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Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya’ Goes Acoustic

Outkast’s ubiquitous “Hey Ya” gets a delicate makeover — courtesy of Scottsdale, AZ-based Mat Weddle, the frontman for unsigned trio Obadiah Parker — and an awesome accompanying video. Performing the cover at an open mic night in Tempe, AZ, Weddle transforms 2003’s roiling dancehall mega-hit into a slowed-down, fingerpicked acoustic ditty. The new video cuts between Andre 3000 in the TRL-fave “Hey Ya” clip and the home video-style recording of Weddle’s live performance, and it even juxtaposes the two stars via a split-screen. Andre 3000 still charms, but Weddle just might inspire more spine-tingling chills than Outkast’s main man when he warmly croons his question to the fellas, “What’s cooler than being cool?”

Though the video dropped on YouTube over two months ago, it saw an exponential growth in hits in just one day. “It’s been a pretty crazy week,” Weddle told SPIN.com. “It all started when a friend hosted an open mic night that he recorded on video, and you could buy the video for $10. I never bought it, but another friend got a hold of it, edited it, and posted it to YouTube. It’s all been a big accident.” But a happy one at that, Weddle admits. “It’s been really cool. We’ve got a ton of email and encouragement from people all over the world.” And what would Andre 3000 say about the video? “It’s probably way too boring for his taste,” Weddle said. “But it’s funny to us.”

Now Watch This:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/1ioKEDgnfs8

Talk: Is Weddle’s version of “Hey Ya” cool, or just ice cold?

On the Web: obadiahparker.com