Ok, so take a well known song and totally change the genre. Here are a few examples:

Paradise City - Bluegrass

Friday - Death Metal Better than original

Hold it Against Me - Ballad Very well sung

Tik Tok - Disney Yes really

Pretty Vacant - Elvis Presley Style


You get the idea, anyone else got any others?

Interesting thread idea, I like it!

The first one that sprung to mind for me is this - I loved the original dance version, but the indie/folk version is just as good.

Set You Free - folkie version

Lady Marmalade?

Shirley Bassey - Get the Party Started [Originally by P!nk]

I always assumed that it was originally by Shirley Bassey?...

joe cockers heavy version of 'with a little help from my friends' totaly changes the beatles lighter orig...

"Tainted Love" was originally a very upbeat Northern Soul piece sung by Gloria Jones. This was then turned into a much darker synth-pop number by Soft Cell, whose version was then covered and turned into a very dark rock piece by Marilyn Manson.

The same song but totally different genres.

There is a Country and Western version of "Somewere Over The Rainbow" that goes like a fast train and is so bad it is almost good. "Somewhere over the rainbow-wow" is the sort of thing that starts this creaky old wagon rolling.

The well known Hawaiian version by the late "IZ" is very good.

Siouxsie & The Banshees covered Bob Dyans "This Wheels On Fire", turning it from folk rock to a FAR superior piece of exotic glam rock. Complete with Banshees string section!

On another note Montifiori Cocktail turned Crystal Waters "Gypsy Woman" into a bubbling bossa nova beat

Courtney love did a rousing drug addled grunge rock cover of Durans "Hungry Like The Wolf!" (When she MATTERED!)

The Mike Flowers Pops did an easy listening version of "Wonderwall" by Oasis

Travis turned Britney's "Baby One More Time" into a mournful ballad

Marilyn Manson did his goth / metal thing with the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams"

The Toy Dolls turned novelty song "Nellie the Elephant" into a novelty punk song

The Anti-Nowhere League turned Ralph McTell's "Streets of London" into a punk song

NO! It was P!nk's proper breakthrough song!

Sugababes - Freak Like Me. Completely different to the Adina Howard original.

Embrace's cover of D12's 'How Come' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onhEB...eature=related
They turn the song into a ballad, I love this version.

Amy Winehouse - Valerie

Girls Aloud's covers of Jump and Walk This Way. Both songs went to pop from soul and rock.

Adele sung Cheryl Cole's Promise This

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czwlth4mx5Q&feature=fvst

Somewhere over the rainbow - Punk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymx8bHBigek

Nothing compares 2 You - Punk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTM8DMGajM

I'll be there - Punk (BRILLIANT version )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSIcaMpoTkI

Uptown Girl - Punk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n18tZjzOJI

All done by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the best punk covers band EVER.

Will Young - Hey Ya!

Sunny - Boney M

Went from a beautiful, laid back soul classic to a hideous piece of Disco crap - ditto Don't Leave Me This Way by The Communards

Also Let's Stay Together by Tina Turner

Absolute soul classic murdered into a hideous soft rock horror show

Finally Love Will Tear Us Apart covered by Paul Young. How anyone thought this was a good idea to turn such a dark, haunting lyric into a slice of pop cheese is beyond me

Sugababes' About You Now - ballad/acoustic (covered by The Saw Doctors - don't have link yet)

Saturdays - Up - ballad (covered by The Blizzards)

Gypsy Kings did a lovely version of The Eagles "Hotel California"
also Mr Big's reggae version of the Cat Stephens song "Wild World"

Oh yeah, almost forgot about that one. I would put it in the same category as a certain Aussie version of " Stairway to Heaven"

Another weird one I have found is an Emo version of Firestarter

George Michael's True Faith did a pretty competent job of converting gold into faeces.

'Smooth Criminal' by Alien Ant Farm.

Tori Amos has done a few covers while on tour. She usually takes a request at each venue.
I quite liked her cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. She does it on piano and its slowed down. A lot of emotion in it like the original but it a different way