Thomas Rhett covered "When I Was Your Man" as a way to say thanks to his fans, giving the polished Bruno Mars hit a country makeover. Although the "Make Me Wanna" singer doesn't mess with Mars' winning formula too much, the contrast in voices is immediately evident. Rolling Stone Country premiered the song exclusively for the artist, who's currently on the road with Florida Georgia Line.

The country crooner, a huge Mars fan, promised his fans via Twitter that if 3,000 of them retweeted a post prior to the American Country Countdown Awards ceremony then he would record "When I Was Your Man" (Rhett most likely just wanted a reason to record the song since he has about 331,000 followers). His fans answered, and Rhett, a man of his word, delivered.

There's more twang in Rhett's voice (obviously) than Mars, and that's really the only difference here. What is encouraging is that the country star enjoys a nice pop ballad from time to time.

When RSC caught up with the young singer, he said he and his band were working on a show-closing rendition of the Mark Ronson/Mars collaboration "Uptown Funk."

"I'm obsessed with Bruno Mars' records," he said. "I'd give my right leg to be able to sing like that dude."

The reverent cover and simple video, which shows Rhett's wife, is just what the singer had in mind.

"We kept the video really simple," he said. "I wanted everyone to see that all we did was go in there, grab a mic, play the piano and sing the whole thing down. It's a live take with a live vocal. The whole thing wasn't nearly as funny as I thought it would be. It was serious. The moment Josh started playing and I started singing, I felt it. That song gave me chills the first time I heard it, and it still does."

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