From Billboard.com:
“Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, rising from No. 2. The song, first released on Carey’s album Merry Christmas in 1994 and which first reigned for three weeks last holiday season, adds its fourth total week atop the Hot 100, tying for the most time at No. 1 among holiday hits in the chart’s 62-year history.”
Back when bands used to play live shows (remember that?), it was generally a good bet for a cover band to pick popular songs for their setlist, or at the very least, songs that the crowd would know and enjoy.
In the Covid age where many musicians have turned to YouTube or live streaming to get the music out there, the same rules don’t necessarily apply. However, it should be obvious that choosing a well-known song to cover will end up getting you traffic and engagement—as long as the performance is good.
There are many, many versions of people singing the 1994 Mariah Carey holiday hit online, but most of them don’t do anything new with the song. We sometimes like to choose different takes on tunes, and for our selection this week, we found a flawless guitar cover by a man named Kfir Ochaion.
“I use the guitar strings as vocal cords, capturing the human voice with my fingers,” states Ochaion on his Facebook Page (which has over a million followers), as well as at the top of his website.
Put another way, what Ochaion does is play the vocal melody from songs on electric guitar. The concept is pretty simple, but also brilliant. He’s basically playing one long guitar solo for each clip, while still honoring the spirit of the tunes.
This guy is no slouch, either. His YouTube channel has hundreds of videos (also with over a million subscribers). He offers guitar lessons as well, and churns out several new videos each month.
Watch the video we chose below, and if that’s not heavy enough for you, check out metal version of the same song that he recently recorded.
Do you have a clip worthy of Video of the Week? Send an email to steve@coverbandcentral.com with a link to the clip (must be a YouTube video) and a brief summary as to why you should be chosen, and you could be our next selection!
