My best friend in the late 1990s and early 2000s was named Kyle. It was a rough time for him, because whenever me and the other losers in our posse wanted to get under his skin, we would start singing “Kyle’s Mom’s a B*tch” from South Park. Was it wrong of us to copy Cartman and call someone, let alone someone’s mom, a “b*tch”? Probably, but it was a different time; kids saying the b-word on TV was still a novelty (also, the song’s catchy). But things are different in 2022 — now our crass comedy songs are played by orchestras.
Ahead of the season 25 premiere of South Park, Comedy Central has released a 30-piece orchestral version of “Kyle’s Mom’s a B*tch” featuring vocals from Nikki Renee Daniels, Tamar Greene, Jeff Kready, and Elizabeth Stanley. “I was thrilled to get to reimagine these South Park classics in a more traditional orchestral concert setting,” arranger Stephen Oremus told the Hollywood Reporter (they previously performed the theme song and “Gay Fish”). “It was so much fun getting to blow them up and give them such proper classical renditions. I called some of the best musicians and singers I knew — friends and colleagues who I have worked with on Broadway and TV, and we got to make music and dress up and laugh our asses off for a few days.”
The time has come for the orchestra to perform “What Would Brian Boitano Do.” That’s what Brian Boitano would do. You can watch the video above.
South Park returns on February 2, and nearly every old episode is on HBO Max.
