19 Best Covers of Popular Songs on Youtube

Laelia Yang March 07, 2021 | 10:12

Here are YouTube covers that feature a combination of everything: from mind-blowing drum covers, to renditions that cross the threshold into beautiful music videos, these covers are some of the best talent that YouTube has to offer.

Top best cover songs on Youtube in 2020. Photo: covermesongs

All in all, there were some interesting covers to keep us occupied this year and we wanted to give you the Top 19 Best Covers of Popular Songs for 2021, so check them out below.

1.Miley Cyrus, "Zombie" (Originally by The Cranberries)

Miley Cyrus has never been one to shy away from covering some of her favorite artists. From inserting covers into concert setlists to starting her own series of acoustic covers through Happy Hippie Presents: Backyard Sessions, Cyrus has a large repertoire of cover tunes.

From Cyrus' cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" on Saturday Night Live in April 2020 to her fan-favorite Backyard Sessions series and everything in between, Billboard has compiled her best covers below (in no particular order).

Cyrus did the late Dolores O'Riordan proudly when she took on The Cranberries' 1993 hit live from L.A.'s Whisky a Go-Go on Oct. 17, 2020, for the Save Our Stages benefit show, according to Billboard.

2.Allegaeon, "Roundabout" (Originally by Yes)

Allegaeon embraced their love of prog this year, delivering a blistering and well-received cover of the Yes classic “Roundabout.” Singer Riley McShane said, “In this cover, we try to showcase not only those influences but also how we as individual musicians have been impacted by the music of yesteryear and how that impact has helped us to develop our own styles of playing.” It’s an impressive nod to a period of music that definitely impacted the band.

3.Billie Joe Armstrong, "That Thing You Do" (Originally by The Wonders)

Photo: rollingstone

The Green Day frontman hopped into action right at the beginning of the Covid-19 restrictions, starting a series of covers to keep fans entertained while at home. The covers eventually turned into an album titled No Fun Mondays named after his series. While there were a number of great covers to choose from, we’re spotlighting “That Thing You Do,” which was penned by Fountains of Wayne songwriter Adam Schlesinger for the 1996 film of the same name. Schlesinger died from Covid-19 on April 1 at the age of 52. The Armstrong cover, in honor of Schlesinger, recalls the brilliant pop sensibilities and catchy hooks that the musician was known for.

4.Sharon Van Etten + Josh Homme, "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding" (Originally by Nick Lowe)

A pandemic, social unrest, riots, and a contentious presidential election. Turns out there was quite a bit in 2020 to feel uneasy about. But indie rocker Sharon Van Etten and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme found the perfect cover to convey exactly what many were feeling in the midst of our new normal. “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” was initially recorded by Nick Lowe (who cameos in the video) and made popular by Elvis Costello. Though Lowe’s and Costello’s versions were more upbeat and a bit defiant, Van Etten and Homme find the heart of the track in their solemn cover. The Pretty Reckless’ Taylor Momsen also performed a cover of the song this year as well, Loudwire reported.

5.Miley Cyrus, “No Freedom” (Originally by Dido)

Photo: Pinterest

Two years prior to enlisting Adam Sandler to cover the song with her on The Tonight Show, Cyrus performed the song for her Happy Hippie Presents: Backyard Sessions. The song was revived recently to honor the victims of the Oct. 2 terrorist attack on the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.

6.Behemoth featuring Niklas Kvarforth, "A Forest" (Originally by The Cure)

Nergal's main band is back — but with a twist. The Polish Satanists have announced an imminent new EP, titled A Forest, and unleashed its title cut, a seething, snarling rendition of the Cure's 1980 goth classic assisted by Shining's Niklas Kvarforth. Kvarforth also appears in the cover's dark, occult-inflected music video. The four-track EP — the group's first new music since 2018's I Loved You at Your Darkest — is due May 29th and is available for pre-order now.

"Covering music outside of metal is a challenge," Nergal commented. "Covering legendary music is an even greater challenge ... that is what drove us throughout this process. A lot of bands try it and a lot of bands fail. Subjectively, I love the outcome and it ranks amongst my favorite Behemoth covers alongside Killing Joke'sTotal Invasion' and Siekiera's 'Ludzie Wschodu.' Revolvermag cited.

7.BPMD, "Toys in the Attic" (Originally by Aerosmith)

You gotta love those all-star collaborations and this one actually came about pre-Covid. Overkill’s Bobby Blitz, Sons of Apollo drummer Mike Portnoy, Metal Allegiance bassist Mark Menghi and ex-Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel delivered a full album of covers called American Made revisiting some of the great classic rock songs that influenced them. We’re spotlighting the band’s blistering take on Aerosmith’s title track to their Toys in the Attic album.

8.Breaking Benjamin with Gavin Rossdale, "Would?" (Originally by Alice in Chains)

Photo: loudwire

It seems like a distant memory now, but there were live shows earlier this year and tours booked. Breaking Benjamin was set to share the stage with Bush this year, giving singer Ben Burnley a chance to tour with one of the bands he most admired before starting his group. While on tour, Burnley was able to share the stage with Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale as they prepared to announce the tour, with the pair teaming up to deliver a stellar live performance of the Alice in Chains classic “Would?” Unfortunately, the tour wasn’t able to go off this summer, but we did get this marvelous taste of what could have been, Loudwire wrote.

9.Code Orange, "Down in a Hole" (Originally by Alice in Chains)

Code Orange put their own spin on ‘Down In A Hole’ by Alice in Chains in a recent acoustic live performance. The band went live via Twitch in August, performing favorites of their catalog including ‘Who I Am’, ‘Autumn and Carbine’, and ‘Ugly’.

‘Down In A Hole’ appeared on Alice In Chains’ 1992 album ‘Dirt’. The record features several of the bands’ best-loved tracks including ‘Would?’, ‘Rooster’ and ‘Angry Chair’ and is widely considered one of the defining albums of the grunge era.

Alice In Chains recorded ‘Down In A Hole’ acoustically themselves as part of their MTV Unplugged set. The concert was subsequently released as an album in 1996, NME noted.

10.Chris Cornell, "Patience" (Originally by Guns N' Roses)

Usually, you give someone a birthday present, but to mark what would have been the 56th birthday of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, his family gave the world the gift of his voice. Released with a video showcasing photos of Cornell with his family and loved ones, a previously unreleased cover of Guns N’ Roses’ “Patience” arrived. With a little more electronic backing than the original, it mostly stayed true to the strummy and heartfelt nature of the original, but as usual Cornell’s weathered and vulnerable vocal had the true spotlight here.

11.Glenn Danzig, "One Night" (Originally by Elvis Presley)

Glenn Danzig has offered up the first taste of music from his long-awaited Danzig Sings Elvis covers album, unveiling the single “One Night”. The veteran rocker has also postponed his previously announced Vegas-style lounge shows in California.

The song premiered at Rolling Stone, where Danzig discussed the album and his love of Elvis Presley. “I got into Elvis because I hated going to school, so I would play hooky a lot or cut school, and I’d stay home and watch old movies,” explained Danzig.

He added, “I remember one-day watching Jailhouse Rock. And just going, ‘Whoa.’ By the end of the movie, I was like, ‘This guy’s cool. This is what I want to do.’”

Danzig continued, “[My career] happened a lot like [Elvis’ character in Jailhouse Rock], too, because nobody would put out Misfits records, so I would take them everywhere, and people would tell me it was junk and noise. So I had to put it out myself.” Consequenceofsound reported.

12.Dead Cross, "Rise Above" (Originally by Black Flag)

Photo: fnmfollowers

This year stirred up quite a few emotions, especially when it came to the protests of police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death. There were definitely some chaotic moments and Dead Cross covered Black Flag’s “Rise Above” and combined it with a particularly timely video to share their thoughts on the matter. The clip opened with a disgusted caller dressing down Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore during an open online forum over their tactics in dealing with the protests before Dead Cross launch into the fury of the song.

13.Diamante with Ben Burnley, "Iris" (Originally by Goo Goo Dolls)

Just prior to the touring shutdown, Diamante flew to Nevada to meet up with Breaking Benjamin’s Ben Burnley on a tour where they took some time post-show to record a duet of the Goo Goo Dolls’ the ‘90s hit “Iris.” “I think it’s the perfect song for this moment in time and it’s been my favorite song since I was a little girl,” said Diamante. “Every time I listen to it, it’s like a spiritual awakening.” The one-time tourmates had bonded over their love of the song and decided to make it a duet, but keeping in the spirit of the soaring nature of the original.

14.Dinosaur Pile-Up, "It's Tricky" (Originally by Run-D.M.C.)

U.K. rock band DINOSAUR PILE-UP released a video for their Amazon Original cover of RUN-DMC's "It's Tricky". The video finds the band caught in the middle of an alien invasion as UFOs whiz through the sky and the effects of the infectious song quickly take hold on the world.

Regarding the video, frontman Matt Bigland says: "We basically wanted a chance to make our own BEASTIE BOYS/Busta Rhymes-esque video, but for a RUN-DMC song. So when Amazon Music kindly agreed to put a video into production, we were, like, 'Okay, let's goooo!!'

DINOSAUR PILE-UP released its most recent, critically acclaimed album "Celebrity Mansions" via Parlophone/Roadrunner in 2019. The LP's release saw DINOSAUR PILE-UP lay claim as one of the U.K.'s most exciting rock bands and take huge strides forwards on both sides of the Atlantic. Their singles became radio smash hits, with "Back Foot" picking up regular spins from BBC Radio 1 and reaching Top 5 on the U.S. rock radio chart, according to Blabbermouth.

15.Dirty Honey, "Last Child" (Originally by Aerosmith)

One of the more promising bands leading the current rock revival is Dirty Honey, who enjoyed a breakout in 2019 and are currently working toward a new album. But in between records, the group ducked into Nashville’s RCA Studios and cut a video for their cover of Aerosmith’s “Last Child.” This studio version was released as an Amazon Original and gave the guys a chance to show off some of their swaggers, even if it’s in a studio setting.

16.Disciples of Verity, "Unsteady" (Originally by X Ambassadors)

Living Colour’s Corey Glover added a new band to his resume fronting Disciples of Verity, which also includes vets from God Forbid, Negative Sky, and Sekond Skyn. Included on their debut album Pragmatic Sanction, the group decided to take on X-Ambassadors alt-pop hit “Unsteady.” Much like the original, the song provides a showcase for the vocalist as Corey Glover gets to show the power of his voice while also delivering moments of vulnerability. But this new version definitely comes with more metallic instrumentation than the original.

17.Disturbed, "If I Ever Lose My Faith in You" (Originally by Sting)

Chicago alt.metal titans Disturbed have unveiled a new cover of the Sting classic If I Ever Lose My Faith In You.

“We have loved this song for a long time, and even though it was released in 1993, it seems strangely applicable to today’s world,” the band says.

“The song is about losing faith, and might initially sound pessimistic, but it’s about the importance and power of personal relationships, and how they can save you and provide solace in an increasingly confusing world.” Kerrang wrote.

18.Evanescence, "Cruel Summer" (Originally by Bananarama)

Photo: Youtube

Don’t let the bouncy fun of Bananarama’s ‘80s hit “Cruel Summer” fool you. There are some darker themes in the lyrics and a pair of Evanescence musicians bring that to the forefront in a reimagined version of the song. Singer Amy Lee and guitarist Troy McLawhorn forego the dancing beats and give the song the haunting arrangement it deserved, showcasing some of the emotional weight of the lyrics.

19.FEVER 333, "In the End" (Originally by Linkin Park)

In the lead-up to Linkin Park’s 20th anniversary of Hybrid Theory, FEVER 333 recorded a cover of “In the End” for Spotify’s Singles Series as a nod to the influential rockers. While the instrumentation stays true to the original, the real difference comes in the vocal delivery as Jason Aalon Butler’s comes off a little more aggressive than Mike Shinoda’s original rap verses. It’s a solid cover of a song that’s deeply ingrained in the minds of rock listeners over the last two decades.

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