What Are Zooey Deschanel's Best Cover Versions?
‘New Girl’ star Zooey Deschanel is a woman of many talents. While many know her as the quirky school teacher Jess in the hit US TV show or from roles in films such as 500 Days of Summer and Almost Famous, the actress has also built up a respectable singing career as part of indie pop duo She & Him.
Last night (August 12) the pair - consisting of Deschanel and multi-instrumentalist M.Ward - announced plans to release their fifth album, Classics, later this year.
The record will be the duo’s first since signing to Columbia Records earlier this summer and will feature 13 covers of iconic songs recorded live and accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra, according to Rolling Stone.
The album won’t be the first time Deschanel has experimented with putting her own spin on other artists’ songs - the 34-year-old actress has built up a reputation for her unique and daring interpretations of classic tracks.
Ahead of the new album, Contact Music examines some of the star’s most noted cover versions:
‘I Put A Spell On You’
Arguably one of the duo’s more famous covers, She & Him recorded their electrifying rendition of the classic Screaming Jay Hawkins track in 2010 for a Starbucks compilation. Flaunting the singer’s range and showing off some rather impressive vocal acrobatics (not to mention Ward’s cleverly understated guitar work) the haunting track brought the pair a new audience after a show-stopping live performance of the track on Conan later that year.
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‘A Very She & Him Christmas’
Following in the footsteps of classic artists such as Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby, She & Him decided to release their very own Christmas album in 2011.
Met with generally good reviews, A Very She & Him Christmas saw the duo tackle festive favourites including ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ and ‘Baby It’s Cold Outside’ - the singer having 'accidentally' duetted the latter track with her co-star Will Ferrell in shower scene of their 2003 film Elf.
‘What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love & Understanding?’
In 2009, She & Him appeared alongside Rilo Kiley singer Jenny Lewis and Jakob Dylan (son of legendary songwriter Bob) in a special episode of Elvis Costello’s television series Spectacle.
After performing their single ‘Change Is Hard’ with Costello, the pair joined their fellow guests and host in a rousing rendition of the Nick Lowe-penned track (and early Costello single) ‘What’s So Funny About Peace, Love & Understanding?’
While only singing backing vocals on the cover, Deschanel and Lewis can be seen having a ball dancing on stage and contributing lush harmonies to the song’s big choruses.
Next Page: Zooey covers The Smiths, The Beach Boys and more…
‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’
Arguably one of Deschanel’s standout roles was alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the cult 2009 romantic-comedy 500 Days of Summer. The actress contributed a number of songs to the film’s soundtrack, including her version of Nancy Sinatra’s 1967 single ‘Sugartown.’
However it was subtle grandeur of She & Him’s take on the classic Smiths’ track ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ that proved to be the highlight. Another lush piece of cinematic pop, the delicately plucked guitar compliments the singer’s yearning vocals in what is considered to be one of the better renditions of the often-covered track.
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‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice?’
One of the internet’s true hidden gems is the fan shot footage of She & Him’s performance from the LA Times Food & Wine Festival in 2010.
While it wasn’t the first time the duo had covered a track by California surf-pop legends the Beach Boys (a stripped-down version of ‘I Can Hear Music’ made up the b-side to their biggest selling single ‘In The Sun’), it is Zooey Deschanel’s effortlessly lilting vocals mixed with the gentle strumming of her telecaster-shaped ukelele that make this live track one of her warmest covers to date.
‘I’ll Never Find Another You’
Away from She & Him, the actress and singer has also been known for the occasional duet - one of the most gorgeous being a cover of the Seekers’ 1964 track ‘I’ll Never Find Another You’ with Deschanel’s then-husband Ben Gibbard (of alt-rockers Death Cab For Cutie and the Postal Service).
The pair performed the track live for a fund-raising concert in Seattle in 2010, where Gibbard was playing a solo show before being joined onstage by the actress for an acoustic rendition of the tender pop ballad. The pair separated in 2011.
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The HelloGiggles Covers
In 2011, the singer co-founded HelloGiggles, an entertainment and lifestyle website which she continues to write and contribute articles toward. Among her contributions were a series of homemade videos featuring the singer covering a range of songs with famous friends including Sasha Spielberg, Ben Schwartz and her 500 Days co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Among the songs covered were Patsy Cline’s ‘Crazy,’ the Carpenters’ ‘Yesterday Once More,’ and ‘Tonight You Belong With Me’ - the classic American song made famous in the Steve Martin movie The Jerk.
‘In The Ghetto’
One of Deschanel’s most unexpected (and possibly most memorable) cover saw the actress channel The King of Rock & Roll in the unlikeliest of places.
In one of the most surreal moments from the second series of ‘New Girl,’ the actress performed at a funeral dressed as Elvis Presley. With the wig, the famous white suit and the voice almost down to a fine art, Deschanel somehow leads a church full of mourners through a rousing rendition of ‘In The Ghetto.’
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She & Him announced the release of their new album, Classics, via their Twitter page last night (August 12). The album is due out later this year.