If you’ve been around enough, you may remember when artists and musicians used to release singles on 7’ 45s. Today’s a much different day and age of course. Radio is a whole new world, and Spotify also has artists recording songs for their Singles category.
The History of Spotify Singles
Spotify singles was announced in late 2016, and the idea was to create a throwback to the days of singles in the vinyl and CD age, and from the get-go, the idea was to have an artist do a new version of one of their known songs, and the second song would be a cover. Back in the day you may recall that 7’ inch singles had A and B sides, and often bands would have a live version of a song, or a cover, as a B side, and this is clearly a way of recreating that format in a digital age.
Artists Who Have Recorded Songs For Spotify Singles
Doing a simple Google search, you’d be amazed at the incredible caliber of artists contributing for Spotify singles, including Elton John, Keith Urban, Muse, Hozier, and more.
Keith Urban is one of many country artists who has a recorded a song for Spotify Singles with a cover of Happier from producer Marshmello.
As Urban told Rolling Stone, “The first time I heard ‘Happier’ it spoke to me lyrically. Underneath that badass track, there’s an incredible story of emotional conflict being told. I could really relate to it, and so I set about trying to frame that in my own way.”
Hozier did a cover of Say My Name by Destiny’s Child. As Hozier said in a tweet, “This was one of those tunes that found its way onto the tour bus playlist rotation, it felt right to cover it for the #SpotifySingles, and it has been great fun to play live.”
And Elton John, who loves to keep up on what’s new and current in music, did a cover of Khalid’s Young Dumb & Broke. “I discovered Khalid’s music a few years ago, and have been a fan ever since,” he told Paste. “It’s a thrill to be a part of any new artist’s journey, and it’s been wonderful to see his star continue to rise and rise. ‘Young Dumb & Broke is a fabulous song, one of my favorites and I’m really pleased that he liked my cover enough to contribute vocals.”
As this story points out, John’s Spotify Single also includes one of his all-time classics, Benny and the Jets, and John has cleverly found a way to keep his catalog alive while staying up to date at the same time.
In late November 2018, Spotify singles also released a posthumous recording from rapper Mac Miller. Miller recorded several songs not long before his passing, and his song choices were a deep cut called Dunno, and a cover of the Billy Preston classic Nothing From Nothing. Miller recorded his session in the Spotify studios in New York.
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