How Skylar Grey and David Guetta got together is probably a lot different from how Sonny and Cher did.
“We met at a sushi restaurant in LA,” Grey told Billboard this past weekend at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The singer, who recently became a Utah resident, was in Park City, among other things, perform with Kasakde.
According to Grey, Guetta was familiar with her work as a songwriter and vocalist but didn’t know what she looked like until they met.
“I guess he thought I was really unattractive and overweight,” Grey explains. “He’s like ‘oh, you’re not fat and ugly we can keep you on the song!’”
While perplexed by his response, Grey was quick to move on from the awkward moment.
“I was like, you’re French, you’re forgiven,” she explains. “He’s actually really fun to work with.”
Grey’s version of the 1966 Bono-penned Cher classic is re-titled “Shot Me Down.” Listen to it here. With its electric guitar and freeform tempo during the verses, it pays more homage to the Nancy Sinatra version of the song than Cher’s. Sinatra also recorded her version of “Bang Bang” in ’66, the same year Cher’s hit No. 2 on the Hot 100, but it wasn’t released as a single. After being featured in “Kill Bill Vol. 1” in 2003, Sinatra’s version enjoyed a surge in popularity.
“That’s one of my favorite songs,” Grey said. “It was really a cool thing to do. We worked on some other stuff, but who knows what will happen with that right now.”
In addition to working with Guetta and Kaskade, Moby also tapped Grey for a contribution to his recent album, “Innocents.” Her cover of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted To Love” is featured in the trailer for upcoming romantic drama “Endless Love” and expected to appear on its soundtrack as well.
“Shot Me Down” is out today through Guetta’s own Jack Back Records, exclusively on Beatport.
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