The best of BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge: From Taylor Swift to Bruno Mars

BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge is one of the most famous segments on UK radio, where artists perform acoustic versions of their own songs and covers of other artists’ tracks (which are usually a genre different from their usual style). This segment, while undeniably popular, is an intimate platform for artists to promote their own music and display their musical abilities live.

Hayley Williams’ vocals never fail to disappoint and only seem to be better live than on the studio version

Notable artist performances of their original songs include Taylor Swift’s ‘Holy Ground’, which is a personal favourite of mine: Swift performs the song, seven years after the song’s original release in 2012, on the album Red. She sings it with a new maturity in her voice. She plays an acoustic guitar, offering a melancholic twist, evoking a sense of longing and heartbreak as opposed to the original recording of the song, which evoked a celebratory and appreciative tone. Despite Swift straying so far from the studio production, this more retrospective tone seems to fit the lyrics even more.

Another amazing Live Lounge performance is Paramore’s ‘Hard Times’. Hayley Williams’ vocals never fail to disappoint and only seem to be better live than on the studio version. Paramore’s guitarist, Taylor York, showcases his skills in this performance, playing riffs which truly elevate the song, aided by the intimacy of the lounge setting.

Olivia Rodrigo’s acoustic and stripped-down rendition of her 2021 song ‘deja vu’ creates a reminiscent atmosphere, whereas the studio version is filled with rage and anger, giving an entirely new meaning to the song. Her live voice tells the story of the song much more intimately, connecting to the audience in a way the LP can’t. In the same Live Lounge session, Rodrigo also sang a stripped-down version of ‘Vampire’, emphasising the emotion in the song, broadcasting her vocal improvement.

The backup singers elevated the performance, complimenting Grande’s voice perfectly

Finally, Rodrigo covered Noah Kahan’s ‘Stick Season’. This song perfectly suited her voice, making the cover extremely popular, in turn making the song itself rise in popularity, significantly boosting Noah Kahan’s career. After Rodrigo’s cover was released in October 2023, Kahan’s track hit the charts almost immediately. It became his first UK Top 10 single, and eventually the first Number 1 single of 2024. In return, also in the Live Lounge, Kahan covered Rodrigo’s ‘Lacy’. Whilst Rodrigo’s version evokes a jealous, darker tone, Kahan’s reinvents the song and creates an angelic and admiring tone.

Additionally, I personally loved Ariana Grande’s session, where she performed her dreamy song ‘R.E.M.’, from her album Sweetener, utilising her lower register which is usually never heard due to her famous whistle. The backup singers elevated the performance, complimenting Grande’s voice perfectly. Similarly, her deeper tone is demonstrated in her cover of ‘Them Changes’ by Thundercat, showcasing her ability to perform soul and jazz.

RAYE covered Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill’ shortly after it gained widespread popularity due to its appearance in Season 4 of Stranger Things. The passion and emotion in her graceful voice are evident, the ensemble of strings accompanying construct a heavenly sound.

Viewers particularly admired Mars’s ability to sing the song in the same key as Adele

BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge covers like Rodrigo’s cover of ‘Stick Season’ accumulate masses of popularity and go viral across social media platforms. For example, Bruno Mars’s cover of Adele’s ‘All I Ask’ has accumulated over 92 million views on YouTube and has recently resurfaced on TikTok. Whilst Adele’s version can be interpreted as a heart-wrenching breakup song, Mars’s cover can be interpreted as a yearning love song and is even more meaningful as he is credited as one of the song’s writers. Viewers particularly admired Mars’s ability to sing the song in the same key as Adele. Similarly, Hozier’s 2014 cover of ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ by the Arctic Monkeys has resurfaced on TikTok in the last few months. Hozier reinvented the song, creating a gentle and intimate atmosphere, like a warm hug.

A heavily underrated Live Lounge is boygenius’ cover of Shania Twain’s ‘You’re Still The One’. The musical trio put a spin on the already sweet and intimate love song and made it even more intimate by adding angelic harmonies. Their voices blend beautifully, accompanied by Julien Baker’s talented mandolin playing. Moreover, with Christmas just around the corner, it would be suitable to mention Laufey’s cover of the widely covered Christmas song ‘Winter Wonderland’. Her rich, smooth, mellow, jazzy tone perfectly suits this song and is one of my favourite covers of this song.

Thus, the BBC Live Lounge produces some of the best musical covers and is the perfect space for artists to showcase their musical abilities.