Feb 032025
 
best cover songs
abazaba ft. Eugene Hütz — Isolation (Joy Division cover)

Adam Granduciel, Sharon Van Etten — Abandoned Love (Bob Dylan cover)

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Jan 312025
 

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

This year, Billie Eilish is nominated for a bunch of Grammys. Then again, it feels like you could say that every year. (In fact, I just checked, and you could: She’s been nominated for multiple Grammys every year since 2019). The streak began for her very first album, where she became only the second artist ever to sweep every category in the so-called “Big Four” (after Christopher Cross in 1981) and has continued ever since. She is the ultimate Grammys Darling.

But being a Grammys Darling is perhaps a mixed blessing. Grammys voters are not known for their cool, cutting-edge musical taste (see, again, Christopher Cross). What’s remarkable about Billie Eilish is that her music is cool and cutting edge. She’s not just someone out-of-touch Recording Academy elders think of as a pop star; she is an actual, bonafide pop star! Grammy voters love her, and so do their (grand)kids.

So before this weekend’s awards ceremony, we’re celebrating Billie Eilish our own way: By sharing some great covers of her songs. For an artist with only three full-length albums so far, her songs get covered a lot. Not just the big singles either, though there’s no shortage of those. Album cuts, pre-album singles, loosies, and EP tracks – they’re all here.

And the Coverme goes to…

25. Participants — You Should See Me In A Crown


This cover delivers on the ominous tone of the original, with white noise fizzling in the beginning and firm electric guitar strums getting louder and louder as the song begins. Both the drums and guitar then further punctuate the “one by one by one” lines throughout. There are some subtle changes to the tune in the second verse, and singer Brittany Smith is joined by some haunting background vocals. Smith then goes on to take some vocal runs out for a spin in the ending chorus, fitting for the confidence of “you should see me in a crown.” — Sara Stoudt

24. Shamir — Ocean Eyes

Shamir is fully emergent as that most precious of sounds, the R&B-schooled countertenor. No matter whether the arrangement is lush and physical or lush and GarageBand-created, his voice radiates and shines. He may be looking down on the cover art, but he is soaring vocally. For his version of “Ocean Eyes,” he makes his case that he has fully emerged from his chrysalis by having a butterfly in the background. “I am here and I sound beautiful, and I should be heard.” It’s a wonderful show by a remarkable talent. — Mike Tobyn

23. Saoirse Daly — Bitches Broken Hearts


The original song’s heartfelt message is even more poignant in this cover which keeps things simple, removing the many production elements of the original: The noise interference, the R&B-style background murmurs, the syncopated high hat and drum pedal. Then, that all starts to fade away. The original closes with simple piano, and that could serve as a transition to this more sparse cover. Here it is just Daly and an acoustic guitar, with percussion elements rendered by tapping on the guitar itself. — Sara Stoudt

22. Phoebe Bridgers — When The Party’s Over

“When the Party’s Over” is one of 2018’s most iconic pop music videos. So what happens when an indie-folk artist takes it on? In the hands of Phoebe Bridgers, we are treated to a version with unexpected instrumentation and hard panning. The vocals are featured only on the left side of the track, while a piano with audible action gives the cover a quaint and close-up feel. Finally, ethereal and far-off backup vocals make a cameo. — Aleah Fitzwater

21. Lauren Babic — What Was I Made For?

This cover of the Academy Award-winning theme from Barbie “What Was I Made For” is not technically funny. But when it hits the 1:39 mark, it’s hard not to laugh. That’s the moment when Lauren Babic turns from daydreamy sweetheart to metallic freakin’ monster, unleashes her booming typhoon of a voice and proceeds to knock all and sundry on their asses. This is no endearing novelty, as many metal covers of pop songs tend to be; what Babic is doing here is serious business. Get out of the way or be steamrolled to oblivion. — Hope Silverman

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Jan 072025
 
twin shadow

Twin Shadow recently asked himself…”What if “Birds of a Feather” had a winter treatment?”

The end result is a cozy retro version, which is a combination of pulsing, fresh synthesizer lines, with deep and affecting vocals. The introductory drumbeat is quick-paced and upbeat. Then guitars enter: strummy and enlivening. The double hit of the kick drum combines with the snowflake glitter of the chimes—the instrumentation results in an unexpected musical synergy. Continue reading »

Dec 202024
 

Follow all our Best of 2024 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

best cover songs of 2024

Welcome to the 50 Best Tom Petty Covers of 2024!

We kid, of course. But for whatever reason, this year’s big trend in covers was: Tom Petty. At one point there were something like 20 Petty covers on our longlist. Many came from two all-star tribute albums that dropped, entirely coincidentally, the same year (they both made our Best Albums list). We narrowed it down, of course. Three Petty covers ended up in this Top 50, one not even from those albums. Then, just this week, another high-profile Petty cover dropped: Snoop and Jelly Roll reworking “Last Dance for Mary Jane”! Suffice to say that one wouldn’t have been a contender even if it hadn’t arrived too late.

That was the big surprise trend in 2024 covers. The less-surprising trend you could have called from a mile out: The new wave of young pop divas—Chappell, Sabrina, Charli—got covered a lot. We could have done an entire 50-song list of their covers, too (the “Good Luck Babe”s alone!). But, if we had, we would have missed out on gospel R.E.M. and country The Weeknd and electropop Mott the Hoople and soul Green Day and… you know what, just read the list.

(Moo-chas gracias and Deng-ke schoen to Hope Silverman for this year’s tiny-hippo art.)

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Oct 092024
 

Maanyung is a singer and songwriter currently based in Australia, and his debut with the radio station Triple J’s covers series Like a Version is making waves. Maanyung decided to cover Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” from the Barbie movie in order to honor the feminine. During an insider interview, the artist stated: “The women in our culture, they’re the storytellers, they’re the knowledge holders, they’re the creators, so I really think that (this) song itself is so fitting.” Continue reading »

Oct 012024
 
Andrew Bird & Madison Cunningham – Crying In The Night (Buckingham/Nicks cover)

Armored Saint — One Chain (Don’t Make No Prison) (The Four Tops cover)

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