Culture Club honours Boy George on his 65th birthday

Boy George reflected on how people started liking Culture Club's hit song Karma Chameleon four decades after it faced backlash upon its release.

For those unaware, Culture Club released Karma Chameleon under the banner of Epic Records in December 1983. George recorded the song with artificial intelligence as an honor on his 65th birthday on June 14.

PEOPLE magazine interviewed the renowned British singer-songwriter and DJ, where he called to mind the intensity of hate the song received initially.

He said, "The first time I sang it to the band, they all hated it. So, I had to almost strong-arm the track onto the album Color by Numbers because we were going in a soulful direction, and the boys, I think, preferred that. But me being me, I like to throw a spanner in the works."

The Everything I Own hitmaker went on to quip, "I knew that song was going to be a hit. I mean, I was absolutely adamant it was going to be No. 1, even though I really had no experience to base it on."

George stated that “everybody hated” Karma Chameleon but he was the one who stood firm on his stance, and he was eventually proved right after 42 years.

"It was like a sort of guilty pleasure, that song. And who knew how much it would be emphasized over the years in my life?" he remarked.

It is pertinent to mention that the 2026 version of Karma Chameleon uses in-studio vocals and "ethical technology to support the final recording,” according to the press release.