David Bowie Lives On With These Covers By Madonna, Adam Lambert And More

Ever since David Bowie died on Jan. 10, tributes have come flooding in in the form of lengthy recollections, gift offerings and, of course, cover songs. Few artists consistently reinvented themselves musically like Bowie did, which is why his diverse, comprehensive catalog offers up thousands of tunes we can use to remember him.

And no one remembers Bowie as deeply as the musicians he’s inspired. For proof of that, just look at the wealth of cover songs that have popped up online in the few days since his death was announced.

Madonna: “Rebel Rebel”

Tuesday night, Madge and her band ripped into a faithful, rockin’ cover of Bowie’s most-covered song. “He’s the first rebel heart that I laid eyes on,” she said at the start of the tune. And as she strut around and flashed her best rock star moves, she channeled the man whose image illuminated the backdrop behind her.
Adam Lambert: “Let’s Dance”

For a dude who calls his fans Glamberts, it’s only expected for Adam Lambert to pull out all the stops in his honoring of Bowie, one of glam’s foremost architects. But instead of an over-the-top explosion, Lambert kept the focus on the rhythm here, covering one of Bowie’s top tunes in Osaka and delivering the sparse vocals with true devotion.
Passenger: “Space Oddity”

The song that started it all for Bowie back in 1969 found new Adult Contemporary life in thisPassenger cover that preserves the original’s isolating tone. “i remember hearing this as a kid and it feeling truly magical to me,” the singer (real name Michael David Rosenberg ) wrote on YouTube on Wednesday (Jan. 13). “i think thats probably what david bowie gave to everyone at one point or another.”
Britt Daniel: “Never Let Me Down”

Spoon’s central singer and songwriter Britt Daniel tackled the title track to Bowie’s 1987 album,Never Let Me Down, with a heartfelt acoustic cover he posted to Soundcloud on Tuesday. OnFacebook, Daniel shared some more thoughts on Bowie’s passing: “What a spirit. What an inspiration. What a shining example of the beauty that humanity can create.”
Chris Cornell: “Lady Stardust”

The Soundgarden frontman penned a tribute to Bowie for Rolling Stone this week; in it, he talks about how he’s incorporated “Lady Stardust” (from Bowie’s 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars) into his live solo acoustic sets for years. This is case in point.

David Bowie’s ‘Space Oddity’ Was The Perfect Soundtrack Song
Peter Gabriel: “Heroes”

Who would even attempt to cover this, one of Bowie’s many masterpieces (and his most-streamed song on Spotify) besides maybe The Wallflowers in 1998? If anyone could do it in 2016 and do it with authority, it’s Peter Gabriel, who posted his version of the song from 2010 onFacebook mere hours after the news broke.
EL VY & Stay Human: “Let’s Dance”

Weirdo art rockers EL VY teamed up with Jon Batiste and Stay Human — Stephen Colbert’s backing band for “The Late Show” — for a space-funky tribute to one of Bowie’s biggest hits from his wonderful ’80s pop period.
Doveman ft. Glen Hansard: “Lazarus”

It’s a bold choice to take on the song (and video) that most sums up Bowie’s impending mortality, but Doveman (aka Thomas Bartlett) took the chance — and it paid off. With vocal help from Glen Hansard and a lingering sense of doom, this cover is seriously dark. Listen at your own risk.
Calvin Love: “Ashes to Ashes”

Edmonton pop dude Calvin Love took on “Ashes to Ashes,” a single from Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps), on Tuesday, with plenty of airy vocal flashes to pay tribute to the Starman.
Lido: “Space Oddity”

Man, what different paths artists can take to end up at the same destination. Norwegian artistLido’s take on the Major Tom classic sounds completely different than both Bowie’s original and Passenger’s update, injecting real atmospheric noises and tones to make it as spacey as possible.
Portugal. The Man: “Moonage Daydream”

“A few years back we were working ’Moonage Daydream’ into our sets,” the Alaskan indie band wrote on Soundcloud. “It is impossible to explain the impact that Bowie had on our lives. Every ounce of our being has been influenced by him. He has no peers. Thank you David, for giving us these great gifts.”
Smash Mouth: “Under Pressure”

Smash Mouth will certainly never be remembered for anything but 1999’s “All Star” (maybe “Walking on the Sun”?), and that song is in the DNA of everyone under 30 at this point. This cover of “Under Pressure,” the song Bowie recorded with Queen in 1982, will not find the same eternal life, I fear. (For the record, The Used and My Chemical Romance do a much, much better cover.)
Chris Hadfield: “Space Oddity”

OK, so this one is also from a few years ago. But I’m not gonna NOT include it on this list. An astronaut recorded Bowie’s song about an astronaut in space while in space, y’all. That’s eternally cool.