David Byrne has praised Selena Gomez after the pop star sampled Talking Heads on new latest single ‘Bad Liar’.
The song borrows Tina Weymouth’s bassline from the 1977 new wave classic ‘Psycho Killer’. It was co-written by songwriters Justin Tranter and Julia Michaels, who also worked with Gomez on her 2015 album ‘Revival’.
“Selena and Julia are Talking Heads-obsessed,” co-writer Tranter recently told Variety. “So when we all got together in one room, Julia suggested, ‘Why don’t we just write over the bassline from ‘Psycho Killer?’ and we were all going, ‘That sounds great!'”
Tranter also revealed that Talking Heads’ David Byrne has given ‘Bad Liar’ his seal of approval, saying: “He heard it, loved it and approved it. Which was a pretty crazy moment for us. To have David Byrne listed next to our names is just so cool.”
Now Byrne has issued his own response, writing on Twitter: “I really like the song… and her performance too”. See that tweet below.
Bassist Weymouth, meanwhile, has said: “It’s good to be appreciated”.
I really like the song…and her performance too.#selenagomez #BadLiar #psychokiller
— DavidByrne.com (@DBtodomundo) May 18, 2017
Hear ‘Bad Liar’ beneath:
Earlier this month, Gomez confirmed that 13 Reasons Why, the controversial Netflix show she exec-produces, will return for a second season.
13 Reasons Why, based on Jay Asher’s 2007 novel of the same name, has attracted criticism because of its allegedly ‘glamorised’ handling of suicide and mental health issues.
Last month, Australian mental health charity headspace warned that the show contained “dangerous content” – an accusation which was later disputed by the show’s writer Nic Sheff.
Gomez herself has also commented on the controversy, stating: “It’s not an easy subject to talk about, but I’m very fortunate with how it’s doing.”