I don’t know about you, but I think that the Live Lounge is one of the best things on the radio.
If you are unsure as to what a Live Lounge is, then let me break it down for you. An artist – any artist – will come into the BBC Radio 1 studio and perform two songs (usually). The first will be whatever song they are promoting at the time, and the second will be a cover.
Now, perfecting the cover is an art form, and it’s something that I’m sure many artists spend hours and hours pouring over. After all, the song choice is only half the battle. Do you copy the original? Do you mash it up with something else? Do you bring in strings? It can be a nightmare, I am sure.
So, in my infinite wisdom, I decided to try and rank my top 10 covers from all the years of the Live Lounge. Here we go…
10. Two Door Cinema Club – Treasure (Bruno Mars cover)
I won’t lie to you – I had no clue this cover existed. I was looking for their recent cover of Billie Eilish‘s Bad Guy (which is also worth a look), but I found this one instead – and, by God, am I glad I did. The Irish boys change very little about the original song, with only the drum beat missing; but, sometimes, not changing a thing is the best thing to do. Let us also note that Alex Trimble’s Northern Irish accent is also slightly different from Bruno Mars’ suave voice.
9. Ed Sheeran – Dirrty (Christina Aguilera cover)
Ed Sheeran has always been rather good at the old covers. He’s made a habit of mixing them in with originals in his live set, so one might say that the Live Lounge is a perfect place for himself to show what he’s all about. This is a track I will admit I had never heard before the Live Lounge (and actually haven’t heard since), but it’s just a good ol’ fashioned fun pop song and perfectly showcases Ed’s ability to sing perfectly, get a bit of a rap in and manage to drum on his guitar the whole way through it.
(Also, massive shout out to the guy playing the piano in this one. He used to be in lots of these Live Lounges and I haven’t seen him in quite some time. #bringbackpianoguy)
8. Mumford and Sons – Breathin’ (Ariana Grande cover)
Okay, this is a fantastic pop song as it is. But, in my books, adding a banjo to anything invariably improves it. Oh, and add in the London Contemporary Orchestra? And Marcus Mumford’s wonderful voice? Well, then you’ve got yourself one fantastic Live Lounge cover. They didn’t need to completely change the song, as replacing electronic beats with live instruments and an orchestra results in a rather Grande sounding cover….
I’ll see myself out.
7. Hozier – Lay Me Down (Sam Smith cover)
This was a tough one. Every time he steps foot in the Live Lounge, Hozier kills it. His previous Live Lounge efforts (Regulate and Do I Wanna Know?) are two of my favourite covers of all time, but Lay Me Down steals it.
For a man who is renowned for his slow, thought-provoking songs to take this masterpiece from Sam Smith and then speed it up and give it some serious Jackson 5 vibes is surprising, sure; but, it’s also a masterstroke. This will get stuck in your head for days, so click Play with caution.
6. Sam Fender- Break up with your girlfriend (Ariana Grande cover)
Sam Fender and Ariana Grande are two artists you most definitely would not put together; which, for me, is the beauty of the Live Lounge. I remember listening to this as it aired and was a little bit disappointed when Fender announced that his effort would be a cover of this song.
But, I made the mistake for forgetting that the man at the microphone was Sam Fender. He could read my Tesco receipt to me and I’d still feel something. And let’s not get started on the guitar solo. Because I will ramble on for pages and pages about it.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this man is the future of UK Indie Rock music.
5. Dermot Kennedy – Lover/Flashing Lights (Taylor Swift/Kanye West cover)
Ahh, Dermot. As One on One‘s resident Dermot Kennedy expert, I am extremely biased – but, it is a bloody good cover, isn’t it? This is the most excited I had ever been for a Live Lounge, and he certainly didn’t disappoint.
His gravelly voice perfectly suits the sweet and tender cover of Lover. As fantastic as I think the original is, the power in his voice gives it an extra dimension, and the gentle piano and strings give a fantastic backing to his voice. Then it changes. The staccato piano notes and the choppy string notes grab your attention; and then, just like the 2009 VMA’s, Kanye interrupts Taylor. Boom.
The magic of this is that Kennedy is just as comfortable with this classic hip hop track as he is with Lover and this makes for one of the best covers of recent times.
4. Paramore – Passionfruit (Drake cover)
For me, the best part of a Live Lounge is hearing a song that you’ve heard hundreds, if not thousands of times get completely re-imagined. This is exactly what Paramore did to Drake‘s platinum-selling single ‘Passionfruit’ back in 2017.
The drum loop is, quite frankly, sick, and to hear this song with otherwise completely live instruments opens your eyes to how good this song is. The set up of this Live Lounge feels like we’ve been invited into the living room of Paramore as they’re jamming; it’s almost as if the fact that almost 20 million people have watched it is just a happy accident. Top marks to them for throwing in a bit of Hold On, We’re Going Home, too; I love it when they do that.
3. James Bay – Delicate (Taylor Swift cover)
Okay, I may be a little biased here as I was lucky enough to be in the crowd for this, but I think it is a fantastic cover. I think his voice really suits this song and could work very well as a duet. I like how stripped-down he makes it, with only himself and a drummer performing the track. The tone he achieves on his guitar is fantastic and gives it a nice change to the original. Good work, James.
2. Jack Garratt – 7 Days/ Senorita (Craig David/Justin Timberlake cover)
I adore everything Jack Garratt touches. I think it may be a combination of the passion and the frankly annoying amount of talent that he possesses.
This is such a wonderful idea and the mash-up works exquisitely. Most covers that are a mash-up have a clear switch over point, but this just flows perfectly in and out of the tracks. I have no clue how he always seems to be doing 6 things at once and to do it this perfectly; hey, the drum solo at the end alone justifies its place in this list. Garratt‘s been away working on new music and I will be bitterly disappointed if Radio 1 doesn’t get him back in the Live Lounge when it comes out…
1. Ben Howard – Call Me Maybe (Carly Rae Jepsen cover)
This was one of the first Live Lounges I ever watched. I even went and bought the Live Lounge 2012 compilation CD because I wanted to listen to this track constantly – and, for good reason.
This is the most unexpected twist on a song of any cover, ever. I mean, it makes sense when you think about it. Sure, the original has all the trademarks of a quintessential pop song: a little bit annoying, catchy as hell, and if you’re a few beers in, you better believe you are screaming it as loud as you can.
But, when you stop and listen to them, the lyrics are a little creepy. I mean, ‘Hey, I just met you / and this is crazy / but here’s my number / so, call me maybe’? I’d be running a mile by the time she reached the third line. Mr. Howard took this and ran with it, making it a dark tune that’s fit for a creepy stalker scene in a big-budget thriller.
The perfect Live Lounge? I think so. (Oh, and massive props to the guy playing bass and drums at the same time.)