Photo by Glenford Nunez

Janelle Monáe has taken to the studio to record a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" for Pepsi's 2014 "Now Is What You Make It" ad campaign. Listen to the cover above.

When asked about Bowie's influence, Monáe was direct in her praise of the icon, claiming (via RollingStone):

"Bowie is part of my musical DNA in so many ways," Monae says. "And 'Heroes’ is one of my favorite Bowie songs. When you love your favorite song, you want to keep some of the beautiful qualities of the original, but we brought Atlanta in the drums and wanted them to be thick and hit hard. [The cover] is like us reimagining it. I thought, ‘If this song was in my dream, how would it get from our dream to my reality?’"

And later:

"He’s mysterious and I love the mystery," says the singer. "He’s reinvented himself over and over again. Even now, he’s morphed into something that no one else is doing. That’s what I love most about him; he’s transcendent. He’s a true time traveler and I think that that is a part of who I am and the legacy that I want people to remember. I will never expire. Nor will David Bowie. And I say that with humility, but with the utmost confidence. "

Monáe also recently covered Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible". Listen to that cover here.

Read our cover story with Janelle Monáe here.

Watch Janelle Monáe's video for "Q.U.E.E.N.", featuring Erykah Badu: