Veteran DJ Diplo plays with 70s disco while Dove Cameron and Sturgill Simpson have a sultry standoff on “Use Me (Brutal Hearts)”. This the second single from Diplo’s upcoming project, Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley: Chapter 2 – Swamp Savant. Diplo’s first single, “Wasted,” dropped in late January, featuring Kodak Black and Koe Wetzel.
On the feature lineup sits a “Johnny Blue Skies.” Who is the man, you ask? Well, it’s no other than Sturgill Simpson’s disco cowboy alter ego. Johnny Blue Skies subtly made an appearance in Simpson’s Grammy-winning A Sailor’s Guide To Earth album, where a poster read: “Beware the dread pirate Johnny Blue Skies.”
If Simpson couldn’t get anymore hilarious, Sean Penn replaced the singer on the “Use Me (Broken Hearts)” music video. Later on, Diplo revealed in an Instagram post that Simpson got unexpectedly sick the night before shooting and reached out to Sean Penn as a replacement.
Perhaps the whole promotion of “Use Me (Broken Hearts)” is a bit of a mess. Recently, Diplo made remarks regarding his free-flowing sexuality. However, his wording wasn’t exactly clear, prompting the internet to falsely link him to several male collaborators, like Orville Peck, romantically.
So, imagine everyone’s faces when Diplo and Dove Cameron go skinny-dipping as a way to start this single’s promotion. Talk about almost breaking the internet.
Despite the controversy, the music video raked up raked up 430k views over three days. Yet on Spotify, the single has yet to break one million streams, which is rare given the collaboration’s star lineup. Given TikTok’s promotion power, if the track was teased more and given a healthy rollout, the numbers could’ve improved.
Overall, “Use Me (Broken Hearts)” is a perfect combination of disco, classic country, pop, and grit. It is also a beauty to see Dove Cameron shine on a very different soundscape. Diplo definitely knows how to bring out his collaborators’ strengths on each release.
What do you think about Diplo’s new single “Use Me (Broken Hearts)” featuring Dove Cameron, Sturgill Simpson, and Johnny Blue Skies? Let us know in the comments!
