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Covering the Hits: “Despacito” (Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee & Justin Bieber)

 Posted by at 12:00 pm  1 Response »
May 042018
 

“Covering the Hits” looks at covers of a randomly-selected #1 hit from the past sixty years.

despacito covers

The idea behind this new series is that the random-number generator will pull up one random Billboard Hot 100 number-one from 1958 through 2018, the chart’s 60th birthday. For whatever reason, though, so far said generator is only delivering me either super old hits – my last was 1963’s regrettable “Hey Paula” – or very current – a late-period Britney Spears hit. And the trend continues today when we look at covers of one of the most recent hits out there, 2017’s #1 hit “Despacito.”

And not just one of the most recent hits, but one of the biggest. Ever. Last year, “Despacito” last year tied Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” for the most weeks atop the Hot 100 in history. This wasn’t just a number-one hit. This is objectively one of the biggest hits of all time.

So there must be a million covers, right? Not really. Despite being so massive, “Despacito” never caught that wave of semi-ironic indie rock covers that so many pop smashes do. Continue reading »

Weird Al’s “Polkamania” Covers the Biggest Hits of the Past Decade

 Posted by at 9:30 am  No Responses »
Jul 252024
 

Weird Al Yankovic has been quiet on the new music front for about a decade after Mandatory Fun, his last studio album, was released in 2014. So his newest single “Polkamania!” has smashed together some of the last decade’s biggest hits, all in the style of his signature medley genre, a polka.

But which songs are covered in Weird Al’s “Polkamania”?

There’s not much to say about this song sonically – all the covers are straightforward, but done in a polka style, with the exception of “WAP,” which cleverly utilizes sound effects to get the same message across.

Definitely one the Weird Al fans will love, but there’s enough silliness in here for everyone else as well.

They Say It’s Your Birthday: Shakira

 Posted by at 8:00 am  No Responses »
Feb 022020
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with covers of his or her songs. Let someone else do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Shakira

Today Shakira celebrates her 43rd birthday in style, sharing the Super Bowl halftime show stage with J-Lo. So today we celebrate Shakira’s storied career. Shakira has been a bit under the radar lately; we last heard from her in 2017 with her El Dorado album and world tour. She has already released a new single in 2020, though, so I hope that means another Shakira album is on the horizon.

From being a major player in making Spanish music more mainstream (pre-“Despacito” and friends) to performing pump-up jams at major sporting events (for both kinds of football, no less) to tackling body image issues (although attracting some criticism for her stance), Shakira is so much more than her truthful hips. Taylor Swift’s new documentary even reminded me that Shakira was presenting Swift the award during the Kanye West drama.

Shakira is especially active in charity efforts and politics; her charity operation, the Pies Descalzos Foundation, provides schools for poor children in her home country of Columbia. She is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and has been recognized by the UN for her many efforts. Keep up the good work, Shakira, while we remind ourselves of your many hits.
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That’s a Cover?: “Stop Your Sobbing” (The Kinks / The Pretenders)

 Posted by at 3:00 pm  1 Response »
Oct 192018
 

That’s A Cover? explores cover songs that you may have thought were originals.

Stop Your Sobbing

Funny things, songs. Some don’t even get heard, never leaving their creators’ rooms (or their heads); others seem to spread like a special kind of virus, played at parties and bedrooms and bus stops and supermarkets everywhere until they’re inescapable, a global pandemic without cure. (Yes, “Despacito,” I’m talkin’ to you.)

Regardless of their popularity or lack thereof, all songs are an attempt to crystallize a feeling and then share it with the world. And every once in a while, having completed a sort of emotional circuit, a song returns to its owner, carrying back far more than it left with.

Here’s the story of one which did just that.
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