Nanaimo comedian Peter Hudson has released his first single.
Hudson recently debuted Plexiglass, a parody of Justin Timberlake’s 2006 song SexyBack all about COVID-19 masks and barriers. After living through “a hell of a year,” Hudson said humour and comedy are needed more than ever.
“It’s been the hardest year of my life,” he said. “I lost a couple jobs and of course not promoting and doing comedy and I’m just like, ‘You know what? We need to laugh about crappy situations and make light of them because that’s part of the healing.'”
Hudson said he’s always been a fan of music parodies and has wanted to release a parody album of his own. With COVID-19 restrictions inhibiting his performing career – Hudson said he has’t had a show since November – he took the opportunity to finally explore music. He said, “when those road blocks are in front of you, you keep on smashing them.”
“Now’s the time more than ever to try new things, you know what I mean? Try and be uncomfortable as an artist a bit and do things that we normally wouldn’t do because of COVID-19,” Hudson said.
In the video, Hudson, as his ex-con web series character 5-10, dons a plastic helmet and enters a grocer’s before breaking into song. The video was shot at Nanaimo’s Superette Foods. Hudson said “they just pretty much gave me the keys to the place.”
“They were so stoked. They’re like, ‘Yeah, this is awesome,'” he said. “And it has that nostalgic, corner store feeling which I think is becoming a thing of the past. There’s not many downtown corner stores or grocery markets left, really.”
The box-like helmet was custom-made at Industrial Plastics and Paints in Nanaimo.
“We went and actually sized it out and then they made one out of cardboard,” Hudson said. “They’re like, ‘This is the craziest thing we’ve ever done.’ They’re like, ‘This is ridiculous.'”
Hudson’s next single is coming out April 20 and will be a cannabis-themed take on a classic rock song. Among the other tracks on the record are a power ballad and even a disco tune. He said the full album will be released May 1.
Plexiglass is available here.
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