Mar 102023
 
lizzo's du hast cover

Giant pop stars performing unexpected covers live in concert are a dime a dozen. They’re no doubt a blast for fans in the room, but often fail to translate on video. That’s particularly true of those regionally-pandering covers like “Hey we’re in Seattle, let’s do ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.'” Lizzo’s recent cover of Rammstein’s “Du Hast” is an exception.

She performed it a couple times on her recent German tour. The first time in Hamburg, she just sang a couple lines in between songs. That’s exactly the sort of pop-star cover that delivers clickbait-y headlines, but isn’t really worth watching (if you want to anyway, it’s here).

But then a week later in Berlin, she upped the ante. This time, her whole band had actually learned the song – as had her backing dancers, who delivered a little choreographed headbanging. As always, though, the star of The Lizzo Show is Lizzo, joyously belting a few passes at the chorus (she presumably doesn’t actually speak German to handle the whole thing) while jumping around and having a blast. It’s the sort of thing that shouldn’t work if you weren’t in the room, but absolutely does. Give your day a jolt of Rammstein-flavored joy below.

Apr 292022
 
best cover songs april 2022
Aimee Mann – Brooklyn (Steely Dan cover)

If you missed the whole brouhaha when Steely Dan dropped Aimee Mann as their opening act, it’s too long to recap here. To skip to the end, Mann tweeted, “All is forgiven if Donald [Fagan] just tells me what Brooklyn is about.” And he did! So, at a recent show at City Winery, she covered it. All does indeed appear to be forgiven. Continue reading »

Sep 302021
 
best cover songs of september
Beyoncé – Moon River (Mancini/Mercer cover

Any month with a new cover by Beyoncé is a big month. Admittedly, her piano-crooning “Moon River” like so many others have piano-crooned “Moon River” – and for a Tiffany’s ad no less – is slightly underwhelming. But we’ll take what we can get, and, even if the approach is hardly novel, Beyoncé’s got the pipes to deliver. Continue reading »

Oct 212020
 
uncommon denominator

With its undeniably catchy hook and sharp lyrics, Lizzo’s “Juice” has been a hit for the past two summers and is sure to see many more covers. Uncommon Denominator’s new version cover moves the horns, which sneak into the end of the original, to the forefront, blending them with soulful vocals and all the intricacies of the original’s rhythm section.

This Eau Claire-based cover band, who have described themselves as “a group of friends that united over a passion for playing music that is fun,” bring a life-affirming attitude to the track. Along with it, the eight piece band released a video which captures their vibrant group dynamic, making for an impressive effort at their first-ever music video.

Jun 012020
 
david ford celebration

Last night, UK singer-songwriter David Ford took his long-running annual charity concert “Milk and Cookies” to the internet. One feature of the show is covering songs he says he has no business covering, and the evening featured many, from an amazing looped-instruments version of Lizzo’s “Good As Hell” to songs by the Bee Gees and John Lennon chosen at random from a UK-number-ones sheet music book (the randomizer first tried to assign him R. Kelly, which he wisely vetoed).

But perhaps the high point was one of the most unlikely covers. It’s not that this song doesn’t get covered much – far from it, it’s in every wedding band’s repertoire. But, Ford explained, he wanted to find the happiest song he possibly could and make it a bummer: Continue reading »

Apr 232020
 
live from home covers

Every week the names doing these covers from home just get bigger. This past week got a boost from Global Citizen’s all-star charity event, from which several of today’s set come, as well as one major appearance in last night’s Jersey for Jersey fundraiser (Fountains of Wayne’s heartbreaking “Hackensack” from that is worth watching too, though, except for guest bassist Sharon Van Etten, it’s not a cover).

But, amidst the all-stars, musicians at every level continue to take to the internet to perform covers. We’ve got some of the best we’ve seen below. As always, we make no claims to being comprehensive, so share any other favorites in the comments. Continue reading »