I like you, Reader, I do. No, really, Reader – I like you, I do.

And when it comes to rappers Post Malone and Doja Cat, they like you, too. Well, maybe not you, Reader, or me, your humble host – but each other, as they sing and rap in the meadow-roaming, daisy-picking chillout “I Like You (A Happier Song),” which notched another top-ten hit for both artists in 2022.

And it’s not going away anytime soon.

“I Like You (A Happier Song)” was released way back in June of ’22 as the third single off Malone’s album Twelve Carat Toothache, which was released on the same day (from what I can tell online). The track has shown staying power and even as I write this well into 2023, it continues showing up on multiple charts after peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its 16th week of release.

It’s not something that grabbed me, personally, and it’s not something I’ve played much in my open-format club dates, but I’ve been including it more recently either really early in the set during the chill vibe hours, or really late, during the cooldown period heading into the night’s closing. Familiarity helps, and everyone’s heard the song, so it works in that capacity. And thanks to its easy-going vibe and fairly innocuous lyrics (especially on the versions edited for radio), it’s been a hit on Adult Contemporary stations with older listeners as well as youngsters who gobble up anything Post Malone or Doja Ca releases.

Post Malone was on fire about a half-decade ago and I distinctly remember reluctantly playing his smash hits “Rockstar,” in 2017, and “Psycho” in 2018. Reluctant because they’re such downbeat numbers, but they were so popular that people wanted to hear them, so I’d mix them in here and there. They were hit-or-miss at the club, depending on what the crowd was into that night, but trap was hugely popular then and you couldn’t escape it.

More club-friendly tracks have come from Doja Cat, with her 2022 single “Get Into It (Yuh)” still showing up regularly on my playlist, and her big hit “Vegas” (from the Elvis movie soundtrack) still lands a listen here and there, too.

“Girl, I like you, I do / I wanna be your friend, go shoppin’ in a Benz / I’ll hit you when I land, can you fit me in your plans?” the duo sings in “I Like You (A Happier Song),” and when you look back at those previous hits from Malone, with their darker themes and sinister instrumentation, it’s only natural that he’d point out right in the title that it’s “A Happier Song,” and not what we’re used to.

Speaking of Post Malone, did you know he came up with his stage name using a “rap name generator” on the internet? That’s one way to do it! For kicks, I tried out the first rap name generator I saw on Google to see what it would come up with if I were a rapper and needed a random name; so if you ever see Michael Michael Moo on the charts, you’ll know I’ve hit it big.