St. Vincent, also known as Annie Clark, performed a cover of David Bowie's 1975 hit 'Young Americans' during the new 'Under the Covers' segment on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on December 18, 2025. The rendition featured subtle updates, including a reference to President Biden, and highlighted her admiration for the song. Clark also shared her dream list of artists to cover her own music.
On December 18, 2025, St. Vincent made an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to kick off the show's new 'Under the Covers' segment, where musicians reinterpret songs they cherish. Choosing David Bowie's 'Young Americans'—a groovy track from 1975 that Clark first covered at the 2023 Love Rocks NYC benefit concert—she delivered a performance that stayed true to the original while infusing it with her signature style.
Clark's version leaned more guitar-driven and rock-oriented compared to Bowie's proto-disco funk. She altered a key lyric, swapping Richard Nixon for Joe Biden in the line about remembering the president, nodding to contemporary American politics. Visually striking in arm-length black gloves and a cadet cap, she leaned into the microphone, pantomiming the words with dramatic flair. Her a cappella delivery of 'break down and cry' took on an operatic intensity, and she closed with a shout of 'I'm afraid of Americans,' echoing Bowie and her admiration for Trent Reznor.
In a pre-performance chat with host Stephen Colbert, Clark revealed the song's emotional pull, noting it as one that makes her 'break down and cry.' She also named artists she'd love to hear covering her work: Erykah Badu, Doechii, and the Slits. On Badu, a fellow Dallas native, Clark shared, 'Because we're both from Dallas, I have on many occasions tried to befriend Erykah Badu, and it has not gone well. She has not been unkind; I just don't get a response.' She praised Doechii, saying, 'I'm very into Doechii,' and lauded the Slits' avant-garde take on Marvin Gaye's 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine' as her favorite cover ever, though a collaboration seems unlikely following the band's 2010 disbandment after frontwoman Ari Up's death.
This appearance capped a busy 2025 for Clark, who toured extensively behind her Grammy-winning album All Born Screaming. Just days earlier, she played a six-song set of her own material at Rolling Stone's holiday party, including a lively '... At the Holiday Party.'
