Doja Cat‘s single from Baz Luhrmann‘s “Elvis” soundtrack, “Vegas,” has been given a release date — May 6 — after the singer-rapper debuted a live version of the tune at the Coachella festival over the last two weekends.
The single precedes a full film companion album that has loosely been scheduled for summer by RCA, it was also announced Monday. That label news is not exactly unexpected, since RCA has been Elvis Presley’s label home since the late 1950s.
Although “Vegas” is an original song, live snippets reveal the Doja Cat track does incorporate a Presley classic, “Hound Dog.” (Fans may have to wait till May 6 to find out whether “Viva Las Vegas” also appears in the final studio version, as might be expected from the title.)
Luhrmann was out at Coachella for its second weekend, supporting three artists associated with “Elvis” as a film or soundtrack — including Yola, who plays Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the movie, and Shonka Dukureh, who portrays Big Mama Thornton, as well as Doja Cat. (Pictured above left to right are Dukureh, Luhrmann, Doja Cat and Yola.)
The exact nature of the soundtrack is not yet being revealed by RCA, though the Doja Cat song is obviously a clear indicator that it will not consist solely of vintage Presley recordings or even the adapted versions that will be featured in Luhrmann’s film.
RCA will for now confirm only that the album will include variations on Presley material that include contributions from a number of name artists representing different genres. The “summer” release date is likely to mean very, very early summer, as the movie itself arrives June 24, just a few days after the official beginning of the season.
Luhrmann was touting the three Coachella artists who are a part of the project up to and throughout his Coachella weekend on Instagram, where he offered apologies for not being timely in his updates because “we are still mixing the film.”
The filmmaker called Yola “a powerhouse voice full of song, plus a beautiful soul” in his IG post leading up to her festival set. “She was so devoted to playing the role, she came all the way to Australia and captured the detail of how Sister Rosetta Tharpe expressed herself on stage for the film” as well as pre-recording tracks in Nashville. He also lauded Doja Cat, whom he said “killed it” at Coachella, and Dukureh, whom he said “the whole cast and crew…. are so thrilled and proud of.”
