Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ “This Year’s Girl”Gets Turned On Its Head With Spanish Language Interpretation, “La Chica De Hoy,” By Chilean Pop Star, Cami
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LOS ANGELES — August 6, 2021 — In 2018, Elvis Costello had a dream where he heard his entire This Year’s Model album performed in Spanish. He reached out to frequent collaborator, Argentinian-born, Latin GRAMMY Producer of the Year, Sebastian Krys about the idea, and it wasn’t long before the two were recruiting some of the biggest Latin rock and pop artists from around the globe to interpret these songs in Spanish, backed by Costello and The Attractions’ original performances, for the daring, first of its kind record, Spanish Model, due September 10 via UMe.
On Spanish Model, “This Year’s Girl,” or as it’s known on the record, “La Chica De Hoy,” has been turned on its head by Chilean Latin pop star Cami who offers an exciting and unique Spanish language interpretation and modern female perspective to the song. Written by Costello in 1978 about men’s lustful desires and society’s objectification of women, the song takes on a whole new meaning when sung from the point of view of a 23-year-old woman who is reclaiming the narrative. “La Chica De Hoy” bows today accompanied by a powerful video, shot and directed by Carolina Rizzotto, that takes a page from Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” as Cami holds up and rips up signs featuring the translated lyrics.
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“It is an honor for me to be invited to perform the Spanish version of the classic ‘This Year’s Girl’ by the maestro, Elvis Costello,” Cami said. “I consider myself part of a major change in the music industry regarding women and I feel like this song was very pioneering at the time, in the debate on gender equity. I am very thankful this type of song exists so we can engage in a dialogue and have a debate over subject matter that is still very relevant today. Women are grateful that lyrics like these exist for all of us. Elvis’s lyrics have meaning and they resonate and make you want to study the lyric to find out what he really meant to say in each phrase, that is beautiful. Elvis is an artist that I admire a lot. I grew up with his music and I even remember my dad singing to it during my childhood. However, the invitation to participate in this album was surprisingly good. I was in the studio recording my previous album and my producer Sebastian Krys invited me to participate. While recording the vocals, we tried not to change the lyrics from the original English version so much. As I expected, everything happened very naturally. There was something exceptional in our version that I'm so happy to share with you. I hope you enjoy it.”
Costello offers, “It's so fantastic to have a singer like Cami singing ‘This Year’s Girl.’ She’s got one of these voices where the microphone just loves her voice. It’s totally another story with a young woman singing it like this. Cami is telling her story, but she's so cool. It's such a hip way she's singing it, and it’s a tremendous piece of work from Sebastian.”
As Costello and Krys began to think of artists that would be a good fit, they discovered that This Year’s Model was an important record to many artists in the pan-Latin world, but its true nature had never been fully appreciated because of the language barrier. They enlisted many Costello fans, a few who Krys and Costello felt would be a great fit for the songs and all of whom have stellar careers and were excited to participate and bring their own styles to the immediacy and poignancy of the original songs, helping to create an entirely new listening experience.
Spanish Model features such artists as: Cami, Draco Rosa, Fito Páez, Francisca Valenzuela & Luis Humberto Navejas (lead singer of Enjambre), Gian Marco & Nicole Zignago, Jesse & Joy, Jorge Drexler, Juanes, La Marisoul, Luis Fonsi, Morat, Nina Diaz, Pablo López, Raquel Sofía & Fuego, Sebastián Yatra, andVega. They sing these timeless and universal songs, which have been expertly translated and adapted into Spanish to retain their meaning, energy, attitude, and wit.
The concept represents what may be a first: an artist replacing their vocals with newly recorded performances by other artists singing in another language, backed by the original music with 19 featured artists representing 10 countries and territories across the Spanish-speaking world including: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay, plus several from the United States.
The album includes 16 tracks drawing from the original U.S. version of This Year’s Model (“Pump It Up,” “Radio Radio,” “This Year’s Girl,” “The Beat”) plus several other songs from those sessions. The album will be available on CD, digitally and 180-gram vinyl.
This Year’s Model, which has been newly remastered, will also be released concurrently on CD and 180-gram black vinyl with the addition of “Big Tears” and “Radio Radio.” A limited edition version, that pairs both Spanish Model and the new pressing of This Year’s Model together as a 180-gram double LP, will be released exclusively via ElvisCostello.com, uDiscover and Sound Of Vinyl webstores.
Spanish Model was announced in July with the release of an exciting video from Colombian superstar Juanes, whose own recently released Origen album was also produced by Sebastian Krys and featured Pete Thomas on drums. His exhilarating performance of “Pump It Up,” (with its spitfire lyrics now in Spanish) manages to match the same intensity and feel as the original, while Costello’s original backing vocals provide the trademark chorus and an instant familiarity. The video plays on this by transforming Costello’s signature video by rotoscoping the original and inserting Juanes’ head in place of Costello’s to create a playfully updated version that’s a perfect blend of the old and new, that this daring album embodies. “'Pump It Up' is such an iconic and signature song from Elvis' amazing repertoire, that it was a real honor to have the chance to sing with the original 1978 recording and be a part of that propulsive energy," Juanes said.
Since releasing, My Aim Is True, in 1977, the always musically curious Costello has allowed himself to follow his artistic desires wherever it takes him, often into unpredictable yet exciting territory. Across more than four decades, the iconoclast has reveled in exploring the human condition through a wildly diverse catalog that includes collaborations with Burt Bacharach, Allen Toussaint, Paul McCartney, T Bone Burnett, Brodsky Quartet, Spinal Tap, Anne Sofie von Otter, The Roots and his wife, Diana Krall along with many others spanning a dizzying array of genres, from country and jazz to orchestral, pop, rock, experimental and beyond, all the while keeping his audiences on their toes. After winning a Grammy for Look Now, his 2018 album with The Imposters, Costello recently released a French language EP, featuring French adaptations by Iggy Pop, Isabelle Adjani, Tshegue, Etta Somatis & AJUQ of songs from his acclaimed 2020 album, Hey Clockface.
“Part of the fun of this project is its unexpected nature,” Costello said. “Although, I think people in my audience that have been paying attention are pretty much used to surprises by now.”
“When Elvis told me the idea,” Krys said, “it took me about 15 seconds to answer. I have been in so many situations where I was trying to turn Latin artists onto Elvis Costello's music. The feedback I heard most often was ‘I love it. I wish I knew what he was saying.’ Spanish Model is an opportunity to turn an entire side of the world onto this great record and through these voices, get these ideas out. Lyrically, This Year's Model is still relevant today, what the songs have to say and how they say it.”
Costello and Krys worked closely with all the artists and in some cases with several songwriters, including Elsten Torres, Ximena Muñoz, Luis Mitre, Andie Sandoval, and Vega, to adapt the lyrics so the Spanish versions would seamlessly capture each song. With the lyrics in place, each artist set out to record.
The translation was key as Luis Fonsi explained: “The lyrics felt really natural. Nothing stuck out, and you can’t just read it. You must sing the lyrics to really know if the song will work or not. From the first time I started singing ‘You Belong To Me,’ it just felt natural. It's true to the original lyric. It has that same energy.”
“It’s tricky,” Fonsi said, “because you want to respect the original version. I tip-toed my way around it. Do you veer off a little bit? What’s the perfect combination?”
“I had a blast singing ‘Triggers,’” La Marisoul said. “The translation was beautiful. I just love ballads where I can get down and sing.”
Costello first hinted about the release last year when he created an “October surprise” playlist, 50 Songs for 50 Days, which included a, briefly available, preview of Spanish Model with Gian Marco and Nicole Zignago’s politically charged version of “Crawling To The U.S.A.” Costello and Krys recently discussed the origins of Spanish Model at the 2021 Latin Alternative Music Conference last month.
“This Year’s Model is about desire and how that relates to love, fashion and to the male gaze towards women and control, especially in political control over us all,” Costello said. “I don't think there's anything that somebody in another language would not have encountered. Some of the lyrics might be a little obscure because I use peculiar English idioms, but I constantly fall in love with records in other languages in which I don't even know one or two courtesy words. What you respond to is the humanity, the pride, the sorrow, the celebration.”
Ultimately, Spanish Model echoes the personal journey of celebrating influences and inspirations that Costello has embarked upon in countless creative ways over the years, whether taking him outside his comfort zone, expanding his musical repertoire or, as with this project, discovering something new altogether.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions (with Various Artists) — SPANISH MODEL [CD + LP]
CD/DIGITAL
All Songs With Elvis Costello & The Attractions
1. No Action – Nina Diaz
2. (Yo No Quiero Ir A) Chelsea ((I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea) - Raquel Sofía y Fuego
3. Yo Te Vi (The Beat) – Draco Rosa
4. Pump It Up – Juanes
5. Detonantes (Little Triggers) – La Marisoul
6. Tu Eres Para Mi (You Belong To Me) – Luis Fonsi
7. Hand In Hand – Francisca Valenzuela y Luis Humberto Navejas
8. La Chica de Hoy (This Year's Girl) – Cami
9. Mentira (Lip Service) – Pablo López
10. Viviendo en el Paraiso (Living In Paradise) – Jesse & Joy
11. Lipstick Vogue – Morat
12. La Turba (Night Rally) – Jorge Drexler
13. Llorar (Big Tears) – Sebastián Yatra
14. Radio Radio – Fito Páez
15. Crawling To The U.S.A. - Gian Marco y Nicole Zignago
16. Se Esta Perdiendo La Inocencia (Running Out Of Angels) - Vega
LP
SIDE A
1. No Action – Nina Diaz
2. (Yo No Quiero Ir A) Chelsea ((I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea) - Raquel Sofía y Fuego
3. Yo Te Vi (The Beat) – Draco Rosa
4. Pump It Up – Juanes
5. Detonantes (Little Triggers) – La Marisoul
6. Tu Eres Para Mi (You Belong To Me) – Luis Fonsi
7. Hand In Hand – Francisca Valenzuela y Luis Humberto Navejas
8. La Chica de Hoy (This Year's Girl) – Cami
SIDE B
1. Mentira (Lip Service) – Pablo López
2. Viviendo en el Paraiso (Living In Paradise) – Jesse & Joy
3. Lipstick Vogue – Morat
4. La Turba (Night Rally) – Jorge Drexler
5. Llorar (Big Tears) – Sebastián Yatra
6. Radio Radio – Fito Páez
7. Crawling To The U.S.A. - Gian Marco y Nicole Zignago
8. Se Esta Perdiendo La Inocencia (Running Out Of Angels) – Vega
ELVIS COSTELLO
MEDIA CONTACTS
Tim Plumley, UMe, tim.plumley@umusic.com
Cathy Williams, 121 Communications LLC, cathy@121comm.com
Elvis Costello
Mark Satlof, Shore Fire Media, msatlof@shorefire.com
Hannah Schwartz, Shore Fire Media, hschwartz@shorefire.com