Since U Been Gone - Cover Versions and Samples

Cover Versions and Samples

"Since U Been Gone" has been covered by many artists. On September 27, 2011, Joseph Gordon-Levitt covered the song in the style of Axl Rose on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The song was also covered by American musician Butch Walker in his 2005 album, Cover Me Badd. Dave Donelly of Sputnikmusic praised Walker's cover for sticking closely to Clarkson's version. English musician Florence Welch covered the song with Mark Ronson in an exclusive set backstage at The O2 Arena for Diesel U Music Radio. American rock band A Day to Remember recorded their own version of "Since U Been Gone" which was included in the reissued version of their album, For Those Who Have Heart. Indie rock artist Ted Leo recorded an acoustic version of "Since U Been Gone" for a videotaped web session a few hours after watching the song's music video. He commented, "It's just one great hook after another. I also really appreciate the more advanced pop pastiche aspects of it. It's written in a way that is so transparent in terms of drawing from a lot of what's vaguely edgy and popular right now, but put together in such a perfect little package. It's undeniable." A cover of the song by Canadian indie rock band Tokyo Police Club was included in their "Ten Days, Ten Covers, Ten Years" project where they covered a song every day for ten days. "Since U Been Gone" was sampled in Girl Talk's "Here's The Thing" on his 2008 album, Feed the Animals. The song was also covered by Kidz Bop, which was included in their album, Kidz Bop 8. The song was included as the opening track of the American Idol 10th Anniversary - The Hits, a compilation album that celebrates 10 years of American Idol which features tracks from nine winners of the show.

"Since U Been Gone" has also been covered by contestants from reality television singing competitions. The song was performed by Todrick Hall on the eighth season of American Idol. Despite fulfilling the judges' desire to hear something original, his rendition of the song drew criticism from the judges, with Simon Cowell commenting that Hall seemed like a dancer trying to sing. On November 26, 2011, Amelia Lily performed the song on the eighth series of The X Factor UK. Her rendition was praised by the judges; Louis Walsh felt that her performance was effortless while Kelly Rowland remarked that "Amelia Lily hits those notes in her sleep!" The song was also covered by Luke O'Dell on the third season of The X Factor Australia. On June 13, 2012, John Legend and his duet partner, Meleana Brown, covered "Since U Been Gone" in Duets. Katy Kroll of Rolling Stone lambasted their cover for being "pitchy" and "almost unlistenable", while Amy Sciarretto of PopCrush felt their cover was disappointing. Gord Craig of Leader-Post felt that Brown did not deliver her best although she sounded great with Legend.