British musician, songwriter, DJ, and “The Voice UK” coach Boy George has revealed why he has used artificial intelligence to record a new version of the iconic “Karma Chameleon” for his 65th birthday.
The 80s legend — whose real name is George Alan O’Dowd — first released the song along with his band, Culture Club, in 1983. It reached number one in the charts in the likes of the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and many more countries.
Boy George turned 65 on Sunday, June 14. He opted to put a new spin on the track to mark the occasion.
In a recent conversation with People, the star explained his reasons for doing so.
Boy George Says He Has Always ‘Embraced New Things’
GettyIn his chat with People, Boy George explained that he has always “embraced new things,” which prompted him to start experimenting with artificial intelligence. He now uses AI a lot in his musical work.
Referring to his writing and recording processes in the past, the star said, “There was no real technology like there is now. So, there was a lot of echoes used, a lot of reverbs, a lot of trickery was used if you weren’t perfectly in tune.”
He says that, when an opportunity arose to create a version of “Karma Chameleon” with new, original vocals from both himself and AI technology, he couldn’t resist going ahead with it. George also aimed to make it sound as close to the original version as possible.
George Performed the New Version Like an ‘Irish Drunk’
Boy George added, “I had to sing it with the same nuance that I did when I was 22, because over the years, you perform a song millions of times, it changes shape, it becomes something else. I would say it gets more bluesy. So it was really fun to go in, and [almost be] sort of Irish drunk singing along to your own song in a pub.”
He continued, “Karma Chameleon as a song, it’s massively powerful and iconic in connection to who I am and what I’ve created. And to have some control over it, it’s invigorating. It makes me feel excited about the song again. To have control over singing this song is very exciting, and something I never thought would be possible.”
The star worked with the song’s original producer, Steve Levine, to create the new version. It marks the launch of a new artist-first AI music company, Artist Included, which will focus on creator ownership and ethical re-recordings. It’ll certainly be interesting to see what else the new company has in store going forward.
Boy George Is Currently Touring With Culture Club
Boy George is currently enjoying an extremely busy 2026.
Per Culture Club’s official website, the band — Boy George included — are currently on tour.
Their next show will occur on Tuesday, June 16, in New York City. Other upcoming gigs will take place in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, amongst other locations.
Perhaps most excitingly, however, is the band’s singles tour, which will hit their native United Kingdom in December.
The group will be joined on that tour by special guests ABC. It starts on Monday, December 7, in Bournemouth, and ends on Saturday, December 19, in London. Gigs in between those two include dates in Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Birmingham.
Culture Club fans will be excited to see Boy George and his band back touring the United Kingdom. We wish them well with the tour. We also hope Boy George’s rework of “Karma Chameleon” proves as popular as the original.
