Whenever an artist covers a classic, audiences await the rendition with trepidation because it can go both ways. The cover will either be an unfortunate butchering of a great song, or, that artist might just make the song more popular than the original artist ever had. The first example of that that springs to mind is Sinead O’Connor’s cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’. So here’s a list of other covers that completely usurped the original, or at least almost did.
Sninead O’Connor, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ (Prince)
Beck, ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ (INXS)
The Beatles, ‘Twist and Shout’ (The Isley Brothers)
Tame Impala, ‘Confide In Me’ (Kylie Minogue)
The Weeknd, ‘Dirty Diana’ (Michael Jackson)
The White Stripes, ‘Jolene’ (Dolly Parton)
Angus and Julia Stone, ‘Say it Right’ (Nelly Furtado)
Justin Vernon, ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ (Bonnie Raitt)
Lykke Li, ‘Silver Springs’ (Fleetwood Mac)
Lana Del Rey, ‘Chelsea Hotel No.2’ (Leonard Cohen)
