It’s a new year, and that means our beloved end-of-week treat is back in action – the Friday morning Like A Version. it kicked off last week with a gorgey cover from Mia Rodriguez, and this week Ruel stepped up to the plate for a very solid take on a Lenny Kravitz hit. Thankfully, no leather pants were harmed in the process.
Ruel, who’s now 18 and sporting a tidy little moustache, put on his best pair of trousers, and successfully wrangled the vibe of Lenny while looking like he also had a tumble through Harry Styles‘ wardrobe.
Kicking things off delicately on the piano, I thought we might have been in for a ballad-y rendition of the 1991 funk banger, but then the horns came in. Oh yes. More horns in cover songs on the national youth broadcaster, please. 2021 year of the horn section.
Look, It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over is not an easy song to tackle. Those high notes are a punish, and hitting those notes while maintaining the classic Kravitz funk and soul energy is a task in and of itself. Ruel knocked ’em over like they were nothing, it’s like making a 7-10 split look like a piece of piss.
Can we talk about that drip for a minute, too?
The strong shoulder in that Louis Vuitton blazer. The hot pink button-up with the pearl necklace. The tailored white trousers. It’s a hell of a look happening here, and I’ve got absolutely no choice but to respect it.
I’m not the only one to pick up on the Harry Styles energy either, with plenty of stans declaring that Ruel is entering his Fine Line-esque era.
RUEL IN HIS FINE LINE ERA I LOVE IT HERE SM /$&;&:~€ pic.twitter.com/xKHjcKItQb
— liv (@japcnesewhiskey) January 21, 2021
ruel said 🕺fine line🕺 pic.twitter.com/5AijPzwPZr
— cait. (@midnightruel) January 21, 2021
Someone other than Ruel managed to steal the show for the stans though, and it’s absolutely the Pink Rat he had pinned to his jacket.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKU4FyjBlWq/
WHOM is that ratty. I demand answers.
Ruel’s really set the bar for 2021’s Like A Version offerings with this one, and if this is the kind of Friday delights we’re going to get this year then hooly dooly it’s gonna be a task to narrow it down to a mix CD at the end of 2021. This year definitely has the potential to be as big as 2019’s red-hot run, I reckon.
