Arguably some of the best music is produced through the beauty of collaborations. Nothing beats two (or more) great artists coming together to produce sweet, sweet music. While some collaborations are pure destiny, some absolutely can’t be foreseen, here are some of the most wild and wackiest collabs seen to date.
Ben Folds & Kesha
Just reading these two artists names in the same sentance probably made you a little uneasy. Party girl Kesha, collaborating with Ben Folds? What in the world is going on! If not, your reaction was probably a little something like this – Wait, who’s Ben Folds? Sounds familiar, but can’t quite put your finger on it, here’s a little refresher….
Yes, the man most famous for writing a song about an abortion, teamed up with pop-queen Kesha – seems like an unlikely pair, right? While you’re probably thinking this couldn’t get anymore bizarre, the pair surprised and delighted audience members with a cover of Bob Dylan’s, “It ain’t me babe” and a Kesha-classic, “Sleazy”. Having some down-right fun on stage, Ben Folds busts out a sneaky rap (which we can all agree should have been left to Kesha), it’s whimsical and nasty all at the same time, but what did you expect?
https://youtu.be/Ej1T8VnOcSQ
Willow Smith & Michael Cera
Who invited Michael Cera to the music scene, honestly? While Michael Cera has had a few quiet digs at the rock star life, releasing an album in 2014 titled “True That”, the collaboration still seems like an unlikely occurrence. “Twentyfortyeight 2.0” Released by Willow Smith and produced by Michael Cera, definitely strays from the ordinary. The soft, lullaby-like sound, delivers softly spoken lyrics over harmonic-hums that seem almost too deep to have left the mouth of a mere-15 year old. While this could be deemed as a huge publicity point, through the recruitment of Michael Cera, Willow is an icon within her own rights (I mean, she is only the daughter of Will Smith, no biggie).
Paces & Guy Sebastion
A lot of great things have come out of Like a Version, Triple J’s classic Friday-morning segment. This is definitely one of them…
When listeners tuned-in to their beloved Triple J, they were probably utterly appalled at the fact former Australian Idol winner, Guy Sebastian, was there to greet them on the other end. Joining Paces, the pair covered LDRU’s hit “Keeping Score”, and dare we say, killed it!
Florence Welch & Dizzee Rascal
Queen Florence, from Florence and the Machine, is perhaps the most versatile when it comes to collaborations. Artists can hardly contain themselves, with everybody wanting a piece of that sweet Florence-pie. One of her most interesting collaborations to date, which became an unsuspected banger, is her collab with Dizzee Rascal as they produced a rendition of her (Florence + the Machine) hit single, “You’ve got the love”.
More interestingly, Florence has recently collaborated with Rufus Wainwright to commemorate the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death by having a crack at a sonnet. Florence offers up her angelic-vocals on the track, “When in Disgrace with Fortune and Men’s Eyes (Sonnet 29),” which features backing vocals from Rufus Wainwright. We’ll let you decide how you feel about that one…
Some other honourable mentions include her collaboration with Calvin Harris when they produced “Sweet Nothing” and her run-in with ASAP Rocky with “I come Apart”.
Psy & Snoop Dogg
Remember when you didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe? Let’s relive that as we reflect on what was the collaboration of Snoop Dogg and K-pop King, Psy. While it was successful in gaining our attention, I think this collab is on the weirder side of the spectrum.
Bon Iver & Kanye West
An interesting combination to say the least, Bon Iver classically known for his raw, emotive music collaborating with the less than modest Yeezy? What a mix. While the potential for a hit was there, it just seemed like another typical Yeezy-spiel, that never really surfaced.
While not all collaborations can be on Beyonce’ and Coldplay’s level, it’s always nice to have some diversity in your playlist and for that reason, we can only hope for more weird and wonderful collaborations to come (even if it’s just for shits and giggles).