Karl Stefanovic’s bizarre shirtless music video

Karlos, why? The Today host has hooked up with an Aussie muso for a cover of a classic song – complete with clothes-free music video.

WARNING: Your excitement over Karl Stefanovic’s new career venture may hinge on your own personal tolerance for gratuitous shots of his nipples.

The Today host this morning dropped a surprising new collab with one-half of Aussie music duo Peking Duck (and Mr. Abbie Chatfield), Keli Holiday.

The pair have teamed up for a cover of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ 1983 classic Islands In The Stream.

Why? Nobody’s quite sure, but based on the accompanying music video, it appears to be an elaborate excuse for Stefanovic to give it his best Fabio, all soft-focus shots of him pouting in guyliner with an open silk shirt billowing.

Karl’s conquered the Logies – next stop, ARIAS.

Siri, show me results for “Turning 50 with dignity”

It’s also been released to mark Stefanovic’s 50th birthday, which certainly explains the mid-life crisis vibes.

Holiday, aka Adam Hyde, explained how music’s hottest duet since Pitbull met Kesha came about in a media release issued today.

He said he and the Gold Logie-winner have had a “long-lasting bromance” ever since Stefanovic reached out to say he was “prepared to do a duet together.” (Question: Exactly how many Aussie musicians has Stefanovic made this offer to? Delta Goodrem, check your DMs.)

“I shared this sentiment online to see if the people shared that same yearning for a Keli-Karl duet and the response was an overwhelming ‘yes’. What you hear and see here is raw, unadulterated fun. A gift from a man on his 50th birthday. That’s how giving Karl is. Enjoy it. Revel in it. We hope you love it as much as we loved making it,” said Holiday.

An iconic duo (and no, I’m not talking about Karl’s nipples)

So far, the response has been surprisingly positive.

“This is so Australian, it should be used as a tourism advertisement,” reads one top-rated comment under Holiday’s Insta post of the music video.

“Just dropped to my knees in Aldi,” commented Australian DJ Benson – although admittedly, this may not be a positive review.

Others suggested it was a Triple J Hottest 100 contender and a potential new theme song for the Today show.

Holiday is about to head out on tour in support of his new EP Jesterman, with shows across the country from next week. We’ll have to wait and see if Karl slaps on the guyliner and rips open his shirt to join him on stage at any point.

Originally published as Karl Stefanovic’s bizarre shirtless music video