Watch: The 10 Best Covers Of 2015’s Most Popular Songs
Most people you talk to claim music sucks now. Every song is about sex, alcohol, drugs and money. You never hear anyone’s real voice because technology has made it to where anyone can be a singer. If you want music with meaning, you’ll have to travel back a solid 20-30 years.
That’s just not true. There are several artists putting out quality music, and you don’t even have to look that hard to find them. 2015 was an interesting year because true artists started to get more play on the radio. Award shows started recognizing real talent, and pulled back (just slightly) on glorifying sh-t music. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still out there as you can see by number 9 on this list, but at least it provides someone with real talent to step in and create a freaking brilliant cover.
Anyway, check out the list below. I tried to mix things up a bit, so hopefully you’ll be surprised by a few of these covers.
No. 10 – “Can’t Feel My Face” JR Aquino & Charles Nguyen
Does this dude look familiar to you? JR Aquino has been putting up covers on YouTube for years now. He also made it to Hollywood week during the 4th season of American Idol, and he appeared on The Voice in 2012. He was eliminated during the battle rounds.
Hopefully he makes it big one day.
No. 9 – “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” BRIANSVIOLIN
You might detest this song, but I’m willing to bet you have danced to it…at least once. It’s incredibly catchy and during its peak, you couldn’t escape this thing. I remember going to the mall a few months ago, and while I was there I noticed they were hosting this dance battle for teenagers. All the shoppers were gathered around to watch, so I decided to join them because I didn’t want to feel left out.
I watched a total of 7 dances, and 6 of those dances featured this song. The most amazing part? The crowd never lost their enthusiasm for it. It was, “OHHHHH!” and “YEAAAAAH!” every single time the track dropped, and nearly everyone in the crowd knew the dance. Even the proud Grandfather standing in the corner eating his soft pretzel.
This story was about as pointless as this song. I’m sorry. Focus on Brian and his violin. That’s the real talent.
No. 8 – “Photograph” Foxes
What does the fox say? I honestly don’t know where I was going with that. It popped in my head, and I was like, “That has the potential to be funny. I’m sure I’ll be able to think of a punchline.” But nope. I got nothing.
I don’t know much about Louisa Rose Allen (Foxes) but I do know she has an incredible voice. I can’t say for sure, but I think I might like her version more than the original. That’s saying a lot because I’m a huge Ed Sheeran fan.
No. 7 – “Cheerleader” Pentatonix
You all know this song, and you all should know the group doing this ridiculously impressive cover. They are the masters of covers, but you should know their original songs are pretty dope as well.
Click here to check out their first single from their latest album.
No. 6 – “FourFiveSeconds” TIA
Remember this song? It was released in January of 2015, which might as well be 10 years ago on the internet. I was addicted to this song for a solid month, and then I stopped listening to it completely for a few months because that’s just the stormy relationship I have with music.
This cover reminded me of the love I once had for it. Their voices mixed so well together.
No. 5 – “Love Yourself” Alessia Cara
The cover queen of YouTube did it again. Alessia Cara is extremely talented, and if it wasn’t for YouTube, we would probably still be Caraless today. She was discovered on the site, and her lead single “Here” from her debut album reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Some critics are even including the song on their “top songs of 2015” lists.
Pretty impressive, right? She’s going to be huge.
No. 4 – “Run Away With Me” Robin Leneutre & Rafael Andronic
This video has just 2,900 views, which is a little depressing. I think it’s one of the best covers on this list, and just in case you haven’t heard the original version of the song by Carly Rae Jepsen, you can click this link to check it out. Just wait for the chorus to hit.
I was like…
No. 3 – “Hello” Lydia Lee
You have probably seen this one before. It’s the song and the cover of 2015. Adele has one of the most beautiful voices in the world. Singing one of her songs must be daunting, but Lydia Lee just entered the kitchen and she’s eating daunts and croissants for dinner.
This cover was good enough to land Lydia a spot on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she once again killed it.
No. 2 – “Hotline Bling” William Singe
I don’t have any panties to drop, but if I did, they would probably be on the floor right now. This cover has almost 5 million views, which appears to be quite normal for this William character. He has several covers on his channel, and at least 12 of them have over a million views.
Could he be the next Alessia Cara? We’ll see.
No. 1 – “See You Again” Anyone Know His Name?
I have tried searching for this man’s name. There are so many different copies of this video floating around, it’s been difficult trying to locate the original. According to Reddit, he’s a well-known street performer in Las Vegas.
Watching him live would almost be worth the trip out there. You could give me the best drum kit in the world, free lessons for a year and two extra hands, and I still wouldn’t be able to match this.
