Who? Craig David
What’s the story? We really weren't expecting this. Despite all our best efforts, we became Beliebers last year as Justin's run of undeniably excellent singles saw him dominate the charts like a modern Beatles. And the biggest hit of all of them was Love Yourself, an infuriatingly catchy track co-written with Ed Sheeran. The original, whilst undeniably well-written, always felt a little dull to us, but renaissance man Craig David, who played a show for ShortList at the end of last year, has turned it into an acoustic-garage track straight out of 1999 with this performance on Radio 1's Live Lounge. The vocals are utterly flawless, the backing duo are tight as hell, with the garage drums giving the track welcome added energy and fizz. Even Craig's rap in the final third adds another dimension to it. Whisper it quietly, but this could be one of the best covers you'll hear all year.
For fans of: Artful Dodger, MJ Cole
In three words: Party like (it's) 1999
