YMCA Australia has tapped Boy George to cover the iconic anthem “YMCA” by the Village People as part of its Why Not? campaign.
The campaign is meant to raise awareness for “issues young people are facing today,” including mental health and Australia’s ongoing battle for marriage equality.
When approached by the organization to cover the song, the Culture Club frontman told The Daily Telegraph he was skeptical.
“I thought absolutely not. How could you cover that song?” Boy George says. “The thing about covering songs, you have to get inside the song and see if it works and when I started to listen to the lyrics they were weirdly revealing.”
CEO of YMCA Australia told the Guardian that the YMCA, which has never capitalized on the same-name 1978 hit in almost 40 years, finally decided to use the song for its benefit.
“We had a big conversation about how we can be a social movement for young people,” Melinda Crole, CEO of YMCA in Australia, told the Guardian. “One of the assets we had was the recognizable ‘YMCA’ song. When you are introduced as working for the YMCA, you always got the arm movements.”
Watch below.
