Dermot Kennedy has revamped Taylor Swift’s latest hit single, “Anti-Hero,” sharing his spin on the track in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge.
The Irish singer-songwriter performed a cover of the chart-topping Midnights track while in session for the British radio station yesterday (November 15), ahead of the release of his new album, Sonder.
Kennedy’s take on “Anti-Hero” saw him accompanied by a poignant piano foundation, backing vocals, and guitar. “What a song,” he wrote on Twitter afterwards. “Honored to cover it @taylorswift13. Thanks for the kind words everyone.”
The star’s stripped-back take on Swift’s single isn’t the first reworking to be shared since the song’s release. Remixes have come in thick and fast from Roosevelt, Girl Talk, Kungs, and Jayda G, while Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff appeared on an updated spin on the track.
Meanwhile, Kennedy announced a new raft of North American dates last month in support of his new album, Sonder. The run will kick off in Vancouver, BC, on May 6 and will feature stops at Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and more. Before that tour, Kennedy will journey across the UK in March and April.
Sonder will arrive on Friday (November 18), with the record’s title referring to the understanding that every person you encounter has a life as complex and vivid as your own. “The meaning behind Sonder has resonated with me so much for years,” Kennedy said when announcing the album earlier this year.
“I exist in an industry where we’re encouraged to constantly only think about ourselves, and I find that exhausting and uninspiring,” he added in the statement. “I want to learn about you. Let us share all of our triumphs, all of our troubles. Let this music belong to all of us, to find our own stories and our own solace within it.”