Nowadays, no one seems to be able to escape Gotye and Kimbra’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. The song, produced and written by Gotye, was released back in July 2011 and received critical acclaim by music critics.
‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ was #1 in the Australian charts for eight weeks in a row and topped the charts in the United Kingdom in February 2012. The song went on to be an international success, charting in the top 20 in over 20 countries with 11 of them being at number one.
Since then, plenty of cover versions were released. Below you have 15 really worth listening to, including the famous Walk Off the Earth cover, some a ccapella versions and one ukulele cover.
Walk Off the Earth
This bunch of multitalented Canadians kill it with this clever rendition. Five people, one acoustic guitar, lots of attention. Russell Crowe and Ryan Seacrest began tweeting about the arrangement soon after it was released, and Ellen DeGeneres invited the band to play the song on her show. Soon after, the group signed a contract with a record label.
And as every viral video out there, this one has a parody too, and a pretty funny one. Check it out below.
Fronz Arp
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUL4Tlx15aE
This guy covered ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ using ukulele, a money-filled French-macaroon tin and percussive polished-floor. Impressive. A tiny crooked orchestra, as Fronz Arp describes himself.
Michael Schulte and Max Giesinger
Ah, the voices, the guitars! Both of them were contestants on season one of The Voice of Germany, Max in Xavier Naidoo’s team and Michael in Rea Garvey’s team.
Pentatonix
This group of five talented teens won NBC’s ‘The Sing-Off’, beating out hundreds of a cappella groups from across the country. Personally, this is one of my favorite ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ covers. You should also check out their ‘Moves Like Jagger’ cover.
Right The Stars feat. Karmina
This version features an excerpt from The Police – ‘King of Pain’. Gotye tweeted about this cover. So did Miley Cyrus.
Glee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cay2dnuhcs
You know you’ve made it when your song gets covered in an episode of Fox’s hit musical comedy ‘Glee’. ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ is performed by Darren Criss and guest-star (and may I add eye candy?) Matt Bomer. The episode is scheduled to air on April 10.
Lindsey Pavao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCkNfSDzgVo
The talented ‘The Voice’ contestant sung ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ In the first live show from the current season of the competition.
Although Adam Levine said her performance was missing, I quote, ‘the power that I feel when you hit the chorus’, America seemed to enjoy it, as she was voted to carry on in the show.
Ricardo Munoz
He’s cute, born in Germany, has an awesome voice and he recently released an album, ‘Echo’. Also, his ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ cover is pretty solid.
Ingrid Michaelson
This pretty New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter covered the song last month and it already has 17,000 hits on YouTube.
Airika
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm0gGd24HvQ
‘A tribute of a cover song by respected artist and pioneer, Gotye, and he dug the this video which I’m very grateful for’, Airika wrote for her video description. Well, if Gotye himself liked it, who are we to criticize?
Sam Tsui
Sam Tsui does a great job covering ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’. Tsui is pretty famous on YouTube, best known for covering and performing songs by popular artists, as well as original medleys and mashups.
Jake Coco & Madilyn Bailey
A lovely and soothing acoustic version of the tune, courtesy of Jake Coco & Madilyn Bailey.
Freak Morice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl4d-tLyc1E
Another group of teens, another enjoyable Gotye cover. Also, they are from Australia and are siblings. How cute.
Matthias Harris
And one last a cappella version of the song. What can I do, all these covers are pretty awesome.
Bonus: The PS22
A Staten Island-based childrens’ choir, also covered the song. Adorable.
So, what is your favorite ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ cover? Do you know any other worth mentioning performances that aren’t listed above? Sound off in the comments!
Featured photo from Facebook
No comments