We live in an era where people such as Justin Bieber, SoMo and Greyson Chance have become famous in no small part due to their Youtube covers.

Cover songs have been around for decades and sometimes the remake trumps the original track. This is where this blog comes in. It is here that we will stack these covers against their predecessors to determine which rendition of the song is truly better.

These covers will be judged according to the following: how well or badly the cover deviates from the original song, replay value and the cover’s ability to connect with the listener.
Speaking of SoMo, he’s finally made his way into my blog for one of his covers. If you really need the bio on SoMo then by all means click here and read all about him and his most recent album. 
Now that you’re all caught up on the SoMo train. You know about the massive batch of cover songs that sit within his YouTube page. But which cover have we decided to pit up against its original? Well, that would be his rendition of Lana Del Rey’s hit, “Young and Beautiful.”
The song was featured on “The Great Gatsby” film soundtrack last year and became one of Del Rey’s most popular songs.
Who is Lana Del Rey? I guarantee if you turned on a radio in the last year you’ve heard her song “Summertime Sadness” or some rendition of it. The dream pop singer is three albums into her career and her following continues to grow.
So who’s version of the song is better? That’s what I’m here to find out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Let’s get down to business.

Round 1: Deviation? Good or Bad?

Listening to Del Rey’s original, you can tell how she wrote the song around her transcendent voice. She thoroughly embodies the tone of “The Great Gatsby” with her calm yet meaningful delivery. As a fan of the book and the film, the soundtrack carried a lot of expectations for me, and Del Rey certainly delivered.
The slow piano, strings and subtle percussion all work together to create a song that leaves you wanting more than the four minutes it currently has.
As far as SoMo’s cover goes, well it kind of removes all of that beauty from the original song and replaces it with something more seductive which is exactly what a SoMo song usually is. There is a heavy use of treble boost in the song that is a signature of many SoMo songs. “Young and Beautiful” is supposed to be a conversation between two people in love, again right up SoMo’s alley, but the removal of the actual instruments for some synth and electronic drums makes this one fall short.
Point to the original. Score 1-0.
Round 2: Replay Value
Considering I’m writing this in preparation for a 14 hour road trip back to the Boot, I truly thought hard about which song I could stand hearing for a long period of time. It all came down to which one I could more embarrassingly belt out while on I-55. The winner of the “Josh has no shame singing in a car” contest was Lana Del Rey’s original by a mile. (Get it? Mile? Driving in a car? I’ll just continue)
SoMo’s songs always make me feel like I should have a girl next to me and I should be singing his songs directly to her. Unfortunately I’m riding in a car with two other guys and that just gets uncomfortable. But really, I just don’t find as much enjoyment in hearing SoMo’s rendition over and over.
Point to the original. Score 2-0.  
Round 3: Ability to connect with the listener
Can SoMo connect with me? Probably not. He’s talented, but probably not. He isn’t on that level where he feels the need to connect with his male audience as much as his female audience yet and that’s fine. Finding what works for you and then venturing out after you establish yourself is a method many artists try. However, there’s no emotion behind SoMo’s cover other than singing to a woman, which doesn’t really do it for me.

With Lana Del Rey’s original, I get it. I know who she’s talking to and what the whole song is about. That’s a real connection.
Point to the Original. Score 3-0. Winner Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful”
Recently a lot of originals have been winning and I promise that isn’t on purpose. Just stay with me for the ride. If I’m only helping you all discover new music, then I’ve still served my purpose.
Agree? Disagree? Tell me below and suggest some other covers to listen to. Send me a tweet @Joshua_Jackson_. I’ll be back next week with another original pitted against its cover.