Key Points
- Tears for Fears, formed in 1981, produced enduring hits like “Mad World.”
- Curt Smith and daughter Diva’s 2020 acoustic “Mad World” cover is going viral again.
- Diva Smith has launched her solo music career with singles released in 2025.
When it comes to iconic bands from the 1980s like Tears for Fears, hits like “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout” never go out of style. The band, which consisted of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, who met as teenagers in England, formed Tears for Fears in 1981 and achieved major success throughout the 1980s. While the duo broke up in the early 1990s and reconvened in the early 2000s, Smith has also found success alongside another guitar-playing singer, his eldest daughter Diva Smith, 26.
In 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Curt Smith and daughter Diva, then a budding singer-songwriter with her dad’s gift for the guitar, recorded and shared a stunning acoustic version of the 1982 Tears for Fears hit “Mad World” from the band’s 1983 debut album The Hurting.
The clip features both Curt and Diva on guitar and vocals, but it’s Diva’s pitch-perfect harmonies alongside her dad’s still-crystal-clear voice that caught fans’ attention. The duo’s cover is going viral again, with fans calling it “one of the most touching family performances of that time.”
The cover was recorded at home, which adds to the simplicity and intimacy of the song.
“Mad World”: A Tears for Fears Classic
Written by Orzabal and sung by Curt Smith, “Mad World” reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart in November 1982. In the U.S., reception to the timeless track did not make a major impact. Over time, covers by Gary Jules for the 2001 film Donnie Darko and Diva and Curt’s cover have given the song new life and a new audience.
Diva Smith Carves Out Her Own Music Career
Diva Smith, 26, is the daughter of the Tears for Fears frontman and Frances Pennington. A musician in her own right, Diva Smith released the single “I Can See in the Dark” in May 2025 and released two more singles earlier the same year.
Judging by her stunning harmonies and melodic guitar playing on her and her father’s “Mad World” cover, fans can expect a long career ahead for Diva Smith. Hopefully, that means more duets with dad, too.
About the author
Trending News Writer, Parade
Meredith is a celebrity news writer on the trending news team for Parade. She has been a content creator and strategist, creating viral content celebrating celebrity news, athlete’s lifestyle and families, since 2010.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source parade.com ’
