"So Sick (Ne-Yo cover)" by Max ft. Sam Tsui (produced by Kurt Hugo Schneider), Tuesday, April 27, 2021

 

The Internet has launched many music careers, particularly over the last twenty years. Plug in the DSL and log on to the MySpace page, check MP3.com, visit the band's Pure Volume account, see the latest video on YouTube, watch the singer get big on TikTok, and maybe get featured on a Podcast--it's a brave new world only limited by Comcast (and certain regions of North Carolina where they refuse to lay the cable). While platforms have come and gone, YouTube has been a consistent place where singers have gotten their start. Justin Bieber, Charlie Puth, and Rebecca Black are some of the big-name acts that started out as YouTube stars. However, sometime in college, I started going down the rabbit hole of YouTube cover artists, starting with Tyler Ward. However, one cover has another in the sidebar, and you have to click on it. What does an acoustic version of "Like a G6" sound like anyway?

SO TIRED OF TEARS. I can now say that I love many kinds of music. When I was younger, I wouldn't admit to liking pop music. However, in college, artists like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, and Adele were really catchy. I started listening to more and more popular music and having less shame about it--especially if I was watching a Tyler Ward cover. It was okay because he was playing a guitar and making it his own. Throughout this journey of finding a daily song, I've included a few YouTube covers. Covers rarely replace the need for the original song, but the age of the YouTube cover artist didn't simply fill the world with knock-0ff shysters, trying to pass others' original songs as their own. Instead, these cover artists offer a different perspective on the songs or different production choices that are worth it to have in my music library. For example, Tyler Ward's version of "Teenage Dream" offers a male perspective on the Katy Perry song, as if we're watching the story from another camera angle. Today's song "So Sick" takes the '06 electronics out of the Ne-Yo hit and focuses on the vocals of Max and Sam Tsui. 

I'M TURNING OFF THE RADIO. Now many of the cover artists from the early 2010s are making their own music. "So Sick" was uploaded on Kurt Hugo Schneider's channel in 2012. I find it interesting the fandom surrounding these YouTube cover artists. Yes, Max went on to create his own music and so did Sam Tsui; however, as cover artists, they gained massive sponsorships and their fame led to TV appearances and successful tours. What starts as a love for the original song and a look at another "camera angle" turns into a relationship with the cover artist. You start listening to the covers he or she puts out even if you don't know or particularly like the original. Then they start producing their original content. The next thing you know, you're listening to covers and the original, but because of the constant content from the YouTuber you feel like their friend. Of course, it doesn't hurt if he's cute. 


Original by Ne-Yo:





Cover by Max ft. Sam Tsui:



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