The Guy Who Sang the Original Pokémon Theme Song Has Still Got It

You might not know Jason Paige’s face, but you definitely know his voice. It hyped us up as kids. It helped launch Smosh’s career. It’s legendary.

I’m talking about the singer of the original Pokémon theme song, specifically, the song that played at the beginning of every episode of the English dub of the Japanese anime. It’s just the right mix of earnest, cheesy, product-placement-y goodness to instill nostalgia in anyone who was a kid back then. There’s good news for members of this generation: Paige is back, and he can still hit all those high notes.

Paige uploaded a video recently of himself singing the song in 2016. While there is some controversy in the comments on both Reddit and YouTube over whether the song is lip-synched, Paige is at least giving an entertaining performance.

This isn’t the only video Paige is in that’s blowing up this week, though. If you’re one of the lip-synching truthers and want to hear what Paige’s voice sounds like now, he also sings an updated version of the theme song in this recent sketch from Dwayne Johnson’s new YouTube channel (whose launch we covered last week):

Yep, the Rock got the original Pokémon theme singer to record his silly parody. That’s the kind of power mega-popular celebrities have. We’re glad he did it that way, though — hearing the Pokémon theme in anyone else’s voice just wouldn’t feel right.

What do you think? Did Jason Paige’s voice blast you to the past? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter!