Inspired By The X-Factor

It's got to that time of the year where you can't go anywhere without seeing or hearing about The X-Factor. By now the most overly bombastic show on British television is in full swing, and every Saturday and Sunday between 7pm and 10pm your social network homepage gets filled with comments such as "WTF CHER LLOYD? U IZ CRAP" and "I <3 MATT C, HE CAN LEAVE HIS HAT ON!" As a result, you either have to watch every weekend without fail, or just go into hibernation and hope that you wake up on a Monday morning to find that the show has been cancelled forever. If only.

Anyway, after years of avoiding The X-Factor as if it were the bubonic plague, I've decided to give in to popular culture and just watch it. It's been about four weeks since I started watching and at the moment I'm quite overwhelmed by how average a lot of the contestants are. In fact, such is the averageness of the performances of many of the contestants, I've decided to make this post a tribute to the worst cover versions of all time.

There's no order to it, and my list is definitely not an exhaustive one, I just want to highlight some particularly awful renditions of good songs. Click on the titles to see or hear them.

Robbie Williams - Song 2 (Originally by Blur)
Everyone always assumes that Robbie Williams was obsessed with Oasis, they are obviously all right, as Williams manages to forget nearly all the words to the first verse. It's also fair to say that his backing band struggle to recreate the guitar work of Graham Coxon, using two guitars to Coxon's one and still sounding 75% more atrocious.

t.A.T.u - How Soon Is Now? (Originally by The Smiths)
Remember Tatu? They had a hit single in 2003 with 'All The Things She Said'. Three singles later and the band released 'How Soon Is Now'. Luckily the US and the UK managed to get away with not having it released in their countries. Somehow they have managed to remove all the angst from the original and turn it into a school girl rendition at a karaoke party. I'm extremely worried that their voices aren't going to ever leave my head.

Lostprophets - Boys Don't Cry (Originally by The Cure)

They don't sound like they're from Pontypridd do they? Here, Ian Watkins does an amazing impression of a 33 year old Welsh man pretending to be a 13 year old American singing in front of his mirror. Unfortunately in the process he has ruined the song.

Duran Duran - Instant Karma (Originally by John Lennon)

I know it's for charity, but no. Just, no.

Mark Ronson - Just (Originally by Radiohead)

Trumpets will never be an acceptable replacement for the guitar of Jonny Greenwood. Alex Greenwald will never be an acceptable replacement of Thom Yorke. Mark Ronson will never hold any sort of place in my heart, he could go on to rid the world of Cancer or HIV and I would still feel nothing for him after making this cover happen.

David Kitt - Teenage Riot (Originally by Sonic Youth)

This song manages to take all that was great about the original - The memorable guitar hooks, the pulsing drums, Thurston Moore's effortless vocals - remove it, and consequently perform the blandest song of all time. Nice one David, I don't even know who you are, but you have effectively ruined my life. You may as well be on X-Factor.

Anyway, those are my picks, if you have any horrendous cover versions you would like to share, then just leave a comment.