You've never heard Taylor Swift quite like this before. The "Style" singer has been country and pop, but now she's gotten a bit of a punk dose, courtesy of Charli XCX. The Grammy-nominated "Doing It" singer recently covered Swift's lead 1989 single "Shake It Off" in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, giving the punchy pop song a rocking makeover.
It was clear from the beginning that XCX's version of "Shake It Off" would be a little different. It kicks off with a countdown from XCX, a round of "Oi!"s and the beat of a drum. With the tempo kicked up and rock influences abound, "Shake It Off" would be nearly unrecognizable in XCX's hands, if it weren't for that always-recognizable melody, which XCX remained intact despite changing nearly everything else about the structure of the song.
The punchy, punky version of "Shake It Off" is not without some tweaks. Though XCX kept the majority of the spoken monologue near the end of the song, she did leave out Swift's trademarked "This. Sick. Beat." Line, which is really for the better of the song.
Listen to Charli XCX's cover of Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" below, via Stereogum:
Charli XCX is currently promoting her new album Sucker, which was released in the U.S. back in December 2014. The album has been led by singles "Boom Clap," "Break the Rules" and "Doing It."
