Song Remixes That Are Better Than The Original
It's rare that we like a remix of a song better than the original. Remixes can sometimes change our favorite songs to pumping club bangers that are more headache inducing than anything else, and can often destroy an already superior track with dub step breakdowns. But from time to time, a remix comes along that's so good it puts a song on the map. That's right: there are some unique instances where a remix has actually been better than the original song. Some of these remixes are even responsible for turning sleepers into iconic hit songs.
R. Kelly knows that a remix can keep a song hot and fresh out the kitchen. Britney Spears knows that a remix can drive you crazy. Jagged Edge knows that the power of Run DMC is life altering. Even Beyonce knows that to make a song truly flawless, sometimes a remix is the ticket. While not every remix of a song is a home run, read on to find out which remixed songs were so good they eclipsed the original.
Chances are, you didn't even know the non-remixed version of Jagged Edge's "Let's Get Married" even existed. But before you get all excited and rush off to Google it, don't. It's terrible, and would have faded into complete obscurity had So So Def and Run DMC not come along and turned it into a '90s ANTHEM.
Ryan Tedder writes good music, but with One Republic he managed a right old snooze fest with his original "Apologize." Luckily Timbaland saw some potential and turned it into the emotional power ballad it was meant to be.
"Till The World Ends" is a good song. "Till The World Ends" with Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha's vocals is a GREAT song.
Flume turned Discolsure's "You and Me" into a hit. Giving the electronic track even more dynamism, Flume's remix (sorry Disclosure), is the superior version!
Like "Let's Get Married", Dru Hill's "Sleeping In My Bed" was an absolute bore before So So Def came along and woke it up. We motion that every boring R&B jam be remixed by these guys.
Radiohead's "Talk Show Host" only made it to the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack thanks to the Nelle Hooper Remix. If it weren't for the mix, the song would have been just another unknown (except probably to monster fans) B-side.
"No, No, No" was Destiny's Child's first hit — but not in its original iteration. It took Wyclef Jean to come along and remix the song into a "Part 2" in order for us to start paying attention. And hence, Beyonce was born.
It's OK if you didn't know J.Lo's version of "I'm Real" with Ja Rule isn't the only version. The original is sort of bland for a J.Lo song, and without the husky voiced Ja Rule, is an almost entirely different song (sounds like something Mandy Moore would release in 2001) that you're more than forgiven if you skip over.
Here's another one you've probably never heard the original of. The unremixed "Ignition" is a slow jam (also referring to a woman as a car, Kelly's fave metaphor), and appears on his album Chocolate Factory right before "Ignition (Remix)", which supersedes the original in terms of pop immortality and replay-ability.
In the Stop Remix of "(You Drive Me) Crazy", cowbells are the key. The album version of the song takes longer to get started and has some awkward bridges — most people are more well acquainted with the remix, as it appeared on the movie of the same title, and in the famous Melissa Joan Hart starring music video!
Cornershops "Brimful of Asha" is pretty good, but when Fatboy Slim took the "pretty good" song and injected it with an upbeat tempo, it became a classic, and inspired many a dancing shoe to start tapping.
MSTRSRFT are to indie electro what So So Def are to 90s R&B — they just make everything better. Bloc Party's "Two More Years" got the life it deserved with MSTRKRFT got involved, making it a dance floor hit that it otherwise wouldn't have been.
Even Queen B knows: a remix can be better than an original. Choosing to spit a few lines herself on the "Flawless" remix was a bold choice that paid off. Enlisting Nicki Minaj (2nd in charge) to rap on the remix propelled "Flawless" into the annals of remix legend.