Chicago quartet Beach Bunny, fronted by Lili Trifilio, was looking for an artist to feature on a new version of their joyful surf-pop song “Cloud 9.” Most of the names that their team floated didn’t feel right — except for one.
Trifilio, who had been a fan of Canadian duo Tegan and Sara since high school, was thrilled when they returned the call. “We just got lucky that you guys wanted to hop on, to be honest!” she says over Zoom.
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The collab, which came together remotely, was partially inspired by fans who had been covering the song on TikTok with different pronouns. So when Trifilio brought on the Quins for a new verse, they decided to update some of the pronouns to she/her and they/them. “It made sense to do an inclusive version,” Trifilio adds.
The Tegan and Sara-featuring “Cloud 9” (which originally appeared on Beach Bunny’s 2020 album Honeymoon) was released on April 16, alongside a colorful lyric video.
Above, watch Trifilio, Tegan and Sara Quin chat with Billboard about “Cloud 9” 2.0, as well as what they’ve been up to during quarantine.