"David Duchovny" is a song recorded by

Bree Sharp Bree Sharp (born December 17, 1975) is an American musician and actress. As of the 2010s, she is the lead vocalist of the electropop band Beautiful Small Machines. Early life and education Sharp was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and learn ...

about the titular actor. It was the first single from Sharp's debut album, '' A Cheap and Evil Girl''. After Trauma Records heard a demo of the song, they signed her to a record deal.Interview with Bree Sharp
from June 10, 1999

Lyrics and meaning

The song makes a direct reference to actor

David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...

, who portrayed FBI special agent

Fox Mulder Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrest ...

on the popular

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

TV series ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', which revolves around special agents who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called

X-File In the fictional universe of the television series '' The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. Th ...

s. Sharp commented in a 1999 interview with ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' that the song's message can be interpreted in a more expansive way: " hesong is about David, but it's also about the way fantasy and reality can blur, and how giddy, hot, and excellent that can be."

Music video

''The X-Files'' set received a demo tape of the song and two of the show's assistants, Charles Forsch and Will Shivers, created a humorous video for the song for the set's Christmas party with permission from Sharp's label.Faster, Faster, She's the Star in This Disaster Movie
''Off! Magazine'', April 12, 2000 The video mixes clips of Duchovny with footage of ''X-Files'' crew members and numerous celebrities lip-syncing the lyrics, including series co-star

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the ot ...

Pamela Anderson Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997). Ander ...

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...

Jenna Elfman Jennifer Mary Elfman (née Butala, born 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Televi ...

Sarah Michelle Gellar Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...

, Jane Leeves,

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He is best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 season ...

KISS A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

, and

Jerry Springer Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...

. A complete list of participants is included in the credits at the end of the video. The video was never officially released, due to the money that would be needed for all the celebrities to sign off, but it became "a hot underground item". Upon seeing the video, Sharp said that "it was so exciting, and so shocking, and underground, and wonderful. I don't know what to say about it except that it was one of the thrills of my life to see the likes of Charles Nelson Reilly, and all four members of KISS, and Brad Pitt."

Release and acclaim

After Sharp recorded the song, it eventually made its way to Duchovny, who expressed his appreciation for the track. Word began to spread, and soon, Sharp was approached by

Trauma Records Trauma Records was a Los Angeles-based independent record label created in 1993 by Paul Palmer and Rob Kahane. Trauma Records had a joint venture agreement with Interscope Records that included financing and distribution through Interscope Records ...

, who signed her for a record deal. After Forsch created the music video for the song, it became an underground hit. In an interview, Duchovny told ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' that he felt that "it's a really good song". He also admitted to playing it in his car "now and then". Ultimately, he jokingly gave it an "85", but noted that it was a "little embarrassing" because he "never expected it to be such a big deal." Critically, the song received positive reviews. Richard Roeper of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

'' praised the song and noted that "Sharp has a beautiful and distinctive voice, and 'David Duchovny' is an undeniably catchy confection." Due to the success of the single, Sharp was invited to perform at

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...

for several tour dates. Reference to this song was made during a March 2011 episode of the Showtime TV series ''

Californication Californication may refer to: *Californication (word) ''Californication'' is a portmanteau of California and fornication, appearing in ''Time'' on May 6, 1966 and written about on August 21, 1972, additionally seen on bumper stickers in the U.S. ...

'', "

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and p ...

". David Duchovny's character Hank Moody, having uncharacteristically put on a suit and tie, is looking at himself in the mirror and complaining that he "looks like a fucking FBI agent".

Natascha McElhone Natascha McElhone (; born Natascha Abigail Taylor, 14 December 1971) is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in '' Ronin'' (1998), '' The Truman Show'' (1 ...

's character Karen then replies, "A very brooding and comely FBI agent."Californication Clip
/ref>

Track listing

#"David Duchovny" (Pop Mix) – 4:16 #"David Duchovny" (Rock Mix) – 4:17

References

External links