Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know with AI: step into the painted duet

What is the "Somebody That I Used To Know" AI paint duet?

It's the breakup duet everyone remembers, turned into a two-person template. In the original, Gotye sings his side of the story while paint slowly spreads over his skin until he almost disappears into the wall behind him. Then Kimbra steps in and answers him face to face, and by the end she is painted into the background too.

The AI version keeps that look and swaps the faces and hair: your face appears under the same triangles of pink, red, gray and ochre, as if you had sat through the painting yourself. Pick a friend, an ex who has a sense of humor, or your partner, and you get the "you didn't have to cut me off" moment with your own faces.

Where does the original video come from?

"Somebody That I Used To Know" is a single by Gotye, the stage name of the Belgian-born Australian musician Wally De Backer, with the New Zealand singer Kimbra, from his 2011 album "Making Mirrors". The video was directed and produced by Natasha Pincus and came out in July 2011. The body paint is by the artist Emma Hack, and the mural behind the singers was painted by Howard Clark; the design was inspired by artworks that Gotye's father, Frank De Backer, made in the 1980s. The paint appears step by step through stop motion, and the video took about 23 hours to make.

It became one of the first music videos to go viral worldwide: the song reached No. 1 in the US and Australia, the video was screened in competition at SXSW in 2012, and it has been viewed over 1.3 billion times on YouTube, according to Australia's ACMI museum. The melody came back in 2025, when Doechii's "Anxiety", built on the song, took over TikTok, which is one reason the original duet is being searched again.

Who and what is in it?

The clip on vswp runs 20 seconds and has two people, both already found:

• Gotye, on the left. Long dark curly hair, eyes half closed, his face and shoulders split into painted triangles of pink, dark red and gray that continue the wall behind him.
• Kimbra, on the right. A dark bob with a fringe, seen in profile as she leans in toward him and sings, with a green painted stripe at her neck and shoulder.

The camera stays close, at about chest height, with the triangle mural filling the whole frame. On vswp the faces and hairstyles change, while the geometric face and body paint, the bare painted shoulders, the performance and the original audio stay.

How to make the "Somebody That I Used To Know" duet with AI

1. Open the Gotye "Somebody That I Used To Know" paint duet trend and sign in with Telegram. There is no password.
2. Give a photo (JPEG, PNG or WebP) to Gotye on the left, to Kimbra on the right, or to both. Anyone without a photo stays as in the original.
3. Leave "Keep the original look" on to keep the paint and the bare shoulders and change only faces and hair; off, the look comes from your photo.
4. Press "Make the free preview" to see about 5 seconds at 480p with a small "vswp.app" mark; every new user gets one.
5. Press "Create the full video". The price in Telegram Stars depends on length, quality and number of people and is shown before you start; the Stars come back if a render fails or is canceled.
6. Download the MP4 at 480p or 720p with the original song, typically ready in minutes.

By starting a video you confirm you have the right to use it and the photos; ask your friend before using theirs. More clips are in the trends list.

Which photo for each role?

• For Gotye. He faces the camera with his eyes nearly shut, so a sharp, front-facing photo with the whole face visible works best. The paint goes over your face, so don't worry about skin tone or makeup in the photo.
• For Kimbra. She is mostly in profile, close to Gotye's face. A photo where your face is clear and your hair line is visible helps; a three-quarter angle is fine. Her bob is replaced by your own hair.
• Hair matters. Both roles keep the hair from your photo, so pick one where your hair is loose and not cut off by the frame.
• Faces close together. Two faces almost touching and paint lines across them are hard for generative AI; if a moment looks off, another take usually helps.

More tips: which photos work best for an AI video swap and how to recreate a trend with friends. Ready? Go to the trend page.