Up until this point, I’ve pretty much known Gerald Ko (better known to many as SinginDork888) as a cover artist on Youtube. So it’s a pleasant surprise to see that for what I believe is his debut single (or at least the first that I’ve seen/heard), he came out swinging with a fully produced MV and digital distribution. The visuals match the quaint acoustic charm of the single (some musical help provided by Jane Lui), sharing the story of an awkward couple that are still right for each other. Look for a cameo by Jason Chen.
As a nod to our fans from various nations abroad, we’ve put together yet another collection of international themed covers and remixes. Most are covers of songs from Asian Pop markets, with a couple translated tunes thrown in for good measure. Go ahead and have your pick at the batch, there’s bound to be a listen or two that will catch your fancy.
It’s been going on a month since our last Showdown feature, where we have a little friendly comparison of artists that cover/remix the same songs and then vote for the one we think pulled it off better.
The time seems ripe for a new one. For this post, we have a four way battle where all the competitors are singing “Safe and Sound” – a slow, heartfelt country tune by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars. Kina Grannis, Gerald Ko, Megan Lee, and Jason Chen all had the good fortune of covering this song, so why not compare them all head to head? They are all Showdown veterans, and have quite possibly all faced off against one another in one shape or form. To add a new twist in the plot, Gerald Ko is actually in Jason Chen’s video too, supplying the music via the six-string. Whodathunkit?
Alright, let’s be honest. These votes don’t technically qualify whose cover is better than the others. There are no official metrics or algorithms in use here. If one artist’s rendition appealed more to you than the others… go ahead and vote for it. After all, the artist with the most wins walks away with an awesome prize… bragging rights. Very, very modest bragging rights. Maybe?
We decided to go international with this round-up. Each of these songs are from Asian countries and covered by some of your favorite stateside artists. K-Pop? J-Pop? C-Pop? It’s all here, plus multiple genres are represented too – so you get double the variety. 1 Million Bonus points if you can understand every word sung in these songs!
Normally we’d hold a showdown when so many artists cover the same song, but everyone involved this time around has been in the ring many times before, so we figured we’d hold off for this one. The song of the hour seems to be “I Won’t Give Up” by Jason Mraz, and I can understand why – it’s a heartfelt tune from a beloved artist who hasn’t had new material in a while. So, the question is how do some of our artists compare? I’ll let you form your own opinion but my favorite of the bunch is easily Clara’s rendition. Switching from guitar to piano was a brilliant move.
“It Will Rain“, by Bruno Mars, is easily one of the more popular songs to be covered in the latter half of this year – so our initial reaction was to use it for a Showdown… then we realized we already did that. So rather than ignore the superfluous amount of covers by our artists, we decided to lump it all into one post and be done with it… for now. For the sake of discussion, I’ve ordered them in descending order from my most to least favorite. Feel free to tell me how wrong or right I am!
Today, we got a handful of videos where the common theme is that each cover is done via artist collaboration. Some of the pairings are common musical teams, others are welcome and newer make shift groups. As per usual, the genres are pretty diversely represented here, with everything from Pop/Rock to Rap to R&B to CCM each making an appearance. Check em all out below and don’t miss the ones after the break!
Gerald Ko x Aly x Noah Mash Up “Stereo Hearts” by Gym Class Heroes
Sam Tsui x Kurt Shneider Cover “Moves Like Jagger” by Maroon 5
It’s official, this round-up is a sausage fest. It’s a collection of male singers that decided to throw some covers up on Youtube. Everything from R&B to Dance/Pop to Reggae is represented here, so you’re bound to find something you like. But if you’re looking for something more from the fairer sex, then don’t fret because we’ll have an all female round-up at the end of the week. Enjoy!
Oof. We haven’t had a Showdown feature since May! Why don’t we go ahead and rectify that, shall we? This time we have two Youtube staples in the form of Singindork888 aka Gerald Ko vs Jennifer Chung. They both tackle the comeback single from Demi Lovato that debuted in July – “Skyscraper”. So go ahead and watch/take a listen and vote for your favorite version!
Gerald Ko
Jennifer Chung
So who will it be? The more conventional pop cover by Jen Chung? Or perhaps the all acoustic re-arrangement by Gerald? In case you don’t know how this works it’s pretty simple. Go ahead and cast your vote using the widget below and see where your opinion falls with the rest of the general public. It’s all in good fun!
Today’s cover round-up are all re-imagined versions of R&B/Pop hits from over the years. We’ve got the Wonder Girls making their debut on Billboard’s Monday Mash-Up series, a Chinese version of a Drake tune by Dawen, a take on a Maxwell favorite by Jae Jin, another big collab featuring Arden, Gerald, Jason & DANakaDan and lastly a CBR cover by Nessa Rica. Check em all out below and don’t forget the ones after the break too.
The Wonder Girls cover “Nothin’ On You” by B.o.B. & Bruno Mars
