Rejoice! Riverdale's Version of "Sugar, Sugar" Is Here Already

Josie and the Pussycats have the honor of updating the 1969 classic on The CW series

By Chris Harnick Feb 01, 2017 5:00 PMTags

Riverdale is paying tribute to Archie Comics' past in a big way. The new CW series based on characters from the long-running comic books will feature a new take on "Sugar, Sugar," the 1960s song by The Archies that topped the charts. In Riverdale, Josie (yes, of Josie and the Pussycats), played by Ashleigh Murray, updates "Candy Girl (Sugar Sugar) by Inner Circle featuring Flo Rida. That song was inspired by the original 1969 version of "Sugar, Sugar." The Pussycats, Melody (Asha Bromfield) and Valerie (Hayley Law) provide backup vocals.

In the video below, Josie and the Pussycats perform the song at a Riverdale pep rally.

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"As if stepping into the shoes of a fiery icon like Josie wasn't enough, I was gifted the opportunity to reimagine and rock out on the classic 'Sugar, Sugar.' And boy, was it sweet," Murray said in a statement.

Riverdale hails from Greg Berlanti, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Jon Goldwater and Sarah Schechter and also stars KJ Apa, Lili Reinhart, Camila Mendes, Cole Sprouse, Marisol Nichols, Madelaine Petsch, Mädchen Amick and Luke Perry.

"The hit song ‘Sugar, Sugar' has always been a huge part of Archie's history, so we knew we had to include it in Riverdale in some way," Aguirre-Sacasa said in a statement. "Since Archie's just starting his musical journey when we meet him, we thought it would be a fun reinvention to have Josie and the Pussycats perform an updated version of ‘Sugar, Sugar'—with an assist from Riverdale High's cheerleaders and resident mean girl Cheryl Blossom."

"Sugar, Sugar" was originally performed by The Archies, a group of fictional characters from The Archie Show. The song shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 100 chart and stayed their for four weeks, topping songs by the likes of Marvin Gaye, Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The original song was written by Andy Kim and Jeff Barry. Ron Dante provided lead vocals. The Inner Circle featuring Flo Rida version was written by Kim, Barry, Bernard Harvey, Ian Lewis, Roger Lewis and Tamar Dillard.

Good luck trying to get "Sugar, Sugar" out of your head.

Riverdale airs Thursdays, 9 p.m. on The CW.