There’s a reason older music still gets a decent amount of airtime.
A lot of vocal competitions that you see on TV like American Idol, or especially the voice, you find that every contestant must sing a cover of a (usually) popular or famous song. Most people opt for the most modern pop songs from the likes of Taylor Swift or Bruno Mars, or shitty country music or even rock/hard rock, or at least those seem to be the most popular genres to grab at when deciding which song to cover as a contestant. Sometimes people will go back to the early 2000s and cover your Brittany Spears or popular boy band songs. Then you find yourself in the realm of “classic” rock or pop songs from artists like Stevie Nicks to Billy Joel, and bands from Aerosmith to Queen that contestants who clearly have a huge set of steel balls like to go for. Now, I’m all for people putting their own spin on a Bruno Mars song, or making a country song suck a little less by throwing a hard rock twist on it and creating their own unique interpretation, but when you get into the realm of these “classic” songs like “Somebody to Love” from Queen or “Landslide” from Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood MAc), nothing frustrates me more than someone using “creative freedom” to create an entirely new interpretation of these songs. There’s a reason both of these songs are still played fairly regularly on the radio, and something from Taylor Swift’s last album is entirely forgotten to everyone but her die-hard fans. Because they’re extremely well written with a lot of time and care put into the lyrics, interpretation and performance; they’re not some cheesy pop song that 10 different writers crafted based on a tried and true formula that sells music. Songs like “Landslide” are unapologetically powerful and have a strong meaning behind them, and were performed with powerful emotional intent. Covering songs like this are far more effective when you strive to give a performance just like Freddie Mercury, Stevie Nicks or even Steven Tyler. Why? Because I’ve heard 100 Taylor Swift covers that are way better than the original, and I’ve heard a handful of “Ladnslide” covers that can even hold a candle to Stevie Nicks. So...like....don’t mess with with the classics; there’s a reason older music still gets a decent amount of airtime.