Loopified by Dirty Loops

The rise of the singer-songwriter like Adele, Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor and others in recent years has made covers a dirty word. Truth to tell, there were times when it seemed like the prevailing belief was that those who sing cover versions of old songs are less talented. Which I think is really unfortunate because anybody who can breathe new life to an old song and make a success out of a cover is certainly talented.

But then there is just no way anybody can put the old songs down. As the music industry kept up its resistance, the old songs found a fantastic new outlet on the Internet. Anybody who likes to sing can record a song and upload it on YouTube, and an oldie that browsers will instantly recognize is always the best choice. And there they now flourish, the good with the bad getting views and likes and being shared. And as though by magic, some good turn out to be great as careers are made and stars are born.

Among those who gained success after uploading covers on the Net is the boy trio, Dirty Loops. The group is made up of Jonah Nilsson on vocals and keyboards; Henrik Linder on bass; and Aron Mellergardh on drums. Dirty Loops comes from Sweden, the land of ABBA and Avicii. Board with schoolwork at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, band members took to making videos of themselves singing covers that they twisted, turned upside-down or totally rearranged. Now after getting over 19 million views on YouTube, the band has become Scandinavia’s new hot music export.

Now, it is always a joy to discover innate musical talent. But then, not everybody is a Beatle who can learn the ropes while on the job and eventually surpass expectations. It pays to have real music training. This is what Dirty Loops has. That is why the band’s new takes on hits like Lady Gaga’s Just Dance, Justin Bieber’s Baby, Adele’s Rolling In The Deep and Justin Timberlake’s Sexy Back easily caught attention because of superior musicianship. Soon, the band was being signed up by famed producer and songwriter Andreas Carlsson, was singing for David Foster and was called by the legendary Quincy Jones incredible.

Fast forward to today, the first album is out, co-produced by Carlsson and Foster, and Dirty Loops has ceased to be a cover band. Titled Loopified, it includes new originals by Carlsson and the band like Hit Me, Sexy Girls, Sayonara Love, Die For You, Lost In You, Take On The World, Accidentally In Love, The Way She Walks and an enchanting ballad Crash And Burn Delight. Then as a throwback to the band’s beginnings, there are two covers, Wake Me Up by EDM superstar and fellow Swede Avicii and Roller Coaster by Justin Bieber.

The songs are fun boy band stuff but the arrangements are intricately clever. I hear jazz and funk but then there is also the Air Supply-styled Crash And Burn Delight that is such a surprise. And to think that Dirty Loops was once just another cover band on the Net. With Loopified, these guys present a new kind of pop and it is a sparkling mix of everything. Sweden must be very proud.

Speaking of boy groups and also because Carlsson created some of the genre’s biggest sellers, like I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys and It’s Gonna Be Me by N’Sync, here are the results of the Rolling Stone magazine poll on the greatest boy band songs of all time. Please note. Among those who topped the voting are some Korean pop hits, proof that K-Pop has successfully crossed over to the American market.

The Top 20 songs in the list are: I Want You Back by the Jackson 5; I’ll Be There also by the Jackson 5; Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers; I’m A Believer by the Monkees; I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys; Bye Bye Bye by N’Sync; ABC by the Jackson 5; Back For Good by Take That; You Got It (The Right Stuff) by the New Kids On The Block; Story Of My Life by One Direction.

Candy Girl by New Edition; Sherlock by the Korean group SHINee; Daydream Believer by the Monkees; Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) by the Backstreet Boys; It’s Gonna Be Me by N’Sync; Pass The Dutchie by Musical Youth; Quit Playing Games With My Heart by the Backstreet Boys; Dragostea Din Tei by the Eastern European band O-Zone; Please Don’t Go Girl by the New Kids On The Block; and The Love You Save by the Jackson 5.