Cool cover song of the week...

I was a huge fan of The Cure when I was in college, partially because I really liked their music and partially because my listening to The Cure and other brooding bands (New Order, Bryan Ferry, etc.) tended to irritate my classic rock-fan roommates. (Yeah, I was like that. It is what it is.)

Even once I started living on my own, I still listened to Robert W. Smith and his bandmates, however. And when Lovesong was released in 1989, I found myself constantly singing it. The song hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains The Cure's biggest hit to date.

The band 311 covered Lovesong in 2004 for the soundtrack of the Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore movie, 50 First Dates. While I like that version, I'm partial to Adele's recent cover, which appeared on her 2011 album 21. (Yes, there were songs on that album that weren't played to death on the radio.) I really like the way Adele stripped down the song and gave it a torch song-y, jazzy feel.

While I didn't watch this season of American Idol past the first episode or two, I do know that the eventual winner, Candice Glover, performed a version of Lovesong on the show that many called one of the best performances in the show's history. While the YouTube video doesn't quite do it justice, she knocked it out of the park.

Here's Adele's version:


Here's Candice Glover's version:


And for nostalgia's sake, here is the original version by The Cure:


Check out my previous Cool Cover Songs of the Week:

Borderline by The Counting Crows

How Deep Is Your Love by The Bird and The Bee

Life in a Northern Town by Sugarland, Little Big Town, and Jake Owen

I Don't Want to Talk About It by The Indigo Girls

Only You by Joshua Radin

Pure Imagination by Maroon 5

I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by Blake Stratton

What a Fool Believes by Neri Per Caso

Poker Face by Daughtry

Back to Black by Ronnie Spector

I Will Survive by Cake

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by The Stereophonics

Rolling in the Deep by John Legend

Go Your Own Way by Lissie

Winner Takes it All by McFly

What a Wonderful World by Joey Ramone

Careless Whisper by Seether

I Walk the Line by Live

Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and The Banshees

Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm

Who Wants to Live Forever by Breaking Benjamin

Redemption Song by Chris Cornell and Audioslave

Love Me Tender by Chris Isaak and Brandi Carlile

All You Need is Love by The Flaming Lips