BBC Radio 1ās Live Lounge is a bit of an institution these days. The radio show sees Clara Amfo introducing artists into the studio to perform cover versions of their favourite charts hits or live renditions of their own hits. The 2015 compilation release features 39 songs spread across 2 discs with the brightest stars of the music world performing them.
The compilation kicks off with Ed Sheeran tackling Hozierās worldwide hit Take Me to Church putting his own soulful take on the song. Itās a great way to start the album with Ed being one of the biggest stars in the world right now and he sounds fantastic. Across the first disc of the collection Little Mix perform their number 1 smash Black Magic, Nick Jonas wraps his silky vocals around Years & Yearsā number one King, and Jungle do a rowdy version of Mark Ronson and Bruno Marsā global hit Uptown Funk.
The second disc leans more towards indie and alt bands rather than the pop of the first disc. Highlights on the disc include Hozierās soulful and gritty take on Sam Smithās Lay Me Down, The Vaccines unusual take on Omiās Cheerleader, and Imagine Dragonsā mash-up of Taylor Swiftās Blank Space and Ben E. Kingās Stand By Me.
As always with Live Lounge releases thereās a real mix in terms of standard. Florence + The Machine fail to impress with a live version of their own song Ship to Wreck, James Bayās take on Rihanna, Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartneyās FourFiveSeconds doesnāt really add anything to the original, and Lucy Roseās tentative Bad Blood sounds a little weak compared to other tracks included here.
If the Top 40 is what youāre into then youāll likely find plenty to enjoy on BBC Radio 1ās Live Lounge 2015. If you prefer your music away from the mainstream then youāll likely struggle to find much worth getting excited about. Weād say there was about a 50/50 split on here in terms of impressive performances and underwhelming ones.