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Standard Guidelines & Practices

The Official Cover Guide

PT. 1: What is a cover song?

Cover song is the usage of the original words of a song performed by a new artist be it exactly like the old or original version or a re0generalized adaptation. It can also have new music, can be sped up or slowed down, and made to feel new.

The Strict Lyric Rule

The lyrics themselves remain intact in story, structure, and meaning. You perform the song that was written, not a new one. Within that framework, three narrow kinds of word-level change are permitted and encouraged, used only to reflect the shift described below:

Gender changeYou may perform the song from the perspective of a different gender than the original artist, adjusting pronouns and points of reference as needed to reflect that perspective.
Chronological changeYou may place the song in a different time period than the one it originally occupied, updating references that anchor it to a specific era.
Geographical changeYou may set the song in a different place than the original, swapping place names or regional references as needed to reflect it.

These three changes, and the targeted wording adjustments they require, are the only departures allowed from the original lyrics. Anything beyond them, such as altering the song's story or adding new content, means the submission is no longer a cover under this standard.

PT. 2: Best way to do/create a cover song?

10 Helpful Tips

  1. 01Listen to other covers
  2. 02Get to the essence of the song
  3. 03Feel free to bend genres
  4. 04Determine how to accentuate the lyrics
  5. 05Play around with different aspects of the song's composition
  6. 06Try everything, include changing the tempo (speed)
  7. 07Give it your own spin
  8. 08Don't go it alone
  9. 09Get a second (or third) opinion
  10. 10Perform it!

PT. 3: Cover Songs: DO NOT DO THIS

Do NotAttempt to sing the cover song in the original key, if the key is out of your range. Select a range that is comfortable for your voice.
Do NotPlay it “safe”. Step all the way out of your comfort zone and create something new.
Do NotRecord your cover without practicing it first. Sing thru the song many times, creating new ideas while solidifying what you already have.

PT. 4: Examples of Notable Covers

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”

The song was originally written and released by solo musician Robert Hazard in 1979, four years before Cyndi Lauper's more famous 1983 version. Lauper's recording is the cover, and a notable one: she reworked the lyrics from Hazard's original male point of view to a female one, which is exactly the kind of gender change permitted under this guide's Strict Lyric Rule.

“Nothing Compares to You”

Prince wrote the song and gave it to his side project The Family, who released it quietly in 1985 to little attention. Sinead O'Connor covered it in 1990, turning it into a Billboard #1 hit and the far more well-known version. Prince later performed it live himself, meaning he technically covered his own song after Sinead O'Connor made it famous.