Boy George Uses AI to Reclaim ‘Karma Chameleon’ — and Some Control

More than forty years after “Karma Chameleon” topped charts, Boy George and Culture Club have issued a new version of the song — with an AI-assisted vocal designed to sound like the original 1983 recording. The re-record surfaces alongside the launch of Artist Included, a music technology company co-founded by Boy George’s manager Paul Kemsley and entertainment attorney Jeremy Rosen. The singer is creative director.

The trigger was a commercial sync license for Virgin Voyages, arranged through Richard Branson. Virgin Records released the band’s early work, and the deal paid an estimated $4 million. Around half went to the master recording rights holders; Boy George, who never owned the masters, walked away with an appearance fee. “Karma’s a bitch,” he told Rolling Stone. “Having some say over where it goes… it’s very exciting.”

To build the vocal, AI was trained on archival demos licensed from original producer Steve Levine, who had preserved them for decades. The instrumentation — guitars, bass, and additional players — was newly recorded by guitarist Roy Hay and bassist Mikey Craig. Only the lead vocal performance relies on AI. The result is warmer, a little lower in the mix, and faithful enough to feel like a carefully handled remaster.

Boy George described the difficulty of replicating his 22-year-old self: “You listen to where you put the voice: in your nose or your throat or chest. What you do instinctively as a 22-year-old, you don’t do as a 40-year-old or a 65-year-old.” The re-record, he said, allowed him to revisit a performance style long buried by decades of live renditions.