It’s a positive message, brought to you by a 5-man a capella group and a female pop singer.
If you’ve listened to Top 40 radio recently, you’ve probably heard It’s All About that Bass by Meghan Trainor. Not so hidden in the pop tune is a message, woman to woman, that you don’t have to fit the media mold of “beautiful” to be amazing.
It takes on a different meaning in the cover by a capella band Home Free. Described on popcrush.com as “barbershop-meets-country”, Home Free won Season 4 of The Sing-off and is known for their covers of a wide range of songs, including Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire.
In Home Free’s cover of It’s All About that Bass, subtle word changes make all the difference. They turn it from a pop anthem to a guys-to-girls song, telling women they’re perfect from bottom to top, they don’t have to be a size 2 to get love, and if they’re obsessed with their appearance can just keep moving on. The meaning is still there (along with digs at advertisers and their love of Photoshop). As Home Free says of the original, “…hopefully, her success will prove to be part of a much needed shift in the overall theme and vernacular of the current generation’s taste; a little less superficial commercialism, and a lot more substance.“
Home Free keeps the substance. But like the original, their musical style (country harmony) and video (look for the cameos by the horse and the unicorn) keep it from becoming an after-school special self-help lecture. It’s fun. It sounds great. And you’ll want to listen again.
Home Free is Adam and Chris Rupp, Austin Brown, Rob Lundquist and Tim Foust. The video was directed, shot, and edited by Kristine Slipson.
See original Meghan Trainor video here.
If you thought that was good—there’s plenty more where that came from. We put out a “Best Of” newsletter once a day. Sign up here.