There’s a certain art to a well-executed cover. In most cases, you associate a song with the original way that you heard it performed, and anything that follows usually doesn’t measure up. The pinnacle of the form is a cover that goes in a completely new direction, or better yet, has you liking it even more than the version you’re already familiar with. For example, I was never a fan of The Police’s Roxanne, but I love George Michael’s reinterpretation of it as a jazz standard. Some of my other all-time favourites include The Lemonheads giving Mrs. Robinson a refreshing update, and Lorde taking Everybody Wants To Rule The World to a whole other planet.

George Michael covers Roxanne by The Police

The Lemonheads cover Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel

Lorde covers Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears

Placebo covers Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush

Alien Ant Farm covers Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

Madeleine Peyroux covers Dance Me To The End Of Love by Leonard Cohen