at a main character's funeral.
The original Stevie Wonder version was featured in The Best Man Holiday's predecessor The Best Man in a more lighthearted scene.
In 2014 it was covered by American singer Camille for her Stevie Wonder tribute album I Sing Stevie: The Stevie Wonder Songbook, an album that received an Independent Music Awards nomination for Best Tribute Album.[35]
