David Bowie released the single “Lazarus” off his upcoming 25th studio album on December 17th; the next day, we were lucky enough to see him perform it live on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Well, sort of.
In a promo video for the show, Bowie explains his newest persona: the video shows actor Michael C. Hall standing expressionless as Bowie’s recorded voice tells us, “Hello, it’s me David Bowie. Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, and now, in my most outlandish persona yet, acclaimed actor Michael C. Hall. Don’t recognize me? Well, I’ve had a plastic surgeon make some ch-ch-hanges.” Watch the teaser below:
Then, in Colbert’s studio, Hall – who plays Bowie in his off-Broadway musical, Lazarus, but also who we are supposed to believe actually is a reincarnated Bowie for this performance – sings the track with the cast of Lazarus. Check out the live performance of the track “Lazarus” below:
Bowie announced his new album, ★ (Blackstar), back in October, which is due out on January 8th. Bowie and his producer, Tony Visconti, have stated that Kendrick Lamar has had an influence on. Consequence of Sound reported that “Last night’s performance marked the first public presentation of the song outside of the New York Theatre Workshop, where the theater production is running until January 20th.”