Sondre Lersch announced an album of covers called Understudy, it’s coming out this Friday. In it he offers his take on the hits Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, Doja Cat, Drake, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus, Sia and more. There’s also a bonus digital EP with covers of Beyoncé, Prefab Sprout, Scott Walker, Madonna & blackberry.
Sondre explains the album’s origins: “Over the last ten years, it’s been one of the few constants in my life: every Christmas when I get home – usually December 21st or 22nd – I get together with my friend and producer Mathias. Telles (girlinred, Maisie Peters, Young Dreams) in his studio in Bergen to record a cover of his favorite hit of the past year,” he says. “The ritual began just as I was about to finish recording my performance. Please an album that was truly a game changer for me. I remember recording vocals for “Sentimentalist” earlier on the day we recorded “Wrecking Ball,” the oldest track on the album. Understudyphotographed in December 2013. We didn’t have much time that night because we were so caught up in this fantastic new process and collaboration.”
He continues: “These 10 covers are in keeping with the exploration and temperament that underpinned several subsequent albums, starting with PleaseStreet Pleasure (“Into You” and “Hotline Bling”), Patience (“Bad Liar” and “Thank You, Next”), as well as last year’s Avatars of love (“I Contain Multitudes” and “Antihero”). For me, these recordings show how Mathias and I build a friendship and language in the studio—a mutual fascination with the possibilities of the studio and the fun we explore together. Listening to all ten of them in succession now, starting with the most recent and slowly moving back in time, is almost like traveling back in time – in the sense of being both deeply personal and a tiny glimpse into the ever-evolving trajectory of large-scale pop music. »
Sondre shared his version of Taylor Swift’s “Antihero,” as well as a video featuring clips from his videography. Check it out with Understudycover and tracklist below.
In other news, Sondre is busy playing Christian, one of the leads in the Norwegian production of the Broadway play. Moulin Rouge: The Musical! “2014’s song, Sia’s head-scratching “Chandelier,” also came with a premonition: I’ll be singing it on stage almost every night this fall, immersed in the absinthe-soaked suicidal tragedy of Moulin rouge! Musical, here in Oslo. The past decade has been the most exciting, amazing and rewarding of my life. I can’t wait to see what songs I’ll include on Volume 2 of Understudy in ten years.”
Understudy:
01) Antihero (Taylor Swift)
02) Kiss me more (Doja Cat)
03) Rain On Me (Lady Gaga/Ariana Grande)
04) I Hold Many (Bob Dylan)
05) thank you, next (Ariana Grande)
06) Bad Liar (Selena Gomez)
07) Into You (Ariana Grande)
08) Hotline Bling (Drake)
09) Chandelier (Sia)
10) Wrecking Ball (Miley Cyrus)
Bonus tracks (digital only):
11) Plague (Scott Walker)
12) Take a bow (Madonna)
13) Moving the river (prefabricated sprout)
14) Countdown (Beyoncé)
15) Moon River (Henry Mancini)