“Hey Ya!” is a hit song written and produced by the legendary André 3000 for the album “The Love Below” which was released in 2003. The track blends a variety of music influences including funk and rock. Critics and fans responded positively to the track, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks.
“Hey Ya!” has continued to be a favorite for musicians as well, many of whom have created unique covers of the track and applied a variety of stylings to make it their own. This post wraps up a few of our personal favorites.
Watch the original “Hey Ya!” music video
The music video for “Hey Ya!” was inspired by the debut of The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show and features André 3000 playing the roles of an eight member band.
1960s, motown inspired version of “Hey Ya”
Milo & Otis (aka M&O) is a soul duo from Chicago, IL. Jamilia “Milo” Woods provides vocals and plays loop pedal and Owen “Otis” Hill plays guitar, bass, and serves as the duo’s music producer. Together they create an “earthy sound, which harks back to the heyday of R&B with a blend of what can only be labeled ‘Adventure Soul’.” Their cover of “Hey Ya!” is simply dreamy and delicious.
A sad, soulful cover by Rachel Claudio
Rachel Claudio grew up in Perth, Western Australia and now creates amazing music as a singer/composer/producer from her home in France where she has lived since 2006. Rachel developed her particular flair for soul in her debut album “Claudiography” in 2001. Here she creates an entirely new feel for Outkast’s hit “Hey Ya!”
Willy Angela gives the song some love from his jazzy jam band
Willy Angelo and The Basement Hustle is a four piece band that hails from Brisbane, Australia. They came together in 2013 and laid down a rendition of “Hey Ya!” that blends a wonderfully hip and mellow styling.
The sound of a pop song meets a ukulele orchestra
Sinfonico Honoloulu is an eight member, italian ukulele orchestra who arranged an unexpectedly fun rendition of “Hey Ya!” Here we see their 2011 live performance of “Hey Ya!” at TeatroC a Livorno.
Acoustic, coffee shop edition
Obadiah Parker (aka Mat Weddle) offers up a live acoustic cover from his 2006 performance at Xtreme Bean Coffee in Tempe, AZ.
When Parker covered the song, it became a “breakout hit in 2007, topping the iTunes singer-songwriter charts” that year. This was key to developing a strong internet following that was part of building his own successful career (thank you André 3000!).
A cappella love from Soul2Soul
Soul2Soul is an award winning, all male a cappella group from Oxford Ohio. With 18 members, they may hold the record for the largest performance of “Hey Ya!”
In this video, we catch their performance of Outkast’s hit song in Hall Auditorium at Miami University.
Closing thoughts
So, that’s a whole lotta “Hey Ya!” There are a ton of other acoustic covers out there. Many are similar, but there are always new gems emerging.
We can’t wait to see where the musician’s of the Internet take this track next. If you spot something new and amazing, leave a note in the comments!
