Jan 112024
 
babii lovefool cover

The Cardigans will forever be known for “Lovefool” whether or not they are happy about that. It is far and away their biggest hit and most covered song. For most people in the world, it’s probably the only song by The Cardigans they’ll ever hear.

So I imagine it must be nice for the band, and for the rest of us when someone takes an unusual approach to this song that was so ubiquitous in 1997. And UK electropop artist BABii is apparently the person for that. She spent her holidays making this cover so she could released it on New Year’s Day.

BABii describes the sound as “medieval drill.” UK drill is a British spinoff of a Chicago hip-hop subgenre from the early teens. BABii has tapped into it for her version of “Lovefool” and mixed in influences from the trendy “medieval cover” genre that has been an internet thing for a few years.

The cover begins with a thunderstorm and then the harpsichord that dominates the opening verse comes in. BABii initially sings over the harpsichord, with no other accompaniment. Her biggest departure might be to veer off the famously catchy vocal melody enough that it sounds a little uncanny valley. For the chorus, she brings in the drill beats and backing vocals. For the second verse she adds a flute sample and modulating synths and then the beats and harpsichord come back in for the chorus. It’s a striking, distinct recontextualization of a song that is forever associated with ’90s Swedish pop.

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