23 April 2014 - Lucius - Closer

Here's New York indie poppers Lucius, doing their hipster thing playing Tegan and Sara's big hit Closer with two Casios, drum pads and a shaker while sitting at a dining room table. While I really liked the original (who didn't?), there's a certain bouncy simplicity to this cover that I can't help but enjoy.

21 April 2014 - Rachele Lynae - Chillin' It

Country up-and-comer Rachele Lynae's full-length, self-titled debut comes out tomorrow. You know I'll be badgering my mailman every day until it arrives. I already posted Rachele's cover of Karmin's Acapella, so I needed to find another song to feature today. I think I found a great one too. Here she is giving brand new life to the Cole Swindell hit Chillin' It. I'm lovin' it.



Be sure to join in on the CMchat goodness tonight at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET for Twitterviews with Rachele Lynae AND Craig Campbell! Just click on that link to follow in on the fun, or follow #CMchat on Twitter. Trust me, it's always a blast!

Aw heck, while we're at it, here's Craig Campbell playing Royals.

18 April 2014 - The Pretty Reckless - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up)

A friend of mine recently played me the new single by The Pretty Reckless. To be honest I knew nothing about them or their singer Taylor Momsen (who's also a popular actress), but I thought the song was pretty rockin'. I may even pick up their new album if I see it for a reasonable price. I recently checked out a couple of their videos and I stumbled upon this really cool acoustic version of Fall Out Boy's My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up).



Jiminy Jillikers!

15 April 2014 - Little Mix - Word Up!

One of the funkiest songs of the 80's...... done by a girl group in 2014?

Yep.

Released in March 2014 for the Sport Relief charity (hence the very active video), these 2011 X Factor winners (the first group to win, by the way - even One Direction didn't accomplish that!) picked a great tune to cover.  And, even though these girls specialize in pop music, and clearly have to alter key and pacing for their genre, this cover says pretty faithful to what Cameo did, albeit a little brighter.


I know what you are all thinking. No way they are singing this. 

Yeah.  They are. 

14 April 2014 - Little Big Town - Elvira

Some bands just have a knack for not only picking great cover songs, but also making those songs their own. Little Big Town is one of those bands. It has to be those awesome harmonies. About a year and a half ago I posted their awesome cover of Lady Gaga's Born This Way. Today I present you with their slow-burn, bluesy take on The Oak Ridge Boys classic Elvira.



Be sure to join in on the fun tonight at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET for a special Twitterview with The Oak Ridge Boys at CMchat!

9 April 2014 - The Lumineers - Go Your Own Way

I love how The Lumineers totally made this Fleetwood Mac classic their own. I'm not saying that The Lumineers' version is better than the original, but sometimes simplicity wins out in my mind (I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere, but I'm not smart enough to think of one).

8 April 2014 - Bonde do Rolê - (Brazilian) Boys Don't Cry

Sometimes, a mashup is all you need to spark a good cover.  Take the Bonde do Rolê song "Brazilian Boys".  It gets mashed in at the end of this cover, which is mostly a Cure cover.  It's not exactly like The Cure would do it - bringing in Bonde's traditional sound - but still remains faithful.  In a bit of a twist, the guys are doing the singing this time, and not Laura Taylor.  Which makes sense in this case, because they are saying No to a Gay Cure in this live festival recording.

4 April 2014 - My Chemical Romance - Common People

New Jersey's My Chemical Romance was one of my favorite modern rock bands of the 00s. Their 2006 epic The Black Parade is right up there on my awesomeness scale with Green Day's 2004 masterpiece American Idiot. When I saw that the now defunct band took a shot at covering the quintessentially English "Common People" by Pulp, I was intrigued. The song starts out sounding a lot like the original but then spins into a full-blast MCR classic after the first chorus.

2 April 2014 - Billy Ray Cyrus - These Boots Are Made For Walking

Country singer Billy Ray Cyrus (aka Miley's dad) released a brand new video today for his latest single Hope Is Just Ahead. It's a heartfelt song that begs to be heard. But before you check it out, hit the play button and take a trip back to 1992 with a cover (that is what we do here) off his debut album Some Gave All. Here's Billy Ray Cyrus' version of the Lee Hazlewood penned Nancy Sinatra classic -- These Boots Were Made For Walkin'.



Be sure to join in on the fun tonight at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET for a special Wednesday Twitterview with Billy Ray Cyrus at CMchat!

1 April 2014 - Lennon and Maisy - Ring of Fire & Ho Hey

Lennon and Maisy Stella are from Ontario.... in Canada. They're young and incredible talented country musicians.  Here they are, performing the June Carter-penned Johnny Cash classic.



Is there anything else I should be telling you about them?  hmmmmmm....

Oh yeah! They're also on a little TV show called "Nashville" on ABC. This cover of the Lumineers "Ho Hey" made it to the Top 40 on the US Country charts.  If you haven't watched the show, you should.  It's one of the best shows on network television.

And yes, they let them perform it on the Opry without Connie Britton's dialog, too.