}} In 2007, the song was covered by American singer
Kelly Rowland along with a rap by
Travis McCoy, front man of the indie hip-hop band
Gym Class Heroes, for the soundtrack of French comedy film
Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008). The cover was produced by
S*A*M & Sluggo.
Recording and production Rowland recorded "Daylight" circa October 2007 in London, while she was promoting
Ms. Kelly in the United Kingdom. Although she "had a great time recording it", she was nervous about meeting with McCoy in the studio: "When we got into the studio it was just magic together and I'm happy that it was because you always wonder how a collaboration is going to come out", she said. Stating her reasons for choosing to work with McCoy, she told British songwriter Pete Lewis of
Blues & Soul: "I love the fact that Gym Class Heroes' music and sound is something different and eclectic. I figured me and Travis together would be an unusual type a duo. And I'm really happy I trusted my instincts. Because it turned out to be a really cool, different type of collaboration. To me Travis is like a rapper-slash-poet-slash-rocker, and our combination really worked!". Initially recorded solely for the soundtrack for
Asterix at the Olympic Games, Rowland was so satisfied with the track, she wanted to include it on her
extended play (EP)
Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe (2008) and release it as a single as well: "I love doing collaborations – it's always good to do something that's out the box." She also stated the cover was her favorite addition to
Ms. Kelly: Diva Deluxe; the cover was also added to the deluxe edition of
Ms. Kelly soon after, along with other tracks from the EP.
Music video A
music video for "Daylight" was filmed in November 2007, and was directed by
Jeremy Rall. Produced by Gina Leonard for Siblings Inc., it was shot in New York City, ten blocks from the
Empire State Building. The visuals show Rowland among a bunch of people in a party inside an apartment building alongside
Travis McCoy. The video begins at 5:00 a.m. while the party is still in full swing; when the sun begins to rise and shines through the windows, the party-goers move up to the roof of the building to continue the party. About shooting, Rowland said: "Shooting the music video for the song was hilarious, with Travis especially. He looked so funny and cute when he was riding a weird modified-bicycle in the middle of the bustling city." The other members of Gym Class Heroes made cameos in the video. A seven-second snippet of the video premiered on
NBC's
Clash of the Choirs. The full video finally premiered on
Vivement Dimanche in France on January 6, 2008, including clips from the
Asterix at the Olympic Games film. In the United States, the video premiered via
MySpace on January 17, excluding the
Asterix at the Olympic Games clips; the same day, it also premiered on
BET's
106 & Park as the "New Joint" of the day. In the United Kingdom, the video premiered via music channel
Bubble Hits on March 19.
Commercial performance "Daylight" debuted at number 36 on the
UK Singles Chart, based solely on
digital downloads. Upon its physical release on May 5, 2008, the song climbed 22 places to number 14, being the largest climber within the UK Singles Chart's top 40 that week. The song became Rowland's eighth consecutive top-20 hit in the country, although it was not as successful as the first two singles from
Ms. Kelly–"
Like This" and "
Work", both of which peaked within the top five.
Track listings US digital remix EP • "Daylight" (
Hex Hector Remix) – 8:30 • "Daylight" (
Maurice Joshua Nu Soul Remix) – 5:27 • "Daylight" (Karmatronic Remix) – 6:58 • "Daylight" (Loze Daze Remix) – 6:11 • "Daylight" (Dan McKie Nightlight Dub Mix) – 5:41
US digital download • "Daylight" (album version) – 3:34
UK CD single • "Daylight" (album version) – 3:33 • "Daylight" (Joey Negro Radio Edit) – 3:29
Charts Release history ==Other versions==