Hozier – “Problem” (Ariana Grande Cover)

Hozier - "Problem" (Ariana Grande Cover)

Hozier – “Problem” (Ariana Grande Cover)

Hozier - "Problem" (Ariana Grande Cover)

Full disclosure: I tend to hate covers. If you’re going to cover a song, make it really different, make it unusual, or don’t record it at all. It can, however, be interesting to listen to someone genre-bend a track and transform it from pop R&B into something that anyone listening to classic rock radio wouldn’t mind hearing during their morning commute. Enter Hozier, Irish troubadour and unlikely pop sensation who we’ve heard cover the Arctic Monkeys in the past, a band that is definitely a bit more in-line with his aesthetic than Ariana Grande’s massive single, “Problem.” If anything, the cover reinforces all of my prejudices — he doesn’t even attempt to belt out Iggy Azalea’s verse at the end. Instead, he turns it into a halfassed take on Warren G’s “Regulate.” (Scott likes the cover, though.) Decide for yourself below.

Hozier will probably win a buttload of Grammys next week.

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