Dustin Lynch is a firm believer that a good song is a good song regardless of the genre. The country star likes to incorporate Drake's 2013 tune "Hold On, We're Going Home" into his live shows. He recently played his version for Taste of Country and it's surprisingly soulful, sounding more like a pop hit than country ballad.
Lynch strips the rap song down, performing it with only a guitar and his smooth vocals. Where Drake's original is more of a Michael Jackson dance track directed at a woman in the club, Lynch's rendition is more personal — perhaps geared toward a girlfriend at closing time in a local pub. Either way, it's clear that Lynch respects the message and the artist. Check it out below.
"That's what's fun about concerts," the singer said. "You got a bunch of strangers in a room. And they're there to meet each other and dance on each other, so for that song we keep the lights as low as we can get them."
Lynch added that while the song may be a "curveball" at his live shows, his influences are all over the board. Taste of Country points out that there is an R&B vibe on his second album, Where It's At.
"Musically, we've brought in some new sounds like that," he said. "I can go from George Strait to a Jay Z song on my iPod ... it's fun for me and my producers to sit back and go 'OK, what kind of elements can we add to a country song to make it kinda different and stand out?'"
Where It's At was released in September. It peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart as well as number two on the Top Country Albums list. The album's second single, "Hell of a Night," dropped in November.
