Q-Tip and Demi Lovato released a silky, Motown-inspired rendition of Elton John‘s “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” one of the inventive new covers featured on the upcoming John tribute compilation, Revamp.
The duo also unveiled the music video for the cover of the Number One hit that originally paired John with singer Kiki Dee. The new visual, directed by Hector Dockrill, is inspired by the documentary Paris Is Burning as well as the voguing scene in London and Paris. Neither Q-Tip or Lovato appear in the video.
“Elton’s influence shows you that the possibilities of music are endless,” Q-Tip said in a statement. “He’s astute in so many types of music, he does it all and being a hip hop kid, our whole aesthetic was that everything was up for grabs and that’s how he has always been to me. I remember the premiere of ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ with Kiki Dee and seeing it as a kid and loving it … Rhythmically, we just wanted to make it a little funkier.”
Lovato added, “‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ is such a classic, it’s just always been around me – I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work on this. Elton’s such an icon, a legend, I’m honored to be a part of Revamp.“
A pair of star-studded John tribute compilations, Revamp and Restoration, arrive on April 6th; the former features pop artists like Lady Gaga, the Killers, Ed Sheeran and Coldplay “revamping” John hits, while the latter puts John’s classic songs through a country music prism with artists like Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton (“I Want Love”) and Kacey Musgraves.
John talked about Revamp and Q-Tip’s “fantastic” reworking of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” in an accompanying video:
