Ben Platt’s recent cover of Addison Rae’s "Diet Pepsi" has gone viral on social media.

The appeal was the song choice and change in performance style — an unexpected crossover between Platt’s musical theatre background and Rae’s bubblegum TikTok pop.

It’s just the latest in a long history of our enduring love for covers: songs performed or rerecorded by a different artist from the original, often with a new twist.

Think Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You , Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower , or Luke Coombes’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car .

Covers can give new life to the songs we know and love. In some cases, they may even surpass the original.

Where does the concept come from?

The concept of covers originates in the

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