Boy George on Recreating 'Karma Chameleon' with AI: 'Control, Leverage, and Changing How Legacy Artists Get Paid'

More than 40 years after its original release, Boy George and Culture Club have rerecorded their chart-topping hit, 'Karma Chameleon,' using AI to recreate the vocal characteristics of the original 1983 recording. The rerecord marks the launch of Artist Included, a music technology company co-founded by Boy George's manager, Paul Kemsley, and entertainment attorney and film producer Jeremy Rosen. Boy George serves as creative director.

Asked why he decided to recreate the song, Boy George has a simple answer: 'Control! Having some say over where it goes. 'Karma Chameleon' is a secret weapon. It's a song you starve the audience for because they want to hear it, and live, it's always been a real pleasure to sing it.

The idea for the rerecord was prompted by a commercial sync license for 'Karma Chameleon' involving Richard Branson for Virgin Voyages. Culture Club signed to Branson's Virgin Records in 1982, and Boy George has maintained a close relationship with the entrepreneur ever since.

According to Kemsley, Branson paid approximately $4 million for the deal, while Boy George received only an appearance fee because he has never owned the masters for his biggest song. 'Karma's a bitch,' Boy George states. 'When we wrote that song, we weren't looking 40 years ahead. We weren't thinking of longevity. That song, because of the context of when it was recorded, the social feeling has stayed with people. It's become part of people's lives.

The rerecord has a warmer vocal tone and sits slightly lower in the mix than the original, but is faithful enough to it that it plays like a remaster. The rerecording was produced by JJ Blair and Culture Club's guitarist Roy Hay with additional production by the song's original producer, Steve Levine.

Kemsley frames the project as an attempt to rebalance longstanding industry economics. 'This record has been making millions of dollars for almost 45 years, and George hasn't,' says Kemsley. 'The whole thing seems terribly unjust. You sign your life away at the age of 22, then have to wait 35 years to get the reversions, but you still don't get any master recording income.

Considering Culture Club's acrimonious split with their former drummer, Jon Moss, which resulted in a hefty settlement, rerecords of their songs also have the benefit of bypassing the need for his approval to use the original master recordings, which have four-way songwriting credit between its members.

The next song queued up for rerecord is another signature Culture Club hit, 'Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,' and Artist Included's AI is primed, having retained Boy George's voice for training purposes.