Rick Astley’s 1987 dance-pop hit “Never Gonna Give You Up” was extremely popular when it was released, but gained a new status in the 21st century as the internet’s favorite song to prank people with. But Bronze Avery, the sultry pop artist based out of Los Angeles, wants to give the track credit where credit is due.
Avery recorded his own cover of Astley’s smash-hit song (premiering below) to remind his audience that while it may have become a funny meme, the song itself is a tender ode to love. “The original is such a gorgeous song, and I’m glad it achieved so much success,” he tells Billboard. “I just wanted to change the perspective from it being something humorous back to the intent of its original creation.”
The singer’s rendition of the song trades the iconic synthesized drums from the original for a smoother, sexier 808 beat, with synthesizers and light pianos making up the rest of the cover’s euphoric sound. Avery says he understands that many other covers of this song exist, which is exactly why he wanted to try something different.
“I’m usually not a huge fan of covers, but this one stuck out to me as something I could easily add my stylistic flair and sound to while avoiding the stereotypes of covers that just make a song sound a little sadder and add an acoustic guitar,” he says.
Avery even took the liberty to completely scrap the track’s second verse, subbing in his own new melodies and lyrics to give the song a more modern and personal taste. “I just wanna show you off/You ain’t never had nothing like this/Romance hiding in a first kiss,” he sings, displaying his own lyrical acumen.
Avery says that the original song only hinted at flirtatiousness, while he tends to offer a more candid point of view through his music. “In the original version, the second verse hints at the same flirty ideas, but I tend to be a little more direct and actionable,” he says. “Lyrically and melodically showing that side of my personality, even if just for 30 seconds, really completes the entire arrangement for me.”
While the cover easily finds itself within the category of R&B, Avery says that his inspiration for this song and many of his own original songs, like “Leave Together” and “Pressure,” comes from a variety of different genres. “We live in such a great time where all musical styles are blending and mixing to create some of the most sonically diverse music of all time, but that can’t continue to happen if artists are scared to evolve out of their lane,” he says.
Listen to Avery’s new cover of “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley below: