David Byrne has shared another single from his upcoming solo album, Who is the Sky? The latest is the track “What is the Reason For It?,” a collaboration with Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams.
“When we were finishing up the record, the producer Kid Harpoon and I were wondering, ‘Oh, maybe this song, it’s a love song, or at least it’s asking what is love, what it’s about?'” Byrne told People. “Why do we do this? Why do other people do it? Do we know anything about it?”
Byrne and Williams have stayed in touch since Paramore covered “Burning Down the House” for a 2024 album in celebration of the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. He tells People he simply texted Williams to see if she wanted to sing on “What is the Reason For It?” and she agreed, with Byrne adding, “She killed it.”
“What is the Reason For It?” is available now via digital outlets. A video, which uses AI to animate original drawings by Byrne, is streaming on YouTube.
Who is the Sky?, Byrne’s first solo album since 2018’s American Utopia, drops Friday.
Byrne is set to kick off a new tour in support of the album on Sept. 14 in Providence, Rhode Island, wrapping with two nights in Miami on Dec. 5 and 6. A complete list of dates can be found at DavidByrne.com.
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