We simply can't cover current hits

[electracoyote]

Gotta swallow your pride if you want to make a buck in a cover band.

In my mainstream cover band, we basically chuck our pride out the window. We're total prostitutes for the audience. It's the price we pay for wanting to play better rooms for better audiences and money.

I have another project that is more eclectic and musician-centric. We play gigs catch-as-catch-can, when they fall in our laps, mostly small rooms for peanuts. But it's more interesting musically.

 

[lz4005]

I have come to conclusion that modern hits fall into two categories: Hip Hop, and Slow Jams. I can't cover either of those.

You can't bring yourself to because you hate the music, or you don't have the chops to arrange and play the songs?

 

[RickyWoo]

In my mainstream cover band, we basically chuck our pride out the window. We're total prostitutes for the audience. It's the price we pay for wanting to play better rooms for better audiences and money.

I have another project that is more eclectic and musician-centric. We play gigs catch-as-catch-can, when they fall in our laps, mostly small rooms for peanuts. But it's more interesting musically.

Exactly. I know you know, but everything you just typed out is exactly how it works. It's basically the gospel of playing in a cover band, to those who are new to it.

When you're in an originals band, the people who show up want to hear your take on music.

When you're in a cover band, the people who show up don't G.A.F. about your take on music.

 

[Mildew Jones]

A couple good ones mentioned: Cake By The Ocean, Shut Up And Dance, didn't see this mentioned: All About The Bass (Meghan Trainor), people love it, and you get attention being the bass player Also, I Like It (Robin Thicke), has a cool picked bass line. Oh, Can't Stop The Feeling (J. Timberlake), cool bass line also.
Yeah, I play in a corp./current type thing, the new stuff is all keyboard layers and programming, it's hard to represent sometimes with a standard live band setup, but some of the newer stuff does have some cool bass lines, with effects. I can't Feel My Face, another good one...

Good Luck!
MJ

 

[Jordandrinkwine]

While there are still plenty of songs that pop up on the top 40 that use guitar, bass, and drums as the basis as opposed to synthesized beats (that faux reggae song Rude comes to mind), and I understand that some songs are TOO synth-based to sound faithful to the original, these guys have proven to me that you don't need to sound like the original to get feet tapping while covering modern pop songs

 

[wintremute]

Disclaimer: I pretty much can't stand any current hit that's on the Billboard Hot 100.

My band so far covers 90s punkish rock (No Doubt, Offspring, etc.), classic bar-fun standards (Summer of '69, Jessie's girl, etc.) and some older upbeat dancy stuff (Saw Her Standing There, Burning Love, etc.).

We have received a few critiques that we don't play any current music.

So... I went through the whole damn Billboard Top 100. I have come to conclusion that modern hits fall into two categories: Hip Hop, and Slow Jams. I can't cover either of those.

I found some slightly older ones that might work.
Hands - Fitz and the Tantrums
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
Wake Me Up - Avicii

Does anyone else have any ideas. Like I said, I listen to basically none of this type of music. If we find a bar that wants to hear Godsmack or Disturbed, I'm good to go!

What's the definition of "current"? You sound like you play stuff from before 2000. Technically, current hit music is 2016 music, so that's 15 years of music that's being skipped.

 

[Jrussblues]

There isn't much left to mainstream or pop music of most genres. A lot of stuff is easier to cover because there is so little there with the exception of vocals, which are now being autotuned out of realistic vocal range for ppl without the modulation equipment. That said, there is still plenty to pick from, just not that much that is interesting to play or as straightforward to cover as it used to be. Unfortunately, like many have said already, country seems to be doing well and is the most easily covered as there is usually not much reworking of parts.

 

[ColdEye]

You can try stuff by Arctic Monkeys if you want the rock vibe.

 

[Marc valero]

My band is mostly classic rock, a lot of Bad Company, but we do some country as we are in a more rural area where country is popular so we do a mixture.
We do Girl Crush and Miranda Lambert stuff and Lady A's Bartender. We do Meghan Traynor's Love You Like I am Going to Lose You, which has an old time sound, which is also good for older audiences. But, it is challenging to add new current tunes, especially the stuff created on a computer with a lot of synths and electronic sounds, which are an integral part of the vibe of a tune. But, some songs can be modified a bit into a more rock version.

 

[davegt666]

I think you're just looking in the wrong places. As was said before it also helps to have an open mind.

There's plenty of modern pop music that's catchy, fun to play, and gets people moving that isn't just rap or R&B slow jams.

Here's a couple:

 

[jive1]

Don't worry about no stanky old Billboard charts, they are meaningless in this day and age.......

I don't go by Billboard, as I find that there are better measures. The two that I prefer using are DJ Intelligence top 200 requested songs and top viewed videos in YouTube. The top 200 comes from actual requests made to DJs for weddings, events, etc. You'd be surprised at how many oldies are in there, including the top 10. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I also look at the top viewed videos for YouTube. I do queries for 'rock', 'music', etc. and see what the top viewed videos are. The top is usually current material from the last couple of years, but there's still many songs 5 years and much older that have hundreds of millions of views.

 

[WaynerBass]

There's a ton of modern country and it's more or less pop rock and you can take any modern song and just do it in a style (rock) that your band likes.

My band has done this a lot...

It works, it's fun.

 

[morgansterne]

I'd love to add "off the ground" by the record company. It's on the radio constantly here. (sounds exactly like Morphine without a sax player)

but generally pop music of the past five years is so heavily dependent on samples and vocal manipulation that even the original artists can't really do it live.

 

[jwilson67]

We cover Daft Punk - Get Lucky, Fitz And The Tantrums - The Walker, Muse - Starlight, Cee-lo Green - Forget You, etc. If you want to play newer stuff but still keep it interesting for you go after the bands like Muse.

We mix it in with the older stuff too.

 

[steamthief]

Yeah, I know it's Bieber, but the song is pretty damn good:

My fifteen-year-old daughter turned me on to these guys, me likey:

 

[logicman69]

Put your own spin on pop hits. If you guys like to play heavier stuff, then do the pop songs like this:

 

[Noshtero]

I don't go by Billboard, as I find that there are better measures. The two that I prefer using are DJ Intelligence top 200 requested songs and top viewed videos in YouTube. The top 200 comes from actual requests made to DJs for weddings, events, etc. You'd be surprised at how many oldies are in there, including the top 10. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I also look at the top viewed videos for YouTube. I do queries for 'rock', 'music', etc. and see what the top viewed videos are. The top is usually current material from the last couple of years, but there's still many songs 5 years and much older that have hundreds of millions of views.

That DJ top 200 list is really interesting.

 

[electracoyote]

That DJ top 200 list is really interesting.

The most interesting, and valuable, thing about it is it's an aggregate list of songs that event planners across the country request pre-event and want their hired DJ to play.

So, if you want to compete with the better DJ's and get the kinds of gigs they get, whether it's better rooms or upscale private events, that is THE list to determine what your mainstream audience is probably going to respond favorably to.

In my neighborhood, the same mainstream playlist you would hear at a wedding reception goes over very well at a lot of public dance floor clubs. Good dance party standards work in a wide variety of venues.

When I put my mainstream pop rock dance band together I relied heavily on the DJ Intelligence lists. Well, that and the playlists of the competing bands playing the rooms and events I wanted my band to play.

 

[hrodbert696]

Two recent top ten hit songs that would fit in with your given songs are Exes and Ohs by Elle King and Shut Up and Dance With Me by Walk The Moon

Yep, good choices. My cover band does both of those.

Halestorm version of "Bad Romance" is outstanding. Faithful to the original with a hard edge.

A previous band did Bad Romance, and the drummer wanted to do it following the Halestorm version. IMO Halestorm's cover loses the dance groove of the song. We rocked it up a bit but kept the original groove.

Basically, my take on this is that you have to keep listening, and when you hear a popular song that uses actual instruments or can be arranged for them, grab it. There don't seem to be more than a handful each year. Some on our list:

Exes and Ohs (we start with the Black Keys' Gold on the Ceiling and run it straight into this without pausing the drum beat, it's awfully similar.
Shut Up and Dance
Hold On (could probably do other Alabama Shakes tunes, too)
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked (Cage the Elephant)
Chelsea Dagger (Fratellis, not really too big a pop hit)

And some I wish we would add -
Pumped up Kicks
Do What You Want - OK Go
Here it Goes Again - OK Go
Locked Out of Heaven - Bruno Mars
All About that Bass
Dance Dance - Fallout Boy
Honey I'm Good - Andy Grammer
Cake by the Ocean - DNCE

 

[gregbackstrom]

Gotta swallow your pride if you want to make a buck in a cover band.

Nah! There are some great, challenging covers from all eras. If you've got the chops, you can cover these and be happy!

Locked Out Of Heaven
Like I'm Gonna Lose You
Bang Bang
Uptown Funk
Problem
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
We Are Family
Anything Michael Jackson (We do Thriller, Don't Stop, Beat It, The Way You Make Me Feel)
Anything Earth Wind and Fire (We do September and Got To Get You Into My Life)
Anything Prince
Anything TOP (Squib Cakes)
Bring Me To Life
Single Ladies
Conga
I Gotta Feelin'
Everything Journey
Too Much Time On My Hands
Sledgehammer

After 10 years of playing covers, our song list is about 400 songs! I haven't even touched the swing, country, and other genres that we play. So much cool stuff! (So little time.)

Okay -- I'm tired of typing. If you can play all this stuff, you're a good player!! And you'll make great money doing it!

Cordially,
Greg