Rod Stewart Joins DNCE For ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy’ Remake, Issues Final Nail In The Coffin To His Rock Career

Rod Stewart said goodbye to his career as a rock star a while ago—his Great American Songbook albums pretty much confirmed that—but now he has put the final nail in his rock ‘n roll coffin. Stewart has teamed up with Joe Jonas’ dance-pop band DNCE for a remake of one of his most divisive songs, the 1979 disco hit “Do You Think I’m Sexy.” The song by the odd coupling, who both work under Republic Records, is set for release on Aug. 25 with a performance slated for the Aug. 27 MTV Video Music Awards, according to Variety.

In case you need a refresher, the original “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” was released by Rod Stewart in 1979 on his album Blondes Have More Fun, a decade after he became famous for his work with the Jeff Beck Group and the Faces and a solo rock career that included hits like “Hot Legs” and “Every Picture Tells a Story.” But by 1978, Stewart went the disco route with Blondes Have More Fun, and critics had a field day over it. “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” remains one of the most hated songs by Rod Stewart diehards who never forgave him for selling out during the disco era.

In a 2013 interview with Siris XM’s The Blend, Rod Stewart admitted he didn’t always like performing “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” in concert back in the day because die-hard rock fans in 1979 didn’t like it. He called the song “a bit of an albatross.”

“I wanted to do a dance record, simple as that,” Stewart explained.

While the disco music and leopard print jumpsuit didn’t help Stewart’s cause, part of the backlash against “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” had to do with the message the song seemed to send. But Stewart says he was simply misunderstood.

“The song wasn’t about me [asking] ‘do you think I’m sexy?'” Rod explained.

“I was observing two people. I was in the third person…That’s where the mistake is. How egotistical would that be?”

Stewart also revealed that, nearly 40 years later, he now he closes his shows with “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy.”

“It’s almost like my novelty song,” Rod revealed. “Everybody loves it.”

Rod Stewart didn’t go the Rolling Stones route and continue his rock career after his heyday as a heart throb. Instead, Rod recorded a series of Great American Songbook albums, crooning covers of songs penned by George Gershwin and Cole Porter, but he did make a return to his rock ‘n roll routes a decade ago, with the release of Still the Same: Great Rock Classics of Our Time. Stewart’s 2006 album of rock remakes debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, thanks to his cover of CCR’s “Have You Ever See the Rain?”

DNCE, which features Jonas brother Joe Jonas on lead vocals, is best known for the breakout hit “Cake By The Ocean,” but now they can add “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” to their concert play list.

You can hear a preview of Rod Stewart and DNCE’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy” collaboration below.

[Featured Image by Raphael Dias/Getty Images]