Some songs are written so utterly perfect that no cover could or would ever do them justice. And in spite of our availability when it comes to listening to a song that has been rehashed in order to make it possible for wannabe artists to hit the top of the charts, there are songs that simply shouldn’t be tackled. Even though we should also address the topic of including parts of famous songs into pieces that simply aren’t good (as Abba’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme” was raped by Madonna or how Christina Aguilera and Pitbull decided that Aha’s “Take on me” needed some improvement), today’s article will only discuss appalling covers that could even make fans doubt the original song. So here are (x) horrible covers that have completely ruined the originals:
Madonna- American Pie
At the top of our list is one of the best contenders for the Worst Covers of All Time lists. Madonna’s American Pie has been so loathed and has been described as one of the biggest travesties to ever be heard. Recorded for the romantic comedy “The Next Best Thing”, it’s more than clear that neither the song nor the movie were well received. So much so that Madonna herself disavowed the song, stating that her decision to record it was sort of forced by a certain record company. Whatever the reason, there is no reason for such bad music.
Britney Spears- Satisfaction
Wasn’t it more than clear that if the queen of pop wanted shit to hit the fan with the previous cover, that the princess of pop would follow in her footsteps? She decided therefore to take this absolutely amazing song from the Rolling Stones, grind it together with a dash of bad singing, stick it to a ridiculously horrible re-orchestration and market it as her own personal insult to a band that has written music history.
Sheryl Crow – Sweet Child o’ Mine
Who doesn’t love the original, down-to-earth, absolutely perfect song that was, is and forever will be Sweet Child o’ Mine? Apparently Sheryl Crow, as she single handedly destroyed it (as if she had lit it on fire, spat on it and lit it on fire all over again to make sure that the ashes themselves had burned). Her version is even worse than anyone could imagine, but if you don’t want to take our word for it, we invite you to try and get to the end of this 3 min 57 second musical cacophony.
Massive Attack- Light My Fire
Even great bands such as Massive Attack can totally screw up from time to time and there is no better example of such a situation than what they have achieved by trying to cover the song “Light My Fire” (originally sung by The Doors). We all know the original and if you don’t we strongly suggest you listen to it at least ten times so that you can erase any and all remnants of this cover from your memory.
Sean Kingston- Me Love
Can you imagine a situation in which a relatively bad song is covered and it becomes an even worse song? Of course you can’t so we decided to help you and bring you one perfect such example. Originally sung by Led Zeppelin (as Dyer Maker), Sean Kingston managed to suck out everything in the song that had to do with good-old-fashioned music and replaced it with poorly structured commercial music, thus turning it into complete and utter rubbish.
For your own viewing pleasure.
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