Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again" may be done at the top of the Hot 100, but it's just now picking up steam on the Adult Contemporary charts. This may surprise conservative listeners everywhere, as hip-hop is about as welcome on AC radio as Iggy Azalea at the BET Awards. The trick? Getting soulful crooner Puth to release his own version of the song, minus Khalifa's headlining raps.
That's exactly what happened. Puth evidently felt like experimenting, and thus cut a more acoustic version of the song, featuring his same hook along with newly created verses in a style more likely to please stereotypical parents everywhere.
Granted, the song hasn't exactly been promoted as a single. Billboard reports that Puth uploaded his "remix" to Soundcloud, where it was discovered by Tony Lorino, a program director at KZPT in Kansas City. Lorino had to put in some work himself, taking Puth's rendition and cleaning it up for radio play. Once he did, it was a hit. Roadrunner hasn't gone out of its way to promote the new version, but it isn't exactly complaining either.
This isn't exactly a new concept, either. As hip-hop has found its way into more and more popular music, Adult Contemporary radio programmers have been pushing for labels to release versions without the hip-hop segments. Some examples in recent history include Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" (minus Juicy J's guest verse) and Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" (minus Kendrick Lamar's contribution). When the song is based around hip-hop, the performers behind the hook occasionally pull a Puth and release a more relaxed version. Alicia Keys took this approach when she dropped her "remix" of Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind." Rihanna could make a virtual "greatest hits" album if she reprised every smash hook she's delivered for Eminem, Jay and Kanye West.
