Every Friday, a band or artist steps into triple j's studio to perform an original song, as well as a cover, live on the radio. Like A Version has become a musical staple for Australians, and this year was no different. We've had a look at this year's Like A Version performances, and here's some of our absolute favourites.
Remember, voting for the 2019 triple j Hottest 100 has opened now, with all of the below performances eligible for your list this year. Vote now!
The Wombats - White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
Ok, so this might technically be from December last year, but it's so good we had to include it. English rockers The Wombats are no strangers to Like A Version, but given it was the last one of 2018, they wanted to take it to the next level.
Rather than performing something contemporary, the band wanted to inject some Christmas cheer, covering White Christmas by Bing Crosby. Their tour manager joined the trio for the cover, dressed in a wombat onesie. It might just be our favourite Christmas carol (and one that isn't totally lame).
Dominic Fike - Bags (Clairo)
Dominic Fike wasn't going to bring anything less but his A-game to his Like A Version, and he took on indie favourite Clairo's Bags.
Rather than stay truly faithful to the original, Dominic brought tons of riffs to the cover (as well as sporting a wig throughout). It turns the track from an indie favourite to a charged punk rock tune, and it's an example of a LAV done right.
Thelma Plum - Young, Dumb And Broke (Khalid)
It's fair to say that on the day this LAV was recorded, Thelma Plum was having a good day. Not only did she smash her original performance, as well as her cover of Khalid's Young, Dumb And Broke, but she dropped her ARIA-nominated album, Better In Blak.
However, rather than being a straightforward cover, she interlaced the Khalid cover with parts of Lil Nas X's smash hit Old Town Road, and pulled it off with ease. Speaking about the cover choice, Thelma said Khalid is a "real ledge", and Lil Nas X seems like a "really top bloke." We can't disagree with her on either of those.
Alex Lahey - Welcome To The Black Parade (My Chemical Romance)
When Alex Lahey covered My Chemical Romance's Welcome To The Black Parade, it was so good that it got the attention of MCR (and, we can only assume, convinced them to make a comeback).
Alex took the song and ran with it, adding heaps of additional instruments, and putting her own stamp on it. MCR are a difficult band to cover, but if you're gonna go for it, take note - Alex Lahey has shown you how it's done.
Denzel Curry - Bulls On Parade (Rage Against The Machine)
A lot of people have tried to capture the same energy that Rage Against The Machine have when covering their songs, but a lot of people miss the mark.
However, when Denzel Curry covered Bulls On Parade, not only did he match the energy, but dare we say elevated it? The cover is one of Denzel's crowning achievements, and is being tipped to place pretty highly in this year's Hottest 100. We can see why, too, as it'll get stuck in your head from the first listen.
Wafia - My My My! (Troye Sivan)
Wafia's Like A Version had a Australian flavour to it, with her covering Troye Sivan's My My My! Wafia transformed the song from a high-energy tune to a soulful ballad, and it shows off her powerful vocals with amazing effect.
It's hard to go past the original track, but we reckon Wafia picked a perfect song for her LAV, and we've been listening to it on repeat for the last month.
Angie McMahon - Knowing Me, Knowing You (ABBA)
Angie McMahon loves covering songs - she told triple j, "it's my favourite thing to do, actually". She's even planning a covers album at some point.
That's why it doesn't come as any surprise that her cover of ABBA's Knowing Me, Knowing You was such a hit. She turned it into a gripping emotional ballad, and while the original might not necessarily fit Angie's sound, the cover turned it into a song that wouldn't sound out of place on her next album - which is the sign of a great cover.
SAFIA - Resolution
SAFIA released their smash single Resolution earlier this year, and when they came to perform it for Like A Version, it was always going to be interesting how they translated it live.
However, rather than perform a note-for-note rendition, the trio went all out for their performance, resulting in a triumphant performance that not only elevates the song, but makes this performance one of the best moments that LAV has seen for a long while.
Allday And The Veronicas - Big Yellow Taxi (Joni Mitchell)
2019 will be known as the year The Veronicas returned to the Australian public's collective consciousness, and that's thanks in part to this cover alongside Allday.
Allday knew what he was doing when he recruited the sister duo for his LAV performance (they'd already featured on his 2019 single Restless), and their performance of Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi showed people that The Veronicas are still a live force to be reckoned with.
Nicole Millar - Reborn (KIDS SEE GHOSTS)
Nicole Millar brought along a team of instrumentalists and back-up singers for her KIDS SEE GHOSTS cover, but when performing Reborn, it was clear who the star was amongst the contingent of musicians.
Nicole introduces a drop to the already catchy AF song, and transforms it from a hip-hop banger, to a song that wouldn't sound out of place being played by a jangle-pop band. It's an intimidating song to cover, but Nicole made it seem effortless.
Jorja Smith - Killing Me Softly (The Fugees)
Grammy-nominated artist Jorja Smith was always going to smash her first LAV out of the park, so it was only a matter of what song she was going to choose to cover.
She settled on The Fugees' Killing Me Softly, and turned it into a jazz-filled, soulful cover. It's not the most radical transformation of a song that LAV has seen, but sometimes, it doesn't need to be.
Ceres - A Thousand Miles (Vanessa Carlton)
When you think about what song Ceres would cover, Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles doesn't immediately come to mind. However, that's what makes this cover so exciting.
Rather than sticking to the song's roots, the band adds a emo-punk edge to the track. They maintain the emotional energy of the original, but with this version, you've got something you can mosh to.
