Hidden Treasures

Hello, bloggers!

If you didn't already know this about me, allow me to enlighten you! A side hobby of mine is being an amateur talent scout. If I was not pursuing the career path that I currently am, I would likely love to do something in the music industry. To me, music should either be black or white. Unfortuneately, the demise of country music has led to a grey industry. Musicans either have it or they don't. Since the past ten years of country music has been 95% trash, I have sought YouTube to find new treasures. As you probably know, YouTube is filled with millions of people covering mainstream songs. There is a delicate art to successfully covering a song, and so few get it right. Here are my basic guidelines for avoiding embarassment and achieving stardom.

1. I feel awful saying this but, a good singing voice is absolutely imparative to a good cover. That being said, some people try to over emphasize their country twang or change the natural pitch of their voice-- and this just never works. Your singing voice should be natural and unique to you, it should be effortless. The viewers will know if you're over-doing it.

2. Make the song your own! There is no point to covering a song if the melodies and tones are exactly the same as the original. People are just going to listen to whatever artist recorded it in the first place. Keep in mind that inevitably, your cover is going to be either better or worse than the original. One or the other, no grey area. So make it better! Make it your own and make it different.

3. Don't stray too far from the orginal song. Keep it close with your own personal touch.

4. Don't be cheesy. Don't smile and wink and dance and make hand gestures. Once your famous and in front of a crowd, that's your perogative. But whenever your alone sitting infront of a video camera, just sing the song and be done.

Follow these simple rules and you are guaranteed to successfully cover a song!

Need proof? Watch this video. This person did it RIGHT. Simple, effortless, perfect, better than the original.


This girl, although she may not seem to have that 'wow' factor, did really well with this song. You can tell it really came from her heart, and she has a really good tone to her voice, making this cover unique to her. She just sat there and effortlessly sang the song. Perfection!


Now, go find some treasures!

-C