Move Over ‘Smelly Cat,’ Ben Barnes’ Soulful Cover Of The ‘Friends’ Theme Song Shall Reign Supreme

Westworld‘s Ben Barnes is enjoying his own moment right now with the Netflix audience’s embrace of Shadow and Bone, which almost (but not quite) erases that “we’re not so different, you and I”-style dialogue that he had to utter as Jigsaw in The Punisher. Still, he had plenty of energy to devote to the Friends reunion. While he did not weigh in on the Joey Tribbiani meme that’s captivating the Internet, Barnes did something similarly valuable: he covered the theme song.

Below, you can enjoy Barnes’ soulful version of The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You.” Sorry Lady Gaga (and your version of “Smelly Cat”), your moment is over. Barnes has actually improved on the theme song, right Maybe it’s not suitable for dancing in a fountain with umbrellas, but I could relax at home while listening to this joint.

“Who’s feeling nostalgic at the @friends reunion!” Barnes captioned the photo. “Felt compelled to mess with the theme song. #jenniferanniston @LisaKudrow #courtneycox #mattleblanc @MatthewPerry @DavidSchwimmer were such a huge part of my teens. I got the VHS every Xmas. #illbethereforyou #FriendsReunion.”

— Ben Barnes (@benbarnes) June 1, 2021

VHS fans qualify as the most hardcore variety. Waiting to rewind was a first-world problem that we’d all love to have these days, though.