Mayer Hawthorne told Esquire he has a soft-spot for pop music, which inspired him to cover Rihanna’s “Stay.” Said Hawthorne of the song: “The only thing that was missing from the original version of the song was the funk. So we took it to that sexy Barry White funk zone. Any time 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 song was recorded during the same sessions that produced Hawthorne’s cover of Lorde’s “Royals.” Listen below.

(Via Esquire)