Hope D is both the moniker of an Australian band and its lead singer. A long-time busker and cover artist, she has taken to recording her own music as of 2019. Perhaps her career as a busker and cover performer helps explain why her version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” feels so self-assured; apparently she’s been performing it for years.
Where the original begins with those iconic string samples, there’s none of that in this version. Instead, it opens with just Hope D’s voice and a bass. She soon adds a spiky, brief guitar full. The full band joins in the pre-chorus and they jam the chorus as if it’s an aughts indie rock song. After the chorus the band rocks out a bit before Hope D (the singer) takes on the next verse.
It’s a fantastic cover that takes this incredibly famous song to a very different place.
