Originally a cover of 1960’s American singer, songwriter, actress and activist Lesley Gore’s track of the same name, this 1960’s feminist anthem has a new sound thanks to Broadway actress Kristin Chenoweth and pop icon Ariana Grande.
The cover has the same classic sound, but featuring Chenoweth’s incredible vocal range and Grande’s angelic high-pitch, “You Don’t Own Me” is the modern take on this iconic track. The song appears on Chenoweth’s latest 2019 album: “For the Girls”, which features 14 tracks. Speaking to Billboard.com about the track on the 27th September 2019, Chenoweth discussed the process of creating the song and working with Grande: “It didn’t get cooking during that time, but as I was looking at the songs and the singers who sing them, I was like, “Ariana’s a lot like Lesley Gore, she could play her life.” Like, I would love to see her in a biopic about Lesley Gore. There’s something old school about Ariana where she is this old soul. Then I was looking Lesley’s [1963] “You Don’t Own Me,” and the words to it. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, both of us need to be singing this song. I actually originally recorded it as a solo, and realized I needed a partner, and thought it’d be cool to get her. I know she’s busy, and she’s the biggest star on the planet and I never expected her to say yes, but she did. I wanted to get in an old-school and new-school vibe with Ariana, and I think we achieved that – especially with additions like an old-school orchestra and an electric guitar.” On the 26th September, Grande tweeted about her love for Chenoweth and her excitement for the track: “i have always loved you and i always will @kchenoweth <3 congratulations on your new album and thank you from the bottom of my heart for having me be a part ! i truly can’t put into words how much it means to me ! i truly can’t believe this is even real”.
The lyric video was uploaded to YouTube via Chenoweth’s channel on the 27th September 2019. It is done in the style of a classic comic book, featuring both Grande and Chenoweth as comic cartoons, with speech bubbles consisting of lyrics from the track. As of the 7th October 2019, the video has over 1.6 million views and over 122 thousand likes.
Release Date: 27th September 2019
Songwriter/s: John Madara & Dave White
Producer/s: Jon Allen & Steve Tyrell
Label/s: Concord
Music Video Release Date: 27th September 2019
Chart Rankings: “You Don’t Own Me” has entered the Canadian, US and UK charts. Since it is a new release, the song has not yet managed to gain a position on the charts.
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