The Best Cover Songs of April 2026

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May 012026
 
Noah Kahan
Arlo Parks — Yukon (Justin Bieber cover)

The talk of Coachella this year was Justin Bieber—specifically, his controversial headlining set that featured, in part, him singing along karaoke-style to videos of himself he pulled up on YouTube. Plus, Geese debuted their old “Baby” cover live (while Sabrina Carpenter watched sidestage no less). But maybe the best Bieber happening this month was this great lo-fi cover by Arlo Parks.

Jamey Johnson – Pretty When It’s New (Merle Haggard)

Merle Haggard’s birthday saw two new covers drop. One’s in the next section. This first one’s even better though. Country singer Jamey Johnson dug deep—and late—for this pick. The song comes off one of Haggard’s final albums, 2010’s I Am What I Am. This is the same album that included “Bad Actor,” which Bob Dylan covered in concert a couple years ago. The album’s seemingly on its way to be the country version of Blackstar or You Want It Darker, a late-in-life masterpiece for the true heads. Continue reading »

Good, Better, Best: Outkast Tribute Albums

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Nov 042025
 
Outkast tribute albums

When Andre 3000 appeared on Questlove’s podcast, the host noted that he was on a tour bus when he heard the album Aquemini for the first time. As soon as he heard “SpottieOttieDopaliscious,” he knew that Outkast had conquered another musical genre, and that marching bands across the country would soon be playing the tune. He was right.

Outkast are a great hip-hop band, and they helped define a whole genre of Southern hip-hop, which survives and thrives today. But they also provided some of the great crossover pop songs of the past 30 years. One way of looking at success is how many musicians want to pay tribute to your canon. Covers, of course, and there are many of these for Atlanta’s finest, and the site has covered some of the greatest ones from Outkast here and here. Continue reading »

The Best Cover Songs of July 2025

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Jul 312025
 
Best Cover Songs
Benson Boone — Seventeen Going Under (Sam Fender cover)

Bruce Springsteen — Poor Side Of Town (Johnny Rivers cover)

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The Best Cover Songs of April 2024

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Apr 302024
 
best cover songs
The Dirty Nil — Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler cover)

I’m honestly surprised there weren’t more “Total Eclipse” covers during this month’s total eclipse. Perhaps because our total eclipse was of the sun, rather than the heart. Or, more likely, because this song is hard as hell to sing. Best of the bunch came this garage-rocking version from Ontario trio The Dirty Nil. Gritty and raw, and singer Luke Bentham sells the hell out of it. Continue reading »

Five Good Covers: “Hey Ya!” (Outkast)

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Feb 182022
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

Hey Ya covers

Outkast has been hugely influential in the rap genre, and the duo has been innovating since their first album Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik was released in 1994. Big Boi and André 3000  began to crossover to pop with songs like “Ms. Jackson,” but the Speakerboxxx/The Love Below album quickly became the duo’s biggest commercial success. In this double album, Speakerboxxx represented Big Boi’s vision while The Love Below represented André 3000’s. The first two singles promoted one song of each: “The Way You Move” (which definitely deserves its own Cover Me post at some point) and “Hey Ya!”. Both became instant dance-floor classics.

“Hey Ya!” really has it all. A call-and-response, a coined dance move, and references to Beyoncé and Lucy Liu. Is it a happy song? Is it a sad song? Do we really care? The song topped FiveThirtyEight’s data-driven ultimate wedding playlist, and this checks out. I have personally been the one shaking it like a Polaroid picture on the wedding reception dance floor and wow, do I want to be doing that again. With the backlog of weddings postponed because of the pandemic, will 2022 finally see the resurgence of this essential rite of passage for a newly married couple? Time will tell. Until then let’s hear some others reimagine “Hey Ya!”

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