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Elvis Costello is re-releasing his classic This Year’s Model album — but this year’s version erases his vocals and replaces him with Spanish-language singers. A video of Juanes performing “Pump it Up” was released Thursday (June 15), preceding the full version of Spanish Model due to come out on Sept. 10.
Producer Sebastian Krys kept, and remixed, the original instrumental tracks recorded by Costello and his backing band, the Attractions. Besides Juanes, other vocalists include Fito Paez, Luis Fonsi, Sebastian Yatra and Jesse & Joy. Originally released in 1978, This Year’s Model was Costello’s second album and first with the Attractions. With its furious sound and blistering pace, Costello described it as an album about control and “desire and how that relates to love, fashion and the male gaze towards women.”
“I don’t think there’s anything that somebody in another language would not have encountered,” he said. He said in a news release that he was inspired by television producer David Simon’s request that he record his song “This Year’s Girl” as a duet with singer Natalie Bergman for his show The Deuce.
He said he had a dream where he heard This Year’s Model sung in Spanish. Juanes had just worked with Krys on his latest album, Origen. He told The Associated Press that he could hear Costello’s breathing in the mix used for his vocals. “The video is very particular, too,” Juanes said, “because it’s an animation over the original. I mean, it’s the original video, but with my face. It’s a bit crazy, but it’s really cool. The same body of Elvis dancing to the song, but with my face.”
Spanish Model includes versions of “Mentira” (Lip Service) sung by Pablo Lopez, “La Chica de Hoy” (This Year’s Girl) by Cami and “Tu Eres Para Mi” (You Belong to Me) by Fonsi. Costello has teased the concept of bilingual releases recently, with Iggy Pop singing a French version of Costello’s song “No Flag.” “Part of the fun of this project is its unexpected nature,” Costello said. “Although, I think people in my audience that have been paying attention are pretty much used to surprises by now.”
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