10 Greatest Rock Music Cover Songs Of The 2000s

10. Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm

This one might be a big controversial, but when people think of covers of Michael Jackson songs, it doesn’t take them long to come to this one from 2001

Alien Ant Farm released their version of MJ’s 1988 classic Smooth Criminal as the lead single on their second album Anthology (which is a genius name) and it quickly became a huge hit. What started as the band jamming on stage turned into the biggest song they ever had, thanks in part to the amazing music video that was on regular rotation on MTV.

The song is a faster, punchier, rockier version of Jackson’s dancey original, underpinned by snappy chords and brought to life by singer Dryden Mitchell’s rougher voice. Though it’s hard to touch the original in terms of quality, there’s a joyousness and flippancy to this recording that perfectly demonstrates where rock music was at in the early 2000s.

Some people will absolutely hate this choice, but Alien Ant Farm’s Smooth Criminal definitely has its audience and, if you go into it with an open mind, you’ll have a lot of fun.

You can always listen to the original afterwards.