In celebration of the fact that our favourite YouTube musicians will soon be able to earn money from the cover versions that they put on the site, we at TenEighty decided to put together a top five of our favourite song covers by British YouTubers!
Split royalties for all! For all we say! All videos below were scientifically selected over a coffee break at the TenEighty mansion, so if you disagree with any of our selections, you’re just wrong.
5. SarahClose1: Dark Horse (Katy Perry)
When we watch Sarah’s videos at TenEighty we go green with envy: she’s beautiful, talented and her lighting is perfect! She uploaded this Katy Perry cover when she first moved to London in September last year and has since racked up 275, 000 well-deserved views! She has a presence on camera that just oozes through the screen and that voice makes us swoon. Is her version better than the original? Oh, we couldn’t possibly comment. …Yes, it is.
4. Patty Walters: Let It Go (Disney’s Frozen)
Patty is so sweet and cute, and we could gaze forever into those puppy-dog eyes! But then he sings and he blows you away with his trademark ‘screamo’ song covers, where he puts his 90s-emo spin on modern pop hits. He’s covered everything from Miley Cyrus’s Wrecking Ball to the soundtrack of the Nightmare Before Christmas, but our personal favourite is Let It Go from Disney’s Frozen. Too many sweet tweens have covered this, but then Patty comes along and turns the Disney musical number into a pop-punk screamothon. Click play and rock out!
3. Tom Law: Thrift Shop (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis)
If you had any doubt that Tom Law was the epitome of the quintessential English gentleman, this video will win you over completely. He rap-sings his way through this Macklemore mega-hit replacing curse words with quirky alternatives and English phrases. “Glad I didn’t wash this, smells like potpourri. Blissssssss. Great, it was 99 pence!” This is a charming reimagining of a chart hit and we’re glad Tom is becoming one of the post popular YouTube musicians from the UK. Oh, and he plays the guitar quite well, doesn’t he!
2. Dodie and Hedy: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Sometimes cuteness just wins at everything, and what could make our favourite ukulele player Dodie (doddleoddle) even more adorable? Add in her little sister Hedy! Dodie has covered this song at live performances, including when she was on stage at last year’s Summer in the City, and her voice effortlessly soars over the notes. This duet with Hedy just makes your heart melt and it’s the unavoidable “aww”-factor that makes us put it so high. Try and get through the video without trying to reach through the screen and hug them.
1. The YouTube Boy Band: It’s All About You(Tube)
You know we love to channel our inner fangirl on a regular basis at TenEighty and we were right with you hoping that the YouTube Boyband would become a real thing, rivalling the giants of 1D or The Vamps! But sadly, this was just a one off – minus their live performances – but our list of reasons for loving this video knows no bounds. The way we swoon when Alfie sings “wishes”, or at 2:35 the way Caspar bobs along, raising a cheeky eyebrow and making us realise what true love feels like. And all for a good cause! Not to mention the fact we wish our singing skills matched the true star of the video, Mr. Joseph Suggulent. Yeah, that’s right, pet name.
