“Only Wanna be with You,” the mega hit by the South Carolina natives from Hootie & the Blowfish, was covered by pop rapper Post Malone for the Pokemon 25th anniversary.
If you’re still here after reading that sentence, we want to assure you that the song’s pretty decent. The dusty acoustic guitars of the original remain intact, with some chirping electronics tossed in. Malone’s raspy voice works as an interesting foil to Hootie vocalist Darius Rucker’s baritone. We’re just as surprised as anyone that this combination works.
The track, which you can hear below, was released today ahead of Pokemon Day on Feb. 27. Pokemon Day celebrates the anniversary of the Pokemon Red and Green video game releases in Japan. (Fun fact: The Hootie song (1994) is older than Post Malone (1995) and the Pokemon franchise (1996).)
In honor of the 25th anniversary of the behemoth franchise’s beginning, Malone will headline a virtual concert. Catch the livestream here on Feb. 27.
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