I’m a big fan of remixes. I love hearing a DJ’s alternate version of a song, or a new interpretation of a hit single from an artist. They are great, because the original is still there waiting for you to go back to. I actually don’t mind cover versions either, some of my favourite songs are actually covers of other people’s hits; it’s perfectly fine.
What isn’t fine though is covering a great song, sticking a tropical house track behind it and scoring a top 10 single and making me hate every version of the original from now on. Here are the worst offenders of pop’s worst trend in no particular order.
1. Fast Car – Jonas Blue (Feat. Dakota)
We are starting with the cover and the artist who we have to blame for this massive trend of Topical house covers. Jonas Blue, you have a lot to answer for. What did Tracey Chapman do to deserve this shitshow outpeaking her actual song on the UK charts?! But wait, things get MUCH worse from here.
2. Dancing In The Moonlight – Jubel
The song (and current chart hit) that inspired this list. The most incredible thing about this song is that somehow they’ve managed to make Dancing In The Moonlight even worse.
3. Midnight (The Hanging Tree) – HOSH & The 1979
Probably not truly ‘tropical’ but who thought that a dance cover of the battlecry song from The Hunger Games was something the world needed?
4. Show Me Love – Sam Feldt
There is no need to turn one of the best dance songs of all time into a boring tropical house one. There’s already like 20 great versions of this song out there.
5. Ain’t Nobody (Loves Me Better) – Felix Jaehn (Feat. Jasmine Thompson)
Chaka Khan deserves more respect than this shitty cover.
6. The Mack – Nevada (Feat. Mark Morrison & Fetty Wap)
Now this one is technically a remix, and it’s inclusion may be more around the additional Fetty Wap feature and the fact I find the original so irritating, but I didn’t need another version of this song on the radio.
7. Wicked Games – Parra for Curva (Feat. Anna Naklab)
Like Fast Car before it, this is another 90s classic drained of any remaining emotion or enjoyment. The version for anyone who only knows the original from that scene in Friends.
8. Losing My Religion – Lookee (Feat. Pearl Andersson)
We are really in the pits now, the next couple of songs aren’t even hits, but I skipped through around 100 tropical house covers for this article and what I didn’t need to hear was a version of an R.E.M. song!
9. Wonderwall – Chad Cooper & Robaer
And now it’s Oasis. What do you think Noel and Liam think of this? Wouldn’t peg them as big fans of Tropical House.
10. EVERYTHING BY KYGO
That leaves us with the artist who has made a career of remixing every song released over the last 5 years and seemingly attempting to remix every song ever written with a tropical house beat. Whitney Houston and Marvin Gaye didn’t even have a choice of being used for versions of Higher Love and Sexual Healing, but Tina Turner CHOSE to let her best song be morphed into something that could soundtrack Love Island.
Words by Sam Atkins
Picky Bastards 