As part of their 25th-anniversary celebration, Pokémon has announced Pokémon 25: The Album for year-end 2021. The project will consist of 14 songs from 11 artists on the Universal Music Group roster. So far, collaborators that have been confirmed include Post Malone, J Balvin and Katy Perry.
Post Malone was the first to release a track from the album, a cover of Hootie & The Blowfish’s “Only Wanna Be With You.” The Pokémon 25 Version was ‘performed’ during Post Malone’s recent Pokémon-themed virtual concert experience, which is available for free on Pokémon’s YouTube channel. A sample of Pokémon’s Ecruteak City music used during the rendition is the main thing tying the recording to the game franchise. Post Malone’s charismatic vocals, tight production and more energetic guitar solo also distinguish the cover from Hootie & The Blowfish’s 1994 original.
Reggaeton star J Balvin commented on joining the project in a statement, “Pokémon is pulling out all the stops for P25 Music, and I’m thrilled to join the program as one of its premier collaborators, I’m looking forward to adding my own unique flavor to this huge Pokémon party and adding more good vibes to the celebration.”
Katy Perry has yet to release a statement about it. So far this year, she’s been reprising her role as a judge on American Idol and performed virtually at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration. Last August, she put out her fifth studio album Smile and she won her appeal for the “Dark Horse” plagiarism case last March.
The press release promises the rest of the collaborators will be similarly trendy artists, “Pokémon will enlist the help of some of the buzziest new artists from around the world for additional song collaborations. Music fans can stay tuned for more details, including very ‘Pokémon’ ways in which these songs will be released.”
P25 Music has plans to release music all year long, culminating in Pokémon 25: The Album. The final project will be released digitally through Universal Music Group’s Capitol Records, who has recently made it available to pre-save on Spotify.
Photo credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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