Each week, Mashable picks a popular song, finds 10 covers of it and asks you to vote for your favorite.
Bruno Mars is ending 2011 on a high note, snagging six Grammy nominations and having the lead track, “It Will Rain,” on the latest Twilight movie soundtrack.
Along with that success, Mars has roped in fans from all over the world. Some of them are showing their admiration on YouTube by creating covers of “It Will Rain.” Listen to their renditions below and then vote for your favorite in our poll.
To listen to more covers used in past YouTube Cover Song Face-Offs, click here.
**The winner of this poll will be selected Dec. 9 at 9 a.m. ET.
Nov. 20 Face-Off Winner: LEELOO
In Mashable‘s last face-off, Brazilian singer LEELOO pulled in the most votes with her emotional video and haunting vocals for Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away.”
Each week, Mashable picks a popular song, finds 10 covers of it and asks you to vote for your favorite.
The music video for “Without You” featuring French DJ David Guetta and Usher has racked up more than 27 million views on YouTube since its Oct. 14 release.
The video shows fans partying in several different countries. Other fans across the globe, who couldn’t be in the video, took a less rowdy approach and recorded covers of the song. Below, you’ll find 10 versions, including a cappella, acoustic and electronic renditions. Vote for your favorite in the poll.
To listen to more covers used in past YouTube Cover Song Face-Offs, click here.
**The winner of this poll will be selected Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. ET.
Oct. 30 Face-Off Winners: Jonathan Michael Comis and Tinashe
Two covers in the “We Found Love” Cover Song Face-Off battled it out up until the voting deadline, so we decided to feature both in this week’s write-up.
Jonathan Michael Comis and Tinashe secured more than 12,000 of the 15,000 votes. Comis covered the song because he related to it. “I look at this world as a hopeless place for love,” said Comis, who was inspired by Tyler Ward to start putting music on YouTube. “Today, most relationships don’t make it to marriage, and if they do half of them end in divorce. I was lucky enough to find love in a hopeless place.”
Tinashe thought Rihanna’s song was beautiful and had a simple message. “I wanted to make a version that was a bit more haunting,” said Tinashe, who wants to one day duet with Beyonce.
Here’s a collection of original songs and covers from Comis and Tinashe.
Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks.
You had me at: “Do you need a reliable, sexy vehicle to get you to the renaissance fair?” This home-made, surprisingly slick car ad comes from Clark Olson Media, a media company with a clear sense of humor. Clark Olson Media submitted the video as part of a video car review contest for Kelly Blue Book, a car retailer.
We’re not entirely sure if this video actually makes us want to buy a 2000 Corolla, but it certainly makes us want to give Olson a high-five. At this point, he might not need it. The video, released in mid-June, has picked up more than 200,000 views. Maybe it’s the rocking funk music, or the way he keeps saying Corrroooollaaaa, or the way that … no, it’s definitely the way he says “Corolla.”
Each week, Mashable picks a popular song, finds 10 covers of it and asks you to vote for your favorite.
At the MTV Video Music Awards on Aug. 28, Katy Perry’s “Firework” battles Adele, the Beastie Boys, Bruno Mars and Tyler, The Creator for the coveted Moonman trophy in the Video of the Year category.
In honor of the song’s nomination, we’re pitting a myriad of covers — which have attracted more than 7.5 million pageviews on YouTube — against each other. Vote for your favorite rendition in the poll below.
In our inaugural YouTube Cover Song Face-Off last week, people from 80 countries cast nearly 2,500 votes for the 10 covers of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” The winner: Angie Johnson and Sidewinder’s “military” cover, which garnered 55% of the votes.
What popular song should we pick next week for the YouTube Cover Song Face-Off?
Happy Friday, denizens of the web! We know we’ve had a Music Video roundup before, but now is as good time as any to face the music — again!
Plug in, turn it up and jam out. This will be the last YouTube Roundup of this kind (Mashable copy editor Brian Hernandez will be taking over next week) as today is my very last day at Mashable. Happy weekend all, and see you on the other side!
Pearl Jam, "Jeremy"
Josh Catone: When I think "music video," this is what pops into my head. (Sometimes it's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" that I think of, but I'm never 100% sure if I am remembering the Nirvana version, or Weird Al's...)
Pavement, "Cut your hair"
Todd Wasserman: Proof that Pavement should have made a movie.
Blind Melon, "No Rain"
Jay Bischof: Who’s going to be the first to break the '90s rock theme? Not me.
Dan Black, "Symphonies ft. Kid Cudi"
Brian Hernandez: This was my favorite video of 2010. Why? So much TYPOGRAPHY!
Art Of Noise, "Moments In Love"
Jennifer Diamond: Taking it back to the 80s with Art of Noise.
Rick Astley, "Never Gonna Give You Up"
Stephanie Haberman: To the Mashable community, with love.
Busta Rhymes, "Woo Hah!! (Got You All in Check)"
Todd Olmstead: Hype Williams and Busta Rhymes were an epic combination.
Aerosmith, "Crazy"
Stacy Green: Aerosmith, "Crazy." No further comment.
Lykke Li, "I Follow Rivers"
Stephanie Buck: There's always room for an uncomfortably haunting video from Lykke Li.
"Total Eclipse of the Heart: Literal Video Version"
Meghan Peters: Also taking it back to the '80s -- literally.
Fiona Apple, "Criminal"
Christina Warren: Mark Romanek is probably my favorite music video director of all time, and although I think "Hurt" by Johnny Cash is probably his best work, I decided to take it back a bit to one of my other favorite videos, "Criminal" by Fiona Apple. Even without the context of the Calvin Klein campaign (which influenced the editorial style of this video), the video/song still hold up 14 years later.
Missy Elliott, "The Rain"
Chelsea Stark: Piggybacking on the '90s... I always loved this video..
Avril Lavigne, "Complicated"
Zachary Sniderman: Once dead-panned this chorus to a high-school history teacher. No joke.
Twisted Sister, "We're Not Gonna Take It"
Robyn Peterson: The worst and best (simultaneously) music video ever made. Embarrassing confession: I just taught my three-year-old girls to sing this song.
Broken Bells, "The Ghost Inside"
Chris Taylor: Broken Bells. Asteroids. Christina Hendricks. Need I say more?
Korn, "Freak On A Leash"
Ada Ospina: "Take On Me" (A-ha) was backup option.
NewVillager, "LightHouse"
Brenna Ehrlich: Rad song. Weird as hell video. NSFW: Theatrical sex.
The channel, like another recent effort by Jerry Seinfeld, attempts to present a “greatest hits” of Carson’s career, though the project will no doubt be challenged by the fact that so much of Carson’s humor was topical. How many YouTubers will be up for Jimmy Carter jokes, for instance? On the other hand, testimonials from superfans like Howie Mandel may also convince younger viewers to give Carson a try.
Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks.
Banjos: They’re not just for those dudes in Deliverance and hipsters anymore. A video of a crew of brothers from New Jersey tearing it up on the banjo, fiddle and guitar has recently been popping up all over the web.
The Sleepy Man Banjo Boys‘ cover of “Flint Hill Special” is sure to make you look back at your own grade school band days with utter and complete shame. Anyone else get an “F” in recorder? Nope, just me.
Musician and not-Merton Ben Folds recently recorded this cover of Ke$ha’s “Sleazy,” giving us an intriguing glimpse into what the world would be like if all pop songs were sung by people who could actually sing.
This may be just what we need to tilt the world back on its axis following Miley Cyrus’s performance of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Or maybe it’s just another tumble down the rabbit hole. Either/or.
Friday at a concert in Melbourne, pop star Katy Perry broke into a chorus of Rebecca Black’s “Friday”, much to the delight of fans in attendance, who joined in and sang along.
“I’m so glad that someone wrote a song about Friday — finally!” the singer told the crowd. God bless you and your sense of humor, Ms. Perry.
Fellow popster Lady Gaga called Black a genius and the “Friday” viral video phenomenon “fantastic.” In fact, although “Friday” is the most hated video on YouTube, most of us can wholeheartedly (or at least ironically) defend the song — at least on Fridays.
Targeting the victims of the next big hangover-inducing holiday, Pepto Bismol has introduced a YouTube app for Cinco de Mayo.
Visitors to Pepto Bismol’s YouTube channel can find a handful of options to make their own “Pinata Smash” video. There are four different pinatas to choose from, two snacks to fill them with and two “smashers.” When the video is completed, users can share it on Facebook or Twitter.
Kristen Stutz, assistant brand manager for Procter & Gamble, says that there will eventually be 15 to 20 iterations of the video. “The idea was not just to provide content, but be able to enage [consumers] with it,” she says.
The effort will be promoted with a YouTube takeover on May 1 and a “Pinata Smash” segment during the Jimmy Kimmel Live! On May 4, an online ad campaign and PR outreach featuring Busy Philipps of Cougar Town.
The program is part of the brand’s marketing overhaul that began last July with the sponsorship of the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Since then, the brand has sought to align itself with other days on the calendar linked to overeating, like Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays. Cinco de Mayo fits the bill, Stutz says.
Another facet of the plan is a complete reversal of Pepto’s ad spending breakdown. Previously, up to 90% of the brand’s ad budget went to traditional media like TV; now that figure is as low as 10%. Most of the rest goes toward digital media. The company claims that since the switchover, sales have improved.
The brand’s reliance on a YouTube app also illustrates an experimentation among marketers in social media outlets beyond Facebook and Twitter. While YouTube is usually seen as a launchpad for would-be viral videos, few have used it for branding widgets. Likewise, LinkedIn, which has been barely touched by most marketers, is beginning to see some new experimentation as well.
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