Sunday 2 December 2012

Robyn's 'Call Your Girlfriend' - Youtube FaceOff!


BBCs Live Lounge is great and all but what I love most is trawling through Youtube to find the best cover versions of my favourite songs by unsigned artists. If you put the time in, you'll find so many different and innovative interpretations of the biggest hits right now... but who has the time for that I hear you say? Have no fear for that's what our Youtube FaceOff is all about. 

First up is one of my favourite songs of the past few years, 'Call Your Girlfriend' by Swedish popstar Robyn. It's a sad mournful ballad about breaking up someone's relationship but its disguised brilliantly as a bouncy pop/dance tune. Here's the original video, which sees Robyn dancing around in an almost empty set surrounded by lights. And the best thing is, it's all done in one take!


Amazing right? So how could you even try to make that song better? Well, there's a group of three girls on YouTube known as Erato who sing an interesting version of the track online, using only their voices and what looks like empty tubs of butter to create a backing track.


It's had almost 3 million views at the time of writing and it's inspired countless other versions of the track but it's not my favourite cover of Robyn's song. Lennon and Maisie take a similar approach to their interpretation but their voices are softer and more emotive. Their version seems truer to the original for me and I absolutely love it. Watch it here.


Seriously, how young and talented are they? They've now received over double the views that the Erato version has and apparently even Harry Styles of One Direction tweeted about the girls so they're set to become even more ppular over the coming months.

Finally, we're moving from a video that's received almost 10 millions hits to one that only has just over 600 at the time of writing. Lin Ying completely revamps the song in her own way, creating a sadder, more melancholic arrangement that fits the lyrics beautifully. I also love how Lin Ying plays the ukulele on the track, making this version even more uniquely her own. It's just amazing and it deserves far more views than this. Watch it here.


So what do you think? My favourite version has to be the last one by Lin Ying but who do you think does it best? And do you know of another unsigned artist that does it even better? Let me know by commenting, liking and sharing below. And remember to come back soon for another Youtube FaceOff!

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