The rock influences of "Hey Ya!" have allowed many other artists to release cover versions of the song. In 2006, Mat Weddle, frontman of the unsigned folk band Obadiah Parker, performed an acoustic cover of the song at a local open mic night, and a friend of his posted a video of the performance on YouTube, which quickly became virally popular online. Inspired by slowcore band Red House Painters, Weddle's version moves at a much slower tempo backed by a rhythmic guitar strum and converts the breakdown into a "staccato chime". The cover received international airplay and spawned many other acoustic versions.