Three eras of dance music came together on The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Janelle Monae and Nile Rodgers helped usher in Duran Duran's collaborative single "Pressure Off" from the band's new album Paper Gods.
Monae and Rodgers are featured on the recording, which is the new wave band's first album in five years.
Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon and the always stylish and exceedingly talented Monae started amongst the crowd singing the song's opening lines before joining the rest of the band and Chic guitarist Rodgers on the floor.
The tune is a bouncy new wave dance tune like only Duran Duran can create. The funk guitar from Rodgers brings a distinct Daft Punk feel to the song as Monae danced, harmonized and provided the tune's vocal climax with a massive high note.
The mini super group has obviously become close over the course of the recording as Monae jumped into Le Bon's arms for a sweet moment at the end of the video as the applause came in following the final note.
Despite a number of pre-released singles and a big media push from the band, Duran Duran has not seen the big commercial come back they might have been looking for from this album. The songs are catchy and take full advantage of the cultural embrace of EDM and house music in our daily music consumption. Paper Gods has spent a week at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 so far and only time can tell if they'll ascend to the heights they're hoping to reach.
Certainly this performance can bring together dance and new wave fans of all generations as this eclectic group gives us a performance you won't want to miss.
Watch the group perform "Pressure Off" on Ellen below and visit Duran Duran's website for tour dates.
