13 Worst Cover Songs

I must admit that I do enjoy cover songs, in fact I become very excited when I stumble across a cover song that I have not heard before, almost like a child who can not get to sleep the night before Christmas.

To me a good cover song should not be a carbon copy of the original and should add something different. A male voice singing a song previously sung by a woman, a metal band covering a song from a different genre, I think you get the general idea.

Although there have been some awesome cover songs (check out Five Finger Death Punch’s cover of Bad Company for an excellent example) there have been even more awful ones. I’d even go as far as to say that for every great cover song there are at least 20 awful ones.

I have compiled a list of 13 that should never have seen the light of day.

1. Britney Spears – I Love Rock & Roll (Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker)

I was a fan of this song (more the Joan Jett cover than the 1975 original), that was until I heard Britney’s cover on one of those generic music channels that are always popping up. I had to walk out of the room to save myself from putting my foot through the screen and wrecking a rather nice (and expensive) television.

Britney, you wouldn’t know what Rock ‘n’ Roll was if it came up to you and beat the living hell out of you while holding a big sign with rock ‘n’ roll in huge black letters on it!

2. Mariah Carey – Bringin’ on the Heartbreak (Def Leppard)

I am not a particularly big fan of Def Leppard, but whoever it was from their camp who thought that this would be a great idea needs to be taken outside and stabbed in the face repeatedly with a very blunt spoon.

How did this even receive as many good reviews as it did?

3. Celine Dion and Anastasia – You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)

I know it is wrong to hit women but after hearing what these two talentless song murderers have done to this track I’d like to shake both of them all night long by their necks so they can never sing again!

And Celine can’t even air guitar properly!

4. Avril Lavigne – Chop Suey! (System Of A Down)

I don’t care if this was a special live song that she only sang a couple of times at gigs, she should never EVER be allowed to sing this song again. When your own fans are screaming “that is crap!” you know you should give it up.

5. Snoop Dogg – Sad But True (Metalica)

How can James Hetfield sit there and cheer while Snoop butchered a song that his band wrote? Not only did he butcher it but the brain-dead fool couldn’t remember more than a quarter of the words so he either mumbled them or allowed the crowd to sing them.

6. Scissor Sisters – Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd)

The arrogance of some people in the music industry really astounds me at times but I was completely dumbfounded when this band decided to have the nerve to try and cover this legendary track. This is worse than Kanye West storming the stage and taking that award off that Taylor Swift bird.

7. Shakira – Back In Black (AC/DC)

First of all if you are going to cover a song then cover the song, don’t make stupid irritating noises all the way through it because you don’t know the words.

It took me a while to realise she was covering the AC/DC track because the start to it sounded NOTHING LIKE IT!

Her voice is not designed for this kind of song and killed it stone dead.

8. Girls Aloud/Sugababes – Walk This Way (Aerosmith)

It takes a lot for me to cry but when I first heard this cover song I must admit that did shed a tear. I don’t care if it was for charity, if you want to release a song for charity do a comedy song but leave great iconic tracks like this one alone!

9. Ronan Keating – Fairytale Of New York (Pogues and Kirsty MacColl)

This song was considered untouchable, Ronan Keating didn’t just touch it, he sexually assaulted it! Bells weren’t ringing out for Christmas day, they were warning people that this was coming! And if the fact that Keating butchered the song wasn’t enough ….. they changed the lyrics!

Stop covering songs, and killing them, Keating, come up with your own stuff to butcher!

10. Guns & Roses – Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stones)

Some will argue that by the time GNR covered this legendary Rolling Stones song the band were on the way to disbanding, but that still does not excuse the fact that someone allowed Axil Rose to shriek his way through this.

11. Hilary Duff – My Generation (The Who)

What is it with young singers trying to cover songs and murdering them? Joss Stone Did it, Daphne & Celeste did it and now that Hilary Duff bint, with the face like a camel, has gone and committed genocide on a cracking Thee Who track.

And if you are going to attempt to sing an iconic song such as My Generation then you CAN NOT change the lyrics of said song!

12. Celine Dion – Alone (Heart)

She has changed this song from a charged seductive rock song into a lovely sappy love song that you’d find on Magic FM at 5am in the morning. How many cover songs has she ruined in her career?

13. Tori Amos – Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)

I’ve never liked Tori Amos since 1985 when she covered a couple of Chas & Dave songs and turned them from cheerful cockney rock ‘n’ roll tracks into morbidly depressing songs.

She simply does not have the right voice to sing something like this. She should stick to singing songs about colours and waterfalls, of whatever it is she normally sings about.