In what can best be described as a match made in country-pop crossover heaven, Orville Peck and Shania Twain have teamed up for a simmering summer duet.
Peck and Twain unveiled the music video for “Legends Never Die” on Friday. The clip, viewable above, finds the two Canadians dropping by a drive-in theater for an impromptu performance under the stars. Meanwhile, director John Waters and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” champion Jaida Essence Hall enjoy the show from their cars.
The video’s setting is particularly fitting, as country stars Keith Urban and Garth Brooks have recently opted to perform shows at drive-in theaters to facilitate social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Legends Never Die” appears on Peck’s six-song EP, “Show Pony,” which also dropped Friday. The masked singer-songwriter had originally planned to release new music in June, but pushed the project back to August in hopes of keeping the public’s focus on the Black Lives Matter movement.
According to press notes, Peck began writing “Show Pony” while on tour last year, finishing the recording process while in self-isolation during the COVID-19 crisis. Getting Twain to join him on “Legends Never Die,” he said, was “a dream come true.”
“This is a collection of stories and I hope listeners will join me in them,” he said. “I cannot thank Shania enough for being part of this; she has always been a hero of mine and her music made me feel so empowered growing up.”
Though Peck’s music has earned him favorable comparisons to Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, he remains an enigma to fans. The singer-songwriter, who is gay, has kept his identity a mystery by using a stage name and concealing his face behind a variety of leather-fringe masks.
Describing himself as “a cowboy since I was a kid,” Peck has continually dismissed critics who suggest his cryptic persona is is simply a marketing gimmick.
“There’s a lot of theatricality to what I do,” he told VICE, “and that’s purposeful.”
Catch the video for “Legends Never Die” below.