So, @taylorswift13's #LookWhatYouMadeMeDo kindof reminds me of something. Wait for it... pic.twitter.com/oC8RnBFsfQ
— Chase Holfelder (@chaseholfelder) August 25, 2017
Taylor Swift's new single "Look What You Made Me Do" — all wobbling bass and phoenix from the flames imagery — is everywhere. And with its release brings the welcome return of one of the '90s's most likeable and infectious one hit wonders: British trio Right Said Fred's shirts-off gay club anthem "I'm Too Sexy," which hit number two in the U.K. charts in 1991.
Right Said Fred's members Richard Fairbrass, Fred Fairbrass, and Rob Manzoli are all credited as co-writers on "Look What You Made Me Do," alongside Swift and her regular collaborator Jack Antonoff. Presumably, that's due to the minimal, beat-driven hook of Swift's track sounding strikingly similar to the jubilant chorus of "I'm Too Sexy."
When Swift unleashed her single early Friday morning, the Fairbrass brothers seemed pretty excited about this:
Thank you @taylorswift13 ❤️ what a marvellous reinvention! #imtoosexy #lookwhatyoumademedo https://t.co/malXQ8uMQe
— Right Said Fred (@TheFreds) August 25, 2017
On Friday morning, a rep for Right Said Fred explained via email to The FADER: "The boys did not work with Taylor directly. Taylor and her team reached out to the guys about using the track and Right Said Fred were happy to oblige; they like what she does and are very pleased with Taylor’s interpolation." Also via email, a rep for Swift clarified to The FADER: "'Look What You Made Me Do' includes an interpolation of 'I'm Too Sexy' — it doesn’t sample it."
In The Washington Post, journalist Emily Yahr compared Right Said Fred's (presumably lucrative) co-write credits on Swift’s single to other recent examples of artists retroactively crediting other songs on their megahits. For instance, when Ed Sheeran added TLC as co-writers on "Shape Of You" this year, acknowledging that it sounds pretty similar to "No Scrubs."
Whatever your feelings about Swift’s single — which Twitter users have also likened in sound to Lorde and Black Eyed Peas’s “My Humps” — it's never a bad time to revisit the “I’m Too Sexy” video with its playful satire of the fashion world, including tank tops being ripped off, tiger print underwear, and more oiled up pecs than gay pride night at London LGBTQ club Heaven. Watch it below:
Thumbnail image via YouTube.
