Grammy Award-nominated singer and actress Antonique Smith look forward to her return to the Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe on Jan. 26 and 27 at the Acura House of Energy during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
“It was back in 2017, and it was wonderful,” she said. “It was intimate and acoustic, like ‘MTV Unplugged,’ and the crowd is right there with you.”
This time around, Smith will appear with Grammy-winning producer Toby Gad, who will play piano, and up-and-coming artist Mae Mae.
“I’ve known Toby for 23 years and have performed with him a few times in different places, “ she said. “So for us to do it at Sundance at ASCAP is going to be awesome. I think it’s going to be absolutely amazing.”
Smith and Gad will debut a new collaborative work, “Love Song to the Earth,” which is scheduled to officially drop on Feb. 21 to all streaming platforms.
The song, produced by Gad, who co-wrote it with Grammy-winning songwriters Natasha Bedingfield and John Shanks, was originally released as an ensemble work featuring a lineup that included Bedingfield, Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Keith Urban and Kelly Clarkson, to name a few.
The first time Smith sang the song was in 2015 during a rally for Pope Francis at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
During that time, the Pope toured North America and talked about various issues including climate change, according to Smith.
“Toby saw I was going to be at the rally, and he asked if I wanted to come up and sing with everyone,” she said. “We all sang together, and it is such a beautiful song.”
Smith had been part of the climate movement for about a year at that point and noticed how the song drew attention to the world, without making a political stance.
“This world is so divided. There are so many things that divide us — wars, hate, racism, sexism — so many isms are dividing us, and even something like climate change has become so political,” she said. “But the song is written in a way that it’s so neutral, and can be used for a unifying moment. The lyrics are about something we can all agree on — that this world is beautiful. It says, the world is a ‘diamond in the universe’ and how we need to keep it safe.”
The earth isn’t the only thing that needs to be cared for, according to Smith.
“We need to love each other. I’m a follower of Jesus, and he talks about love,” she said. “Lack of love is what the massive problem is in our whole world.”
Smith’s version of the song is her singing solo with Gad on piano.
“It’s different from the origins,” she said. “It’s a church-soul style, and I think it will touch people in a different way. I’m praying in this time where things are very uncertain in our country that we can have something that brings us together.”
The song’s creators and Apple donated all proceeds from the original song to the UN Foundation and Friends of the Earth.
The reason why Smith was in Washington during the Pope’s visit was Climate Change, something she works to raise awareness of through her nonprofit, Climate Revival.
“I co-founded it with my brother Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., who is an acclaimed climate activist and climate champion,” she said. “We felt there were holes in the movement and that there were some people of faith and people of color who weren’t understanding what the major problem was and not getting the message.”
Back then, the message the climate movement focused on were polar bears and ice glaciers, Smith said.
“It wasn’t about us, and it wasn’t about our existence,” she said. “It wasn’t about our health, or the fossil fuels, and that the same pollution that was giving people cancer and asthma around the world is what’s causing climate change.”
The pollution, Smith said, is coming from big oil and fossil-fuel companies.
“These entities are making billions of dollars every year and getting billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies, money that should be going to our neighborhoods,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking. It’s also frustrating and angering because if we don’t act now, it’s going to get worse.”
Climate change has already wreaked havoc in the world, Smith said.
“Last year we had hurricane Helene, and we lost a thousand people doing a pilgrimage to Mecca because it was 126 degrees,” she said. “Now we start the year out with unbelievable fires in L.A. Climate Revival is trying to educate and inspire. We want people to understand it’s not just the polar bears and ice glaciers. It’s not just about solar panels and wind farms or recycling. It’s about helping people to understand who the villains are in this story and what the truths are.”
Smith uses her status as an award-winning performer to draw attention to the climate movement, and music was her first love.
“Initially it was Whitney Houston, when I was 5,” she said. “I heard that voice, and that made me want to sing.”
Smith developed her voice at church in her choir, and singing songs by Houston and Mariah Carey in her bedroom.
“I also prayed when I was 7 and asked God to bless me with a voice,” she said. “And he answered me some years after that.”
Smith’s acting also came naturally.
“I had a tape recorder, and I would record myself doing skits with all these different voices,” she said. “I’d be the man and woman and act all ages.”
Smith would also present puppet shows for her family.
“So, I was a little actor and singer when I was little Antonique,” she said with a laugh. “Even though I had a plan B to become a lawyer or a spy, there was nothing else I wanted to do ever in my life. It’s such a blessing that I’ve had such a beautiful journey, but I feel like I’m just getting started.”
Antonique Smith with Toby Gad and Mae Mae at the Sundance ASCAP Music Cafe
- When: 4:35 p.m., Jan. 26, and 3:45 p.m., Jan. 27
- Where: Acura House of Energy, 550 Swede Alley
- Web: tinyurl.com/mts5k49h