Soul artist and Motown enthusiast Mayer Hawthorne took on Rihanna's huge ballad "Stay" recently, and the result is a funky cover that would make Barry White proud.
The Detroit native shared his reworking of the song with Esquire, saying he loves the pop tune from Rihanna's 2012 release Unapologetic.
"I know it may be surprising for my fans to hear that, but I think that's one of the best pop songs that's been written in the past decade," Hawthorne, aka Andrew Cohen, said. "I mean, I think it's just a great pop song. That one spoke to me."
Listen to the groovier version below.
Hawthorne went on to tell the magazine his philosophy on covering other artists' work.
"The only thing that was missing from the original version of the song was the funk," he said. "So we took it to that sexy Barry White funk zone. Anytime I'm doing a cover of a song, I'm trying to do it better than the original. I'm trying to beat the original. Otherwise, I don't see the point of doing a cover."
The sessions that resulted in Hawthorne's version of "Stay" also included a rendition of Lorde's "Royals." Jared Leto's "Thirty Seconds to Mars" gave "Stay" a rock makeover last year as well.
Hawthorne's latest release, Where Does This Door Go, came out in 2013 and made it all the way to No. 30 on Billboard's 200 albums chart. Consequence of Sound gave the record 3 1/2 stars.
"The sound of 1960s era Detroit still pulses, but Hawthorne's revitalized sense of artistic freedom has led to forays into the likes of nostalgic hip-hop and yacht rock," the review read.
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