Feature Song: “Bad Habits”
Edward Christopher Sheeran (1991) is an English singer-songwriter. He was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, and began writing songs at the age of eleven. His debut album, Plus, was released in 2011, topping the UK charts and producing his first hit single, “The A Team.” His second album, X (“Multiply”), topped the charts around the world when it was released in 2014, and subsequently rated as the second-best selling album worldwide, and along with that many accolades from various music entities and the single, “Thinking Out Loud,” earned him a 2016 Grammy Award. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the world’s best-selling recording artists.
My feature song, “Bad Habits,” is from his fourth studio album, = (“Equals”), released in 2021 as the lead single from this album. It was his first solo release from an album in over four years. Although it received mixed reviews from critics (make of that what you will), the song became a commercial success, especially in the UK and Ireland, spending eleven consecutive weeks at the top of the charts.
Once again, I am relying on Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) for the chosen cover, in particular because of the performances of two feature artists: Sara Niemietz and Taylor Gordon, better known as The Pocket Queen. Niemietz (1992) is an American singer-songwriter and actress based in Los Angeles. She has performed on Broadway, at Radio City Music Hall, and at the Grand Ole Opry.. Her regular co-writer and long-time accompanist is W.G. Snuffy Warden, and she has also written with Melissa Manchester. She is a regular cast-member with PMJ and has appeared on many of their albums.
Taylor Gordon (1990) is an American drummer and producer. She was born and raised in New Orleans. She has had a great deal of success during her still-blossoming career and has performed with many prominent artists, including Beyoncé, Robert Glasper, and Stevie Wonder, to name a few. Her drumming style fuses jazz, funk, and pop, all of which are front and center on this cover.
Enjoy!
Ed Sheeran. “Bad Habits” 2021
Postmodern Jukebox. “Bad Habits” cover featuring Sara Niemietz and The Pocket Queen, with Hagar Ben-Ari (bass), Charles Cornell (Keys), Charles Jones (organ,) Ryan Lerman (guitar) 2022.
Los Angeles 2024
Wow, loving that cover! I actually like the song now!
Ed Sheeran, undoubtedly, is a very talented artist and has written catchy songs. As evidenced by the billions of streams on Spotify for his songs like “Shape of You”, “Perfect” and “Photograph”, he’s very popular. That said, his music generally isn’t so much my cup of tea. The cover by Modern Jukebox sounds neat. In fact, I prefer it over the original!
I agree that Sheeran is not everyone’s “cup of tea” which, considering where he’s from, is appropriate! I have grown to appreciate his talent for creating “catchy” tunes that people love. There is a band from Canada that has received, over the years, a similar tepid response to their music, and that is Nickleback. You either love them our hate them, but when they released the song “How You Remind Me,” it was being played every 3 seconds on US stations. The royalties from air play, which is merely pennies per play, from that song alone made Chad Kroeger a millionaire! So what do I know?
I like both versions, though PMJ’s has more soul.