Maren Morris – “Dancing With Myself” (Billy Idol Cover)

Maren Morris – “Dancing With Myself” (Billy Idol Cover)

Last year, the great country star Maren Morris dramatically announced her departure from the country music mainstream, releasing a pair of singles that took veiled shots at her right-wing peers and indicated that she’s moving on to other things. Thus far, those other things include a single with Diplo and a Verizon-sponsored Billy Idol cover. I don’t know, man. We all have to find our own way in this world.

You know “Dancing With Myself.” Billy Idol’s old punk band Generation X released the original version of the song in 1980, and that song was then remixed and released as Idol’s first solo single a year later. “Dancing With Myself” wasn’t a big hit at the time, but as Idol became a big star, it never left radio rotation. The song is widely rumored to be a masturbation anthem, but that’s never been confirmed.

The Maren Morris version of “Dancing With Myself” is significantly less rambunctious and more serene, and it does not seem likely to incite much dancing. BusinessWire reports that the song is coming out as part of the Verizon subsidiary Visible Wireless’ efforts to recognize something called Singles Awareness Day, which I guess is supposed to be like Valentine’s Day for unattached people. It arrives days after Beyoncé launched her country era with her own Verizon commercial. Morris filmed the video at the famous Nashville used record store Grimey’s. You can hear the Maren Morris and Billy Idol versions of “Dancing With Myself” below.

Check out our We’ve Got A File On You interview with Maren Morris here.

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