If there was one thing the MTV Video Music Awards were truly missing on Sunday night, it was Katy Perry. Yeah yeah, we know the Prism singer and Super Bowl Halftime Show performer didn’t release any new music in the past year, but hell, at least get the girl a good seat in the audience. Instead, of attending the VMAs, Perry apparently partied with fellow VMAs-snub Rihanna in NYC.
But the pop music gods are careful to not deprave us of Katy Perry for too long, and today have brought her music back into our brains by way of an excellent cover of 2008 hit “Hot N Cold” from New York electronic artist Empress Of. While Empress Of has a new record out next week — Me drops September 11 on XL Recordings/Terrible Records — this icy synth-pop cover is making us sweat.
“I love her,” Lorely Rodriguez, a.k.a. Empress Of, tells Rookie Mag in an extended Q&A that’s worth a full read. “She’s brilliant! I was thinking of songs [to record for the theme], and I was like Oh, I’ll do Johnny Cash. Then I thought about doing something direct, to the point, and really fun to cover. As an artist, I’m generally drawn to very obvious things, hence calling my album Me.”
Listen to the cover via Rookie Mag’s Soundcloud below, and see Empress Of live when she plays Great Scott in Allston on September 16.
I did a cover of 'Hot N Cold' by @katyperry for @RookieMag ???? http://t.co/BqlimEBja2 pic.twitter.com/Z8Q168ehD4
— Empress Of (@EmpressOf) August 31, 2015