Singer/songwriter Sondre Lerche puts a new spin on hits by Miley Cyrus, Bob Dylan, Doja Cat, and more on his upcoming LP. Set for release this Friday (October 20), Understudy is a compilation of the Norwegian native’s yearly pop cover, released every Christmas season.
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Over the past ten years, the 41-year-old talent has gone into the studio with his friend and talented producer Matias Téllez while at home for the holidays.
“The ritual started just as I was about to finalize the recording of my Please album — which, for me, was truly a game-changing album,” Lerche shared in a statement. “I remember recording the vocals for ‘Sentimentalist’ earlier on the day we recorded ‘Wrecking Ball,’ the oldest recording on Understudy, captured in December 2013. We didn’t have much time left that night cause we had gotten carried away in this fantastic new process and collaboration.
“To me, these recordings depict Matias and I building a friendship and a language in the studio—a mutual infatuation with the possibilities of the studio and [the] fun we have exploring together,” he added. “Hearing all ten of them in sequence now, starting with the most recent one and slowly moving backwards in time, almost feels like time travel — in ways both deeply personal and as tiny glimpses into the ever-evolving path of large-scale pop music.”
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The 10-track project will be available to purchase in vinyl format available to pre-order now. The album’s digital format will include five additional cover songs, including renditions of Beyoncé‘s “Countdown” and Madonna‘s “Take a Bow.”
To accompany his album announcement, Lerche has also released a new video for his take on Taylor Swift‘s “Anti-Hero,” initially released in December 2022.
Watch Sondre Lerche’s official music video for “Anti-Hero” below:
Understudy Track List
1. “Anti-Hero” (Taylor Swift)
2. “Kiss Me More” (Doja Cat)
3. “Rain on Me” (Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande)
4. “I Contain Multitudes” (Bob Dylan)
5. “thank u, next” (Ariana Grande)
6. “Bad Liar” (Selena Gomez)
7. “Into You” (Ariana Grande)
8. “Hotline Bling” (Drake)
9. “Chandelier” (Sia)
10. “Wrecking Ball” (Miley Cyrus)
Bonus Tracks (digital version only):
11. “The Plague” (Scott Walker)
12. “Take a Bow” (Madonna)
13. “Moving the River” (Prefab Sprout)
14. “Countdown” (Beyonce)
15. “Moon River” (Henry Mancini)
Photo by Tonje Thilesen, Courtesy of Missing Piece Group
