Plain White T’s have released a new version of their signature song Hey There Delilah featuring LØLØ, giving the 2006 global hit a new perspective more than two decades after its original release.
by Paul Cashmere
Plain White T’s have released a new recording of Hey There Delilah featuring LØLØ, revisiting the song that became one of the defining pop-rock ballads of the 2000s. The new version gives LØLØ the opportunity to present Delilah’s perspective within the song, adding a new vocal dimension to a track that has accumulated more than 2.5 billion streams and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The release continues the ongoing story of Hey There Delilah, a song originally written by Plain White T’s frontman Tom Higgenson and first released in 2006. More than 20 years later, the acoustic love song continues to find new audiences through streaming platforms, reinterpretations and younger listeners discovering the band’s catalogue.
The collaboration with LØLØ creates a new conversation around the song’s original narrative. Known for her alternative pop-rock songwriting, LØLØ previously wrote and released a response version of the song from Delilah’s point of view in 2020, which gained attention on TikTok. The new recording makes that interpretation an official collaboration with Plain White T’s.
Hey There Delilah has remained a significant example of a 21st-century love song that crossed generations. Written before the dominance of social media communication platforms, the song’s story of distance, commitment and connection continues to resonate with listeners who were not part of its original audience.
Plain White T’s released Hey There Delilah as part of their third studio album All That We Needed, with the track later becoming a major international single. The song reached the top position on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007 and received two Grammy Award nominations in 2008 for Song of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
The new version featuring LØLØ places another voice inside the song’s familiar structure. Her interpretation allows the character referenced in the original lyrics to respond directly, transforming the track from a one-sided message into a dialogue between two perspectives.
“I think everyone who grew up with ‘Hey There Delilah’ wondered at some point who Delilah really was. I know I did,” LØLØ said. “Never in my wildest dreams would I think that she could be me one day.”
LØLØ explained that the song had been part of her own musical history before the collaboration became possible.
“This song has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I even sung it at my camp talent show as a kid,” she said. “In 2020, I wrote a response from Delilah’s POV that blew up on TikTok, so being invited by the Plain White T’s to officially reimagine the song six years later feels unbelievably full circle.”
The original Hey There Delilah was written by Higgenson after meeting Delilah DiCrescenzo, a nationally ranked American steeplechase and cross country runner, through a mutual friend around 2002. Higgenson developed the song as an imagined expression of what he would want to say to her, despite the pair not being in a relationship.
The recording was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid in North Hollywood, Los Angeles. The original album version featured Higgenson’s vocal and acoustic guitar, while the later single version included additional string arrangements written and performed by Eric Remschneider.
The song’s success helped establish Plain White T’s internationally. Following its release as a single in 2007, Hey There Delilah became the band’s first major hit, reaching No. 1 in the United States and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. The track has since achieved multi-platinum certification and remains the group’s best-known recording.
Formed in Chicago in 1997, Plain White T’s built their career through melodic pop-rock songwriting and a catalogue that includes albums such as All That We Needed, Every Second Counts and their self-titled 2023 release. Alongside Hey There Delilah, the band has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications and Grammy recognition.
The group’s continued connection with the song reflects the changing ways audiences discover music. Originally driven by radio, digital downloads and music television exposure, Hey There Delilah has found renewed life through streaming and social media platforms, where new generations have encountered the track independently of its original release cycle.
For LØLØ, the collaboration represents another stage in a career built around personal songwriting and direct storytelling. The Toronto-born artist released her debut full-length album falling for robots & wishing i was one in 2024 before releasing god forbid a girl spits out her feelings! in 2026.
Plain White T’s’ new recording of Hey There Delilah featuring LØLØ offers a different perspective on a song already embedded in popular music history. The track provides both artists with an opportunity to revisit a familiar story while introducing it to another audience.
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