Some people take their interpretations and turn them into a "cover" of someone else's song. It's not easy to do, but for those special covers that captured my eye, my ear, and my heart, I created this post.
- Kings Of Leon- "Dancing On My Own" by Robyn
- I love the original just as much as this cover. Robyn wrote it from the view of a girl desperately in love with a man who is in love with someone else, and she set it to a hard hitting dance beat that, in an upbeat setting, brings the heart-wrenching lyrics to life. Kings Of Leon, an indie rock band, takes this song into a slow, lamenting ballad of unrequited love that makes you sway side to side, holding a candle up.
- Ebrahim(eebsofresh) & Timothy DeLaGhetto- "Senorita" by Justin Timberlake
- Eebsofresh has been one of my personal favorites for a while, and this cover of "Señorita" with TimothyDeLaGhetto just proves why. Clearly he has to plan out what he's going to play, but the ability to record it all LIVE on camera, from the beatbox to the bass to the piano, really drives this cover to the forefront for me.
- Bluey Robinson- "All I Do" by Stevie Wonder
- Impromptu--or what seems impromptu--is always a fascinating element when it comes to performances. When I see the set up of this young man and a guitarist in the middle of wherever on a cold night, I'm crossing my fingers for a decent cover of the legendary Stevie Wonder's "All I Do." Robinson pulls it off. He really. Really. Does. The excitement of impromptu adds to the fact that he effortlessly hits those high notes we all know and love, while the guitarist riffs in accordance with the rising and falling emotion. It's a must-see for SW lovers.
- Valerie June- "Bring it On Home" by Sam Cooke
- I've brought her up recently before, but I'm going to bring it up again to showcase her rendition of "Bring It On Home," a tough song to cover for many given the one-in-a-million-ness of Sam Cooke's version (the raspy voice, the unbridled emotion...) But her stripped down version includes just her voice and a banjo, which leaves her to carry the same emotion and power all by herself. She delivers this in a such a way that I truly feel she made it her own.
- See the video here
- Ed Sheeran- "We Found Love" by Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris
- Ah, Ed Sheeran. I've been meaning to include him in my posts for quite some time now. But this is a good introduction. I had no idea he had done a cover for his song, but when I heard it, I stopped in my tracks and just stared at the screen. He adds a whole 'bother layer of emotion to the original Rihanna song, with, again, just him and guitar. Sung in a lower tone, a slower pace, and with the tone of a broken heart, you will not get enough of this rendition.
- D'Angelo- "Feel Like Makin Love" by Roberta Flack
- D'angelo is amazing. I've touched upon this in a previous post or two, but I really wanna drive it home with his rendition of "Feel Like Makin Love" by Roberta Flack. I love both versions, and both follow a similar structure. Roberta's is the breezy, floating high on the sky kind of version. D'angelo made it into a sexy jam that you play when you want to put a soulful love song on for your...significant other.
- Drake- "I Get Lonely Too" by TLC
- I loooove me some TLC. You will soon find posts about them on this blog. I also love me some Drake. So to find out that he did this cover of "Fanmail," I was ecstatic. If you think about it, that particular song was ahead of its time. Hearing Drake sing it made me aware how much it could fit with the musical scene today. I appreciate that he did that, and so tastefully as well. It was indicator of his respect for the legends of "back then" because this year he's had TL on tour with him, as well as J.Cole having them featured on his single "Crooked Smile."
Respect the covers, man! RESPECT THEM!
-CDM
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