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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Apr 032023
 
best cover songs of march 2023
Bria – When You Know Why You’re Happy (Mary Margaret O’Hara’ cover)

Bria’s “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” made our list of the Best Covers of 2022. The track was a sneak peak at her covers EP Cuntry Covers Vol. 2, and the full thing dropped a few weeks ago. It includes a wonderful version of this much more obscure song. Bria explains: “Mary Margaret O’Hara is a creative force and one of my favorite Canadian artists. I have been a huge fan of hers for quite some time and really wanted to try my hand at one of her songs for Vol. 2. She is a real queen of vocal improvisation. It’s a trait of hers that I’ve always admired, so I really wanted to explore that when recording this cover. The video for this track is special to us, a sort of collage of memory; fragmented footage of summer taken over the last two years is dispersed throughout shots of a vast winter scene, filmed while we finished the record up North with our live band.” Continue reading »

Aug 312021
 
best cover songs august
Brandi Carlile – We Belong (Pat Benatar cover)

Cheating a little as we missed this one in July, but if you too haven’t heard the acoustic “We Belong” Brandi’s been playing on tour with The Twins, it will be worth the wait. “We belong together” takes on a whole new meaning as we (try to) come out of quarantine. Continue reading »

Mar 312021
 
best cover songs march 2021
Brandi Carlile – I Remember Everything (John Prine cover)

Millions saw Brandi Carlile cover John Prine’s final song “I Remember Everything” at the recent Grammy Awards. Turns out, it was a preview of a new album, a sequel to 2010’s Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, one of the best tribute albums ever. Not much more info out there yet – it’ll be out in the fall, apparently – but it has a high bar to live up to. Continue reading »

May 282015
 
Shamir

Before he turned to dance music, Las Vegas’s Shamir tried to become a country star. A local producer nixed the idea though, and while it helped him turn to the sound that is so buzzy right now, it was a definite loss for country. He’s shown that before, with a great cover of Linda Ortega and Miranda Lambert, and now he does it again covering Kacey Musgraves‘ “Merry ‘Go Round.” Continue reading »