What do you think of this remake of “You Don’t Own Me”?
An 18-year-old singer from Brisbane has reordered a new version Lesley Gore’s feminist anthem, You Don’t Own Me. Before you listen to it using the link below, we’ll be upfront and tell you: there’s rap involved BUT also involved is Quincy Jones, the guy who produced the original song in all it’s sexy defiance.
When she hits the chorus, Grace Sewell, who is generally known simply as Grace, she lets it rip and, you know what? We reckon she does a pretty good job of capturing the spirit of the 1963 hit song.
Billboard magazine describes Grace’s delivery as having “the toughness of Janis Joplin and the sultry moodiness of Joss Stone”. The song is given a modern twist with lyrics from Oakland rapper G-Eazy.
Grace met legendary producer Quincy Jones at a charity banquet last year, he had previously heard some of her work and suggested “You Don’t Own Me” because Lesley Gore was exactly Grace’s age when she and they recorded it.
Grace told Billboard magazine she was determined the song have the same impact on today’s young women as it did 50 years ago.
“I wanted girls to drive in their car and sing it in the shower the same way I imagine they did decades ago,” she said. “I wanted younger generations to feel revived by that”.
“It’s difficult to be a woman in this industry. I’m around men all day. But I know who I am and what I want to do, and this song speaks to that. It’s so important to go after what you want, to be strong. Lesley’s generation paved the way, so I felt like this was a way to say thank you and to keep that momentum going.”
Explore More
Book Confidently With Us
Pay safely with us
Proudly Australian owned and operated