5 Covers You Need In Your Life

We all love a good cover. At least I love a good cover. I noticed that lately I've been actually obsessing over five covers in particular. So in no particular order, check out my list of the top 5 covers you absolutely need in your life:

1. Nathan Sykes - "Marvin Gaye"

If you know The Wanted or you read my review of their Word of Mouth Tour way back when, this name will sound familiar to you. Nathan Sykes has since moved on after The Wanted's split and has gone and made himself a nice little solo career. His debut single "Kiss Me Quick" is gaining attention faster than I can type this and he recently announced that his next single will be called "Over And Over Again" and filming for the official music video has already begun. Check out Nathan's mashup of Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor's "Marvin Gaye" and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It on":

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Purchase Nathan's 2016 calendar here!

2. Demi Lovato - "Take Me To Church"

Can we just talk about Demi Lovato for a second though? This girl has some serious pipes. She ceases to amaze me. Demi covered Hozier's "Take Me To Church" in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge earlier this month and it was more than amazing. This powerful and soulful rendition has been replaying in my head for the past week. Recently Demi's been under fire a bit for a Tweet she posted regarding Barbie's newest Zendaya doll. All seems to be blown over for now just in time for Demi's newest album Confident! The album will be released October 16th so grab your copy! Check out Demi's incredible cover: 

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3. Conor Maynard - "Only One"

So I've never been a huge Kanye fan (don't hate me) but there's something about a Conor Maynard cover that can change my mind. If you've never heard of Conor please listen carefully because I'm about to give you some life advice: Check.This.Guy.Out. I'm serious. I love Conor and his 2012 Contrast album basically travels everywhere with me. I still don't understand why this guy isn't more popular. He is one of the greatest vocalists (in my non-influential opinion) and his latest single "Royalty" will most likely convince you that this guy is the real deal. This cover is a bit older from the beginning of this year but it's still one of my favorites. That falsetto though? I know. You can check out Conor's most recent Diplo & Sleepy Tom cover here and there are plenty more on his Youtube channel as well. Just take a minute and fall in love...

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4. An Honest Year & The Weekend Riot - "She's Kinda Hot" 

So I'm sure everyone's pretty familiar with this 5 Seconds of Summer track as it's been playing non-stop literally everywhere. But one of my personal favorites, An Honest Year, and one of my newly found favorites, The Weekend Riot, released this cover last month and I can't get enough of it! I've been lucky enough to see An Honest Year live a couple times and they never disappoint. I was super excited for this cover. I had never even heard of The Weekend Riot but they have a TON of other covers on their Youtube channel you should definitely check out. Also, An Honest Year just released the music video for their new single "Chin Up, Kid" so give that a look. But first...

Twitter: An Honest Year, Matt, Stephen, Jon, Jordan, Greg

The Weekend Riot, Johnny, Bruce

Facebook: An Honest Year, The Weekend Riot

Youtube: An Honest Year

5. Sam Smith & Disclosure - "Hotline Bling" 

Now, Sam Smith and Disclosure are known for having some amazing collabs. It's just a proven fact. Sam is pretty much the definition of singing perfection and if you don't have some sort of experience while listening to him I don't even know who you are. If you happened to read my In The Lonely Hour Tour review you'll know that I am crazy about this guy and apparently Sam is crazy about Drake! And of course he does the man justice. Sam Smith and Disclosure have a new single "Omen" which showcases just how great these guys are together. I wouldn't mind an entire Sam Smith/Disclosure album in the future so if anyone can make that happen it would be greatly appreciated. Check out the cover below:

Twitter: Sam Smith, Disclosure

Facebook: Sam Smith, Disclosure

Vevo: Sam Smith, Disclosure

Hopefully I've restored your love for a good cover video and maybe even gave you some new artists to look into. My job is done then. 

5 COVERS YOU NEED IN YOUR LIFE ~ AS TOLD BY MADS

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Word of Mouth Tour Review *Part Two* feat. The Wanted

*Before you read this, if you would like to read part one of this review all about the opening acts, Midnight Red and Cassio Monroe, click here.*

If you didn't already know, this Word of Mouth Tour served as The Wanted's farewell for awhile as they have decided to take a break from being a band and pursue personal endeavors. I feel like this tour became so much more once it was revealed that it would be their farewell tour. Emotions were definitely running high when The Wanted closed out their final show in Shawnee, Oklahoma last weekend. There was basically a craze among TW fans trying to be as involved as possible in the band's goodbye. People attending the show were livestreaming it for people at home as Twitter basically blew up with all of the outpour from emotional fans.

The Wanted: (from left) Jay McGuiness, Max George, Tom Parker,
Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes

The Wanted is a band that I have a lot of personal respect for. They've been together for about four years and I've seen them do some of the unthinkable when it comes to success in the music industry. They started from nothing but talent and a bit of ambition (thrown in with great management) and were able to gain popularity relatively quickly in the UK with their debut single "All Time Low" hitting number one in the charts in 2010. Their success continued even further with their second single "Heart Vacancy" landing in the top ten later that year. Things seemed to be going great for The Wanted when they were able to break America *quite quickly and successfully might I add* with their single "Glad You Came." The band landed some TV appearances and performed many shows stateside before landing their own TV show on E! called The Wanted Life. The show documented the band's life while living in Los Angeles and recording their third album, Word of Mouth.

When The Wanted announced their break in January of this year, it was, to say the least, unexpected. There seemed to be no sign of animosity among the members. There have been many theories as to why this break has happened. Some sources have said that being apart of The Wanted Life brought up old issues and created tension among some of the members. Other sources have said the break was due to The Wanted being signed over to Scooter Braun when in the process of breaking America. Many fans blame the management for things such as poor album sales, lack of promotion, etc. There has not been an exact reason as to why the break is happening but The Wanted have made it clear on many occasions that they plan on getting back together in the future and putting out more music.

This has definitely given fans a bit of hope The Wanted aren't completely disappearing. The band has always had a really great relationship with their fans and have managed to stay quite personable and grounded throughout the years. I can personally say that they are some of the nicest people I have ever met and I am really looking forward to seeing them again in the future. This farewell tour was definitely bitter sweet and a great way for the band to go out with a bang. They performed several of their biggest hits like "Glad You Came," "Heart Vacancy," and "All Time Low" as well as a medley of songs from their 2010 self-titled debut album. They also kept things lively and fun with classic TW onstage banter and interaction with the crowd. If you weren't able to catch The Wanted on tour, there are plenty of videos online that fans have posted to keep the TW spirit alive while the band takes a break.

This show was easily one of the best I've been to and I'm looking forward to seeing what's up next for the band. Each member seems to be working towards something during this break. Siva Kaneswaran has even mentioned that he will be appearing in movies and coming out with an album of his own in the coming year. Of course there are rumors of how long this break will last but it has not been confirmed. I can only hope that we will be hearing from The Wanted very soon. I've really enjoyed watching this band evolve over the last four years and I will keep all of you updated on their break as well as their individual projects.

Some days stay gold forever.

The Wanted's latest single Glow In The Dark:

Stay updated on The Wanted!:

Twitter: The Wanted, Siva, Nathan, Max, Tom, Jay

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*Click here to check out the World Music Awards and vote for The Wanted in categories like World's Best Song, World's Best Album, and World's Best Group!*

WORD OF MOUTH TOUR REVIEW~AS TOLD BY MADS

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Word Of Mouth Tour Review *Part One* feat. Cassio Monroe and Midnight Red

So. Finals are done. School is out. I'm free to blog, blog, blog. I was planning on writing this post last week but I was way too caught up in this show to focus on basically anything else. Last Thursday I traveled to Indianapolis to see The Wanted's Word of Mouth Tour. I haven't been to a good old-fashioned pop boyband show in a long while so it was actually a bit of a treat and completely exceeded my expectations. In fact it was so good that I'm splitting the review up into two parts. This first part will be all about the opening acts so enjoy!

MIDNIGHT RED:

Midnight Red: (clockwise from left) Colton
Rudloff, Thomas Augusto, Anthony Ladao,
Eric Secharia, Joey Diggs Jr. 

Midnight Red was my Pick of the Week way back when. Still love them. Still amazing. If you want to check out that post and learn more about who the heck Midnight Red is then click here. Now, I knew what Midnight Red was all about and I had a pretty good idea of what I could expect to see from them at the show. But let me just say this, you think you know Midnight Red…until you see them live. Sure they're crazy talented and hilarious guys through a computer screen or television but when you see them onstage or even face to face, it's surreal. It's so hard to understand how so much talent and charisma can go into one group of guys. They performed in front of tons of screaming girls and I would feel safe betting that they were having an even more fun time than the crowd. They clearly love what they do and they are so passionate and hard working. I mean, you don't get that good just by sitting around and saying you're in a band. Their vocals were some of the best I've heard and they didn't miss a beat when it came to choreography. They kept the crowd going with some of their fan favorites like "Body Talk" and "Hell Yeah." They also gave the crowd a chance to check out their impeccable vocals through performances of "Nothing Lasts Forever" as well as their covers of "Diamonds" and "Hold On, We're Going Home." I'm constantly amazed by these guys and hope to meet them again sometime soon. Midnight Red will be performing at Digifest July 7 in New York and July 14 in Toronto. Also, don't forget to check them out on Good Morning America on June 5th!

Midnight Red have recently teamed up with Sweety High to film a 5-part video series documenting their recent projects like the MTV Artist To Watch Tour and the Word of Mouth Tour. You can check out the most recent episode below:

              

Midnight Red's latest cover:

Keep up with Midnight Red!

Twitter: Midnight Red, Eric, Anthony, Colton, Thomas, Joey

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CASSIO MONROE:

Cassio Monroe: (from left) Tripp Weir, Jeff Garrison

I'll be honest and say that I had no clue who these guys were before the show. They had a handful of dedicated fans ready to tell everyone what made this duo so amazing and I know that after seeing them perform I'm not the only one who's jumped on the Cassio Monroe train. This pop/rap duo made up of Tripp Weir and Jeff Garrison are Nashville natives signed to HitShop Records/Warner Music
Nashville. I was so impressed by the dynamic between these two. They seem at first glance to be on two completely opposite ends of the spectrum but their unique styles somehow mesh together perfectly. I don't know how it happens. I don't understand it but I love it. At first I thought Tripp's vocals were decent but something was missing. It turns out he's a pretty insane rapper. He didn't look much like a rapper but it is definitely clear to see that he was born to do just that. Paired with Jeff's indie/pop/folk (if that's a thing) sound, Cassio Monroe are a breath of fresh air. They remind me a bit of old school hip-hop meets modern feel-good singer/songwriter. Along with MKTO, Cassio Monroe might just be leading the way for a whole slew of up and coming rap/pop groups. This style of music seems to be picking up steam and I can definitely see these guys at the top of the game.

*You can vote for Cassio Monroe in Macy's iHeartRadio Rising Star Talent Search here.*

Cassio Monroe-"Under The Lights":

Check out Cassio Monroe!

Twitter: Cassio Monroe, Jeff, Tripp

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*Click here to read the second part of my Word of Mouth Tour review all about the main act: The Wanted!*

Pick of the Week--Artist You Should Know About: Rixton

There's just something about bands who play their own instruments that makes me want to drop everything and live on their Youtube channel for days. It just makes them that much more REAL. It gives them that extra je ne sais quoi in the talent department. I've been really into a particular group of musicians the past few weeks and they are definitely an artist you should know about…

Rixton (formerly known as Relics) is a four-piece Pop/Rock/R&B band made up of Jake Roche, Charley Bagnall, Lewi Morgan, and Danny Wilkin. These Manchester natives have developed quite the following on Youtube with their remastered covers of artists from Taylor Swift and Usher to Sisqo's "The Thong Song." Yes, it's true. They covered "The Thong Song" and it wasn't horrific. It was actually quite amazing. If I hadn't believed that these guys had something special before listening to that cover, I definitely do now. Check out their cover of "The Thong Song" here. It's absolutely worth a listen.

Rixton: (from left) Lewi Morgan, Danny Wilkin,
Jake Roche, Charley Bagnall

Rixton just recently released their US debut EP: Me And My Broken Heart EP. The foursome went on a bit of a road trip across the US radioverse promoting their first single, "Me And My Broken Heart." They have already gained a dedicated following in the states evident by their single entering in the top 50 on iTunes and reaching #1 on 102.7 KIIS-FM's top 9 at 9. Their popularity seems to be rising like crazy especially with the anticipation of their debut album due out this year. With their abundance of originality and lead singer Jake's out-of-this-world vocals which are literally unlike anything I think I have ever heard, Rixton are bound to catch the attention of big-name talent managers. And they've already done just that with one Scooter Braun.

Now I'm naturally a bit skeptical about this Scooter Braun business because of everything that has gone down with The Wanted recently. The Wanted announcing their "break" hit a lot of fans really hard and have lead to numerous rumors about Rixton being a sort of "replacement." Now whether this is true or not, I'm not going to attempt to dissect the mind of Scooter Braun. What I have mainly picked up on is that people are hesitant to jump on the Rixton train because of this assumption that Scooter Braun ditched The Wanted and needed to fill the empty boyband slot. People are drawing all sorts of conclusions about this whole ordeal but, in reality, Rixton are a crazy talented band that can pull off a sort of Maroon 5 vibe perfectly while still being able to sound original and ooze potential to be the next big thing. I can't get enough of Rixton right now and I have no doubt in my mind that I will be wearing out the replay button once their album is released.

The Rixton guys are set to perform at 103.5 KISS' Fantabulo 2014 show in May along with Timeflies, Austin Mahone, and Jason Derulo. They are doing a few shows here and there over the next few months in the UK and US. You can find all of these dates on their website. Also, make sure you don't miss their "Rixton Roundup" videos where you can see what the band is up to basically 24/7. I can't wait to see how far Rixton will go this year with new music releases and hopefully announcing a tour…or two…or three…? Challenge accepted.

"Me And My Broken Heart" by Rixton:

Rixton's latest single: "Make Out":

Rixton's cover of "Ignition" by R.Kelly!

Keep up with all things Rixton!:

Twitter: Rixton, Lewi, Jake, Danny, Charley

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ARTIST YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT: RIXTON~AS TOLD BY MADS
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The Wanted: Split! Oh, Scooter Braun...

Now before reading on I'd like to advise you all to take a deep breath. In…out…in…out.

You good? Good. Yes, it's true. The Wanted have just recently announced that they are "taking a break." I want to repeat this. A break. A break. A BREAK. A few of the band members have stressed that this is simply that. A break. The guys of The Wanted have decided to take a bit of time off to pursue individual projects but they assure their devoted fans that they look forward to many more TW endeavors in the future. Tom Parker made it clear on Twitter last week saying "This is not the end. You can't get rid of us that easily." So for all of you die-hard TWFanmily, don't stress. Of course it will be difficult to say goodbye temporarily to the weekly vlogs and mailers but The Wanted boys are not disappearing off the face of the earth, that I'm sure of.

From what I figure, Scooter Braun *currently running for best manager of the age with Bieber arrested and the TW split* will probably do his best to make Nathan Sykes the next big solo act. I mean c'mon we all remember the Nariana/Jariana drama ending in a great duet and many enraged Janoskianators and TWFanmily. Scooter isn't doing too hot in the eyes of thousands of teenage girls right now but maybe he's hoping to save himself with this new Sykes craze….*cricket**cricket*.

The Wanted guys probably won't do too bad on their own considering they already have had so much success simply because of TW. Max George has his Buffalo Jeans campaign, Siva Kaneswaran with his modeling *I mean wow that bone structure*, Tom Parker recently started doing some DJing and isn't half bad, and Jay McGuiness with his….um…uh oh.

Don't worry. Everyone's favorite curly-headed McGuiness will be just fine. I'm sure he will carry on with his usual antics and it will probably seem like he doesn't even realize that the band has taken a break. The Wanted have been on the grind for a very long time so it's understandable that they want to take a bit of time for themselves. On the plus side, with this news, their Word of Mouth Tour is bound to be even more amazing than ever thought possible.


THE WANTED SPLIT~AS TOLD BY MADS
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