The Live Lounge, much like other radio shows, has some of the best artists come on the air. But, one detail that sets it apart from those other shows, is having amazing artists come on the show and cover other amazing artists. We don’t know about you, but we think there is just something really cool about an artist covering a song that’s completely outside of their typical genre. A big thank you to Radio 1 for making our dreams come true on a weekly basis.
This list is your guide to the best covers that have happened on the Radio 1 Live Lounge.
- “Stay” originally performed by Rihanna – 30 Seconds To Mars
Part of the appeal of this cover is that it is so unexpected. 30 Seconds to Mars is one of the true rock bands that still have mainstream appeal, so to see them take a softer, breathy tone to “Stay” was just too good.
- “Hands to Myself” originally performed by Selena Gomez – DNCE
While this cover isn’t necessarily surprising, (pretty sure Joe Jonas learned all the lyrics from hearing Selena sing them every night on tour) it is still mesmerizing.
- “Take Me to Church” originally performed by Hozier – Demi Lovato
“Take Me to Church” is probably the most covered song in the Live Lounge, and it was a tough choice to pick just one performance, but Demi really blew it out of the water on this one. Sticking true to the haunting sound of Hozier while adding her killer vocals made this performance one of the best.
- “Hold on We’re Going Home” originally performed by Drake – Arctic Monkeys
This may be the most famous Live Lounge cover; it’s found it’s way to Tumblr, 8tracks, Twitter and pretty much every other social media you can think of, but for good reason. Taking one of Drake’s best songs and adding the Arctic Monkeys sound just creates and entrance to Heaven.
- “Summertime Sadness” originally performed by Lana Del Rey – Miley Cyrus
While Miley and Lana may not be the best of friends, Miley’s cover of “Summertime Sadness” (which is very close to Lana’s original version) is something to be remembered. In the video, Miley really gets into the song and makes it very hard to look away.
- “Rather Be” originally performed by Clean Bandit – The 1975
The 1975 are no strangers to the Live Lounge stage having performed there three different times. On their most recent visit, however they have reached their full potential. Honestly, how can it get better than this?!
- “Do I Wanna Know” originally performed by Arctic Monkeys – Hozier
Talk about amazing artists covering each other–Hozier takes “Do I Wanna Know” and puts his signature style in use when covering this classic Arctic Monkeys song. Also, hello back-up singers!
- “Jealous/I Can’t Feel My Face” originally performed by Nick Jonas/The Weekend – Elle King
This one was a bit unexpected addition to the list. Of course we were all for the cover of Jealous, but when Elle went into singing the chorus of “Can’t Feel My Face” we couldn’t help but dance. You’ll have this one on repeat, because you just can’t get enough of this awesome medley.
- “Believe/Kashmir” originally performed by Mumford and Sons/Led Zeppelin – Nothing But Thieves
This is easily the standout of the list–at first glance you may think there is no way an indie-folk band like Mumford and Sons can be mixed with rock veterans Led Zepplin but then you listen to Nothing But Thieves do the impossible.
- “Happy” originally performed by Pharrell – Maroon 5
Last, but of course not least, we have the wonderful Maroon 5 covering frontman Adam Levine’s The Voice co-star’s smash hit of 2015 and stripping it down to create a musical masterpiece.
Check out the Radio 1 calendar here to see if your favorite band is hitting the Live Lounge stage!
- GTK: PJ Harding - June 16, 2023
- Big Time Rush is Just Getting Started - February 13, 2023
- 2023 GRAMMYs: The Nominees - November 15, 2022
