BBC
One of the most exciting parts of a live show is hearing an artist step out of their comfort zone and take on a song that wasn’t originally theirs. On his last tour, Harry treated us to covers of songs he’d helped write, (yet another way to demonstrate his outstanding writing growth) including Ariana Grande’s ‘Just A Little Bit of Your Heart’ and a brief stint with ‘Story of My Life’ back in 2017.
This year, Harry’s been touring these first few covers on his promo circuit, with appearances at BBC Live Lounge, The Howard Stern Show and stopping by Lizzo’s Miami show in January. We’d expect at least one One Direction cover to make the cut (‘What Makes You Beautiful’ surely?!) but we’d be equally happy with any of these three making a more frequent appearance in the final setlist.
LIZZO – JUICE
‘Juice’ is so much fun! It doesn’t matter if it’s Lizzo or Harry, or Harry and Lizzo singing it, ‘Juice’ has quickly become a crowd favourite. With Harry’s lyric changes referencing Gucci, his manager Jeff and his drummer Mitch, he’s making the song his own whilst honouring his friendship and admiration for Lizzo herself. Popular across Europe and the U.S. don’t expect this song to decline in popularity for a while, and don’t be too surprised if you end up watching a performance each night on Periscope.
JONI MITCHELL – BIG YELLOW TAXI
This cover feels like the extended cousin of ‘Sunflower Vol. 6’ and ‘Canyon Moon’ so it should fit right into the setlist. Playing homage to Joni Mitchell and the dulcimer (please, please can the dulcimer be taken on tour) Harry has admitted that Joni’s work influenced ‘Fine Line‘ and this would be a lovely moment to acknowledge that and reference the 70s sound that is heard throughout Harry’s sophomore album. If ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ makes it onto the setlist I’ll be the first to replicate Zoe Ball’s “Go Harry! We Loved it!” every night.
PETER GABRIEL – SLEDGEHAMMER
This performance on Howard Stern felt like a big moment for Harry, and so far he’s been getting a lot of positive feedback from a new demographic, who maybe wouldn’t have given him a chance before. This cover is so fun and the sound is so cool. This cover was quick to go on our playlist (of only this song on repeat) and we really hope we get to hear Harry and the band take on ‘Sledgehammer’ live.
We’ve heard Harry cover these first few, and we’ve loved them but Harry is known to throw in a surprise or two. Here are two final covers that we know would be instant classics once Harry throws his own style on them.
T-REX – COSMIC DANCER
Way back when Harry’s September Rolling Stone cover dropped, it was revealed that Harry had been listening to T-REX’s ‘Cosmic Dancer’ to find inspiration for his string section. Of this list, it’s probably a bit of a wildcard in actually making the stage but we’d really love to hear Harry’s take on this one. His moments on the B-Stage with ‘Sweet Creature’ and ‘If I Could Fly’ were very intimate moments for both Harry and the audience and this song has all the potential of a slow, emotional cover.
FLEETWOOD MAC – GO YOUR OWN WAY
Harry’s cover of the Fleetwood Mac favourite ‘The Chain’ became legendary over his debut tour. It was absolutely one of the best moments of the show as it really showcased the whole band’s skillset and was great for pumping the crowd up in preparation for multiple renditions of ‘Kiwi’. We know Harry loves Stevie Nicks and with Fleetwood Mac producing one of the greatest albums of all times in ‘Rumours’, surely another track from the album is in contention. ‘Don’t Stop’ or ‘Second Hand News’ would both be great contenders but ‘Go Your Own Way’ is maybe most likely to match ‘The Chain’ as a crowd-pleaser that grows in energy each night.
Whatever he ends up choosing, we know it’ll be a hit. Let us know what you want Harry to cover out on Love on Tour in the comments below.