Post Malone and Pokémon: a combination so crazy it can work.
Malone had the honor of starting P25 Music, a one-year celebration in partnership with Universal Music Group, on Saturday – the official day of Pokémon, no less – with a virtual show broadcast live on Pokémon’s YouTube accounts and on Twitch, and on your website. The tribute was short, lasting just under 15 minutes, but it set the stage for what the rest of P25 Music might look like: a showcase for the vast world of Pokémon while attracting your casual listener to the Hot 100.
And it’s not like Malone is on stage with his version of the classic PokéRap (although this writer, for what it’s worth, would love to see). It could look like any other virtual show – if it weren’t for the various Pokémon that revolved around Malone during the show. Like Travis Scott’s “Fortnite” show that came before him, the launch of P25 Music took advantage of its format to make the experience truly unique, if not a little surreal.
The show started with an animated version of Malone (which debuted in preparation for the event earlier this week) greeting a stadium of what appeared to be hundreds of thousands of pixelated fans, jumping on his hit “Psycho” when a giant Pikachu electrocuted the stage . While Malone continued to introduce himself, he was taken across a floating piece of land to traverse various environments to find different types of Pokémon. After flying high among the Butterfree, he found himself in a dark forest, surrounded by the brilliant Shiinotic and Umbreon while making the transition to one of his greatest hits, “Circles”.
Eventually, he was also taken to more parts of the Pokémon world – from the skies with Braviary, to the seas with Jellicent. He went on to virtually present his new contribution to P25 Music, his cover of Hootie & the Blowfish “Only Wanna Be With You”, which showcases the Ecruteak City theme of “Pokémon Gold and Silver” to give that Nintendo shine while dancing along with Charizard and Groudon.
Is there anything a little bizarre about watching a cartoon of Malone with a legendary Pokémon while singing his version of a hit Hootie? Of course there is. But in its own way, that in itself is a fitting tribute to Pokémon’s longstanding relationship with top musicians. After all, who can forget Donna Summer’s powerful vocals in “The Power of One” to end “Pokémon: The Movie 2000”? Pokémon has always recruited famous artists to celebrate its Pocket Monsters – Malone (who is apparently a Pokémon fan, holding a Game Boy Color just to play) is just the last of a long legacy.
After Malone returned to the stadium, closing his set with the collaboration of Quavo “Congratulations”, he played with what is to come on P25 Music: new songs by Katy Perry, J Balvin and “many more artists”. And no one knows for sure which Pokémon Perry and Balvin will dance with or what game classics they can experiment with in their new offerings. But it is clear that The Pokémon Company is doing everything to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of the most durable franchises in the world.