4 Pop Covers That Are (Debatably) Better Than the Original Songs

Every once in a while, a musician or band will cover a song from another artist that rivals the original tune. It’s a rare thing to see, and not many musicians are out to one-up their favorite artists. Still, these four bands and musicians managed to deliver some seriously good covers, and some would even say they are better than the original. Let’s look at four pop covers that are (very debatably) better than the original songs!

1. Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U”

This is probably one of the most well-known instances of a pop cover being better (or at least more popular) than the original song. Sinead O’Connor’s rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” not only rivals Prince’s version but also puts a new spin on the song that listeners were likely not expecting. O’Connor’s version was about her love for her mother, while Prince’s version was about a lover.

2. The Beatles, “Twist And Shout”

Some casual Beatles fans may not know that “Twist And Shout” is actually one of the most recognizable pop covers of all time. The pop-rock track was originally written by Burt Russel and Phil Medley for The Isley Brothers. When the Fab Four got their mitts on it, it quickly became associated with The Beatles.

3. Arctic Monkeys, “Love Machine”

The Arctic Monkeys once famously covered “Love Machine” by British-Irish pop girl group Girls Aloud. The original track was your standard early 2000s earworm pop hit. Arctic Monkeys managed to turn it into an indie-rock hit again when they covered it in 2006.

4. Bjork, “It’s Oh So Quiet”

Icelandic musician Bjork doesn’t cover songs all that often. But when she does, she manages to easily Bjork-ify the original song and turn it into something notably creative. That’s precisely what she did with “It’s Oh So Quiet” on her hit 1995 album Post. The original song was a Betty Hutton tune from 1951. And we can’t forget that wild, surreal music video for the song that was directed by Spike Jonze.

Photo by Andre Csillag/Shutterstock

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