Alex Melton was my most-listened to artist on Spotify in 2021. I can’t get enough of his pop punk and country covers.
I first discovered Alex back in the summer of 2020 shortly after he dropped this gem on TikTok:
@melton.alexander You know I had to do it to em ##lovestory ##lovestorychallenge ##taylorswift ##coversong ##poppunk ##fyp
♬ original sound – Alex
I’m not on TikTok but that video made the rounds and I stumbled on it on Twitter or Facebook or who knows where. Thankfully, Alex capitalized on the viral success of that TikTok video, put out a full-blown cover of Taylor Swift’s Love Story just a couple of weeks later, and I was hooked.
Since then, Alex has put out many many more songs on YouTube and Spotify and recently inked a deal with Pure Noise Records.
Alex creates pop punk and country style covers of modern songs as well as songs from the 90’s and early 00’s. For me, the funnest covers are ones that are completely unexpected, where he takes songs from completely different genres and redoes them in completely unexpected ways.
I could post a couple dozen of Alex’ songs that I love, but to avoid losing your attention I’m going to limit myself to just five essential Alex Melton covers.
Note: Most of these songs have profanity or other explicit lyrics. Listener discretion advised if you have kids around or prefer to avoid that kind of thing. Except the last song, that one’s safe for all listeners.
The Pop-Punk Cover of a 90’s/00’s Alt Rock Hit
The “pop-punk cover of a rock hit” is Alex’ bread and butter. He churns these mashups out frequently and with every one I find myself thinking “uh, that’s better than the original.”
I could have picked a half dozen stellar examples of this type of mashup that Alex has put out in the last 18 months, but none are finer than this banger.
The Country Cover of a 90’s/00’s Alt Rock Hit
I live in the southern United States. I don’t really listen to country music but if you’re truly from the south, country music gets in your blood whether you regularly listen to it or not.
There’s something about a song from my teens or twenties recast as a country song that just works for this southern boy.
The Genre Massacre
Seriously? Kendrick Lamar and Linkin Park? What’s happening?
And then it just works.
I had to go look up the original Kendrick song since I’d never heard it. Ok. Pass. But this cover? Love it.
The Reinvention of a Modern Pop Song
Alex remakes modern pop songs from artists like Justin Bieber and Olivia Rodrigo in either a country or pop punk style with seldom a misfire.
The original version of Good For You by Olivia Rodrigo is a catchy ear worm. The country cover by Alex Melton on the other hand is just pure gold.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas y’all.
I hope you enjoyed this journey through some of my favorite Alex Melton songs, my top Spotify artist of 2021.
Looks like a lot of fun.