"Elegantly Wasted" is the first single from and title track of the album Elegantly Wasted by INXS, released in Europe, Japan, Australia and South Africa, and the US. The song is said to have been written after Michael Hutchence and Bono from U2 went out for a "night on the town".

"Elegantly Wasted" is a deft mix of rock infused with dance beats. The band's new sound bridged the gap between the public's taste for post-grunge rock anthems, and the slinky mechanical seduction of electronica.

After an argument with Liam Gallagher of Oasis, Hutchence added some additional vocals to the chorus, which the rest of the band were unaware of until months after the album's release. When listening for it, the chorus can either be heard as "I am elegantly wasted" or "I am better than Oasis". This was further to an altercation between Hutchence and the Gallagher brothers at the 1996. At the awards, Noel Gallagher collected an award from Hutchence by saying, "Has-beens should not be presenting awards to gonna-be's." It was also reported that Liam and Hutchence had a scuffle backstage with Hutchence throwing a fire extinguisher at Liam following some disparaging remarks he made about his then lover Paula Yates.

Elegantly Wasted was the last album released by INXS with Hutchence, who died that same year, on 22 November 1997.

The B-sides on the first CD single included INXS's biggest hit "Need You Tonight", a 1995 mix of "Original Sin" by Chris & James and a remix of album track "I'm Only Looking" from Full Moon, Dirty Hearts by David Morales. The second CD single included three remixes of "Elegantly Wasted" by dance artists Shagsonic and G-Force.

Directed by English music director Michael Stern, the video was filmed in December 1996, and features the band wandering around an airport terminal as the awaiting passengers begin to watch and interact with the band. A small set was built in Los Angeles to resemble the interiors of an airport with extras being brought in to play the passengers. The video also includes snippets and brief clips taken from the Eleganty Wasted video shoot which were photographed and used for the album's cinematic cover art.

...
Wikipedia