Karen O and Willie Nelson share cover of Queen and David Bowie’s ‘Under Pressure’

"I hope the song brings as much light to the listener as it has to me in dark times," the Yeah Yeah Yeahs singer says

Karen O and Willie Nelson have duetted on a new cover of ‘Under Pressure’ – hear it below.

Inspired by the imminent US election and released two days after the track celebrated its 39th birthday, the version of the Queen and David Bowie classic is produced by TV On The Radio‘s Dave Sitek.

The track also features guitars from Karen O’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs bandmate Nick Zinner alongside Imaad Wasif and Johnny Hanson, with backing vocals from Priscilla Ahn.

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“I’ve heard this song countless times without processing the gravity of what Bowie and Freddie were singing about, maybe because their performances are so exhilarating you get swept away in the high of that duet,” Karen said of the track in a statement.

“Our cover was meant to be more intimate but just as saturated with the power of love. I can’t listen to this song without tearing up every time Willie comes in, one of the purest voices which of course reflects a pure heart, and I get to sing alongside it.  I hope the song brings as much light to the listener as it has to me in dark times.”

Earlier this year, Karen O and Yeah Yeah Yeahs celebrated their 20th anniversary as a band with a special quarantine performance of their hit ‘Maps’.

“20 years, yeah yeah yeah!” she said during the performance. “Let me tell you something Covid-19, you cannot break these chains of love!”

Yeah Yeah Yeahs last released an album with 2013’s ‘Mosquito’. Earlier this year, Karen O said she was “ready to make” new music with the band.

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Willie Nelson, meanwhile, released his 70th studio album ‘First Rose Of Spring’ in July, which NME said “doesn’t sound like a man coming to the end of his prime, but one slap-bang in the middle of it”.

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