John Mayer Covers Beyoncé’s ‘XO’ and It’s Real Pretty

Say what you will about John Mayer (and we have said a lot of good things), he knows how to make falling in and out of love with other humans seem like the all-encompassing/bliss-blazing/soul-thrashing/heart-gutting it really is.

Case in point: His cover of Beyoncé’s ‘XO,’ released today, is a gentler, quieter, more urgent acoustic version of the booming love anthem. It gets to the heart of some pretty real feelings and it feels all of them and makes you feel them too. (For example, when he says, “Baby kiss me” there is a chance that you will swoon over and collapse into your own body.) Mayer originally performed “XO” live in Australia last month, and loved it so much he decided to head to a studio and record it accompanied by guitars, a piano, and a harmonica. People Mag reports he’ll be releasing the track on iTunes on Tuesday.

Until then, you can listen to it here.