Late Night Music Part 133......"I'll Go Find More Cover Songs If You Cover Me"

One day you guys will realize how much I love cover songs.

Also receiving votes in this category were "Heartless" by Melanie Fiona originally by Kanye West, "If I Ain't Got You" by Maroon 5 originally by Alicia Keys, and "Jamie" by Dashboard Confessional originally by Weezer.

"Use Somebody"- Craig David (originally by Kings Of Leon). So what in the world happened to Craig David? 10 years ago, this dude was on top of the world with "Fill Me In" and "Walking Away" off of his super popular debut album Born To Do It, but has been pretty quiet since in the United States keeping his steady following in the UK. This is a surprising pick for him, as even this type of acoustic soul wasn't really his style at the start of his career. Really impressive off-genre cover of a song that's deceptively hard to sing. On a side note, the guitar player in this video, Kwame Yeboah, is quite possibly the darkest person I've ever seen in my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TdzmhH48i4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnhXHvRoUd0

"I Believe In A Thing Called Love"- Lemar (originally by the Darkness). So please tell me how this guy isn't even heard of in the United States? British neo soul artist gets super bonus points for putting Marvin Gaye at the beginning and K-Ci and JoJo in the middle of this spectacular of the British glam rock anthem and karaoke classic by The Darkness. This recording was included on the live album Radio 1 Live Lounge, which I've come to find out is the equivalent of AOL Sessions or MTV Unplugged in the United Kingdom television, and included a compilation album of some of those songs. Awesome voice here and a genius pick for an off-genre cover. Would love for The Darkness to release another really cool song soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFYv6gSqimE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRYNYb30nxU

"Rolling In The Deep"- Linkin Park (originally by Adele). I keep getting more and more impressed with Linkin Park's effort to become more musically diverse, and Chester Bennington proves he has balls pulling this Adele classic off here. This performance was actually from the iTunes Festival in 2011. I like the piano-only format, but I would have liked to have seen Linkin Park come out in their full band and just shred this song! I could see why they would shy away from it though, as this 2012 Grammy winner for Record of the Year would be kind of hard to top. Just for good measure, I included her Grammy performance of the song with this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHtwZ07N1ic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ckIulg1DfQ

"Man In The Mirror"- James Morrison (originally by Michael Jackson). It takes a brave person to cover Michael Jackson. This acoustic version of the MJ classic appears on the deluxe version of British singer James Morrisons' 2008 album Songs For You, Truth For Me. While I think it was one of MJ's better songs, I also think it's probably his easiest to pull off. For example, what about the version on Glee earlier this year? I smell a bonus video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XaTT68NCho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9Nh84lfvW0

"Umbrella"- Train (originally by Rihanna). Train is the perfect band to cover this song. Pat Monahan just has a voice that fits this song. This cover was included on the deluxe edition of Train's 2008 album Save Me, San Francisco. Pretty awesome stripped down acoustic performance here from a SiriusXM radio live recording. I'm just begging Pat Monahan to stop looking like he put his hand in a toaster, but hey whatever works. Train is one of the better live bands out there, as I also saw them cover Aerosmith's "Dream On" when I saw them live in 2004 in Hattiesburg. One of the best concerts I ever saw, possibly only topped by Elton John and Paul McCartney.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmGHIq730IE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBfHwUxHIk

"We Found Love"- Coldplay (originally by Rihanna). Another Rihanna song here by one of the best bands on the planet, and by an admitted Rihanna fanatic in Coldplay front man Chris Martin. As evidenced by their awesome duet "Princess Of China", we already know the music chemistry they have. I'm pretty impressed with this effort here from Live Lounge, now let's see Rihanna do "Fix You" or "Yellow". Bonus points for the bell going off in the middle of the song and Chris Martin not missing a beat despite laughing in the microphone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igMoAFDj2-Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg00YEETFzg

"Hey, Soul Sister"- Angel Taylor (originally by Train). The biggest travesty of this season of The Voice is that Angel Taylor didn't win. She's already got an album out, been featured on VH1's "You Oughta Know: Artists On The Rise", and even had a music video shown on all the major channels. So why is she is "trying out?". Just another example of how much crap "reality" TV really is. She shows why she's a queen in this awesome impromptu cover of Train's "Hey, Soul Sister", one of my favorite songs. What an amazing woman- I love her kinda crooked smile to go along with that amazing voice. By the way, I really love Train.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab5Rs4z4ZMk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVpv8-5XWOI

"Halo"- Sam Tsui (originally by Beyonce). I could have picked any Sam Tsui cover and been equally impressed, but I really just wanted to look at my guy Michael Ealy be obsessed with Beyonce in a music video. That's awesome even if it IS a music video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2KVPoBcYR0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnVUHWCynig

"Teenage Dream"- Boyce Avenue (originally by Katy Perry). Boyce Avenue might be the best cover band on the planet right now, despite their major label debut album All We Have Left released in 2010 contained all original material. These brothers from Sarasota, Florida due a solid version of this pop song, and I'm gonna say better than Katy Perry- but that's not too hard. I really like a band that can turn so many different genre songs and turn them into solid piano acoustic tracks that still sound so much like the original, and in Boyce Avenue's case, often better than the original. Interesting fact- Boyce Avenue is the second most searched for band on youtube behind Linkin Park. Not bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAUMU3QQE6w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98WtmW-lfeE

"In My Head"- Hey Monday (originally by Jason Derulo). Jason Derulo sucks. He gets by on his looks and he's riding the hype of other similar artists like Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, and Trey Songz. This cover by Hey Monday is exponentially better. Hey Monday is one of the most underrated bands out there with Cassadee Pope being one of the best lead singers out there right now. Hey Monday is scarily similar to Paramore, but just as awesome. I was glad to see their song "Candles" be featured on Glee last year. Dang, I smell another bonus video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2BAPt58zrc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyG1FG3H6rY

"Run"- Leona Lewis (originally by Snow Patrol). I actually featured both of these in the same list recently, and how could you not? This is the best song on this list as far as an awesome cover, and the Snow Patrol original version is an unreal rock ballad, but can an angel do this song better than Leona Lewis? This song gives me chills every time I hear her do it. Unreal live performance from The X Factor in UK here. Take notice, Leona Lewis actually sneezes on stage TWICE in the middle of the song and still kills this song. That is freaking amazing. This was released as a single by Leona on her debut album Spirit and at the time was the fastest selling digital download song in United Kingdom history, and the single peaked at #1 on the British Singles Chart and #81 on the Billboard Hot 100 despite not having much of a presence in the US. The Snow Patrol version itself was also a huge hit peaking at #5 on the British Singles Chart from their 2004 album The Final Straw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTf3M9GsvaI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOBs8dU4Pb8

"No One's Gonna Love You"- Cee-Lo Green (originally by Band of Horses). Talk about an odd couple here. Cee-Lo covered Band Of Horses song from their album Cease To Begin on his Grammy nominated album The Lady Killer. In a very ironic twist, Band of Horses was so grateful for the cover that they covered the Cee-Lo song "Georgia" on their own Grammy nominated album Infinite Arms in 2010. I smell another bonus video. I never thought much of Cee-Lo as more than a sideshow act with a big mouth, but you have to respect him tackling a cover of a genre that's not even close to his and doing it so well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnBh0HnFlNw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuZo7pLnL7c

"Piano In the Dark"- Nina (originally by Brenda Russell). Nina is one of the biggest acts in the Phillipines, and featured this 1988 Brenda Russell on her album Live! in 2004. I'm kinda torn on these two as both songs are pretty solid. Brenda Russell's version has always been a guilty pleasure of mine, but the stripped down live version Nina does is so powerful. I've been a fan of Nina ever since I heard this song. I just can't understand why the people are sitting BEHIND the band in the video. I guess that's an Asian television thing. Another thing- Brenda Russell and Nina have amazing smiles! I know that seems weird, but both of them have that amazing angelic feature about them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt4Bp7Uvn4o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNeyF1khFA8

"Could Not Ask For More"- Sara Evans (originally by Edwin McCain). I wanna do this song karaoke so bad. Just 2 years after Edwin McCain hit #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 with this song off of his 1999 album Messenger, Sara Evans hit #35 and #2 on the Billboard Country Charts with this cover from her album Born To Fly. Sara Evans isn't the best looking woman alive, and I think that hurts her as far as recognition in the country genre that tends to be more blond friendly, but there's no doubt she's one of the best singers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EVd_zghQXA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPXRJkla7fI

BONUS VIDEOS- "Candles"- Hey Monday. Great song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC4RSkm2vj0

"Hey, Soul Sister"- From Glee.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcPpw8hK_jw

"Georgia"- Band of Horses cover of the Cee-Lo song and the Cee-Lo original. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkYB3BniHEs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NipEsSQmh6w
Hey Monday
Leona Lewis
Boyce Avenue