I was unfortunate enough to grow up in the age of the internet and memes. Which in some ways is a blessing but in most is an absolute curse.
One meme that has stuck with me is the unfortunate video of He-Man singing “What’s Up?” by 4 Non Blondes. The video is titled “Fabulous Super Powers” and was posted by the YouTube channel slackcircus. It’s pure chaos.
I used to believe that the incredibly cursed He-Man version was the original because . . . well, I don’t really have an excuse. I’d just never heard of the song before that video and never looked into it.
He-Man is terrifying, scarring really. So I didn’t have a desire to.
Okay, I didn’t really think that it was a song from the cartoon, but I did think it was some bad, cheesy 80s track that my mom would know.
So, when I was listening to Lainey Wilson’s new album Bell Bottom Country and the last track was the song that made me have He-Man related nightmares, I was in shock.
I was also shocked by the fact that I loved it.
Of course, the song is not by He-Man (and it’s not called “What’s Going On?”), but instead by the ’90s rock band 4 Non Blondes. The song was pretty popular when it released in 1992 and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 charts at #14, but it had even bigger success in other countries. Just last year, the music video surpassed 1 billion views on YouTube.
So, yeah, much better than a crappy He-Man meme.
But Lainey Wilson’s cover really brings the country into the funky angsty ballad.
Wilson’s whole album already brings the funk. I mean, it’s called Bell Bottom Country for a reason, and this song fits her voice perfectly. Especially in the second chorus when Wilson gets to really belt.
I am very biased when it comes to country covers, but I have to admit that Wilson’s cover definitely gives the original a run for its money.
“What’s Up?”
And if you’re already loving the version on Lainey Wilson’s album, you gotta check out this acoustic version.
