Post Malone is officially genre fluid.
From rap to country to now rock, Posty can do it all. Right after teasing music with Luke Combs, Malone stepped over to the small town of Shelbyville, Tennessee, to sit in with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder.
The two teamed up to perform at a charity event, benefitting the research for treating and curing Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
“Eddie and Post Malone duet “Better Man” live in Shelbyville, TN at Reportin’ for Duty. The benefit show helped raise over $1 million for EB Research Partnership, which is dedicated to funding research to treat and cure Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).”
The two acoustically sang Pearl Jam’s 1994 hit, which lives on their album Vitalogy. Vedder wrote the song as a teenager, but it failed to appear on their first two albums, finally being released on the band’s third studio album, and the track quickly became a Pearl Jam anthem.
The album’s producer, Brendan O’Brien, once recalled Vedder wanting to give away the song after cutting it for an earlier album during a Far Out Magazine interview.
“One of the first rehearsals we did, they played it, and I said, ‘Man, that song’s a hit.’ Eddie just went, ‘Uhhh.’ I immediately knew I’d just said the wrong thing. We cut it once for Vs., he wanted to give it away to this Greenpeace benefit record, the idea was that the band was going to play and some other singer was going to sing it. I remember saying to the engineer, Nick [DiDia], ‘This is one of their best songs, and they’re going to give it away! Can’t happen!’”
Thank goodness, with some coaxing, Vedder finally put the song on an album because it was a massive hit. And now, we get to enjoy the classic with other artists, like this performance.
Vedder’s vocals still carry the same sting as he delivers the lines, while Malone delivers the lines a little softer but still gets the messaging across to the audience. After the first chorus, the audience cheers, and the two artists become more in sync as the song continues.
“She dreams in color, she dreams in redCan’t find a better manShe lies and says she still loves himCan’t find a better man…”
The two are having a blast on stage, laughing and smiling, as the impromptu performance had some minor imperfections. Performances like this for a good cause will always be so fun to watch.
Adding a Posty/Pearl Jam collaboration to my wish list after watching this.
