Four Cover Songs That May Actually Be Better Than Their Originals

September 21, 2015

Today, Ryan Adams released his version of “1989” where he covers Taylor Swift’s now-famous album in its entirety. I was a little skeptical at first, but it’s absolutely awesome and you should listen to it immediately here.

This got me thinking about some of my other favorite covers, some of which may actually be better than their originals. In no particular order, they are:

Ed Sheeran covering 5 Seconds of Summer’s “She Looks So Perfect”

Mr. Sheeran takes this sugary pop hit and slows it down a bit in the way that only he can. Check it out here.

Kelly Clarkson covering Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”

Talk about two women with incredibly powerful voices. Kelly Clarkson definitely does this song justice with her version of it. Watch it here. 

Aretha Franklin covering Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”

It’s hard to imagine anyone singing this song better than Adele, but Aretha Franklin kills it in this cover version of the song. Definitely give it a listen.

Lastly, this doesn’t technically count, but I’d also like to include Nick Jonas performing a stripped down version of his own song “Jealous” with a gospel choir. I listen to it at least 30 times a day, and that’s not an exaggeration.

— Lauren the web girl