In 2018, Norwegian art pop singer Aurora paid the ultimate tribute to Ariana Grande, covering the A-lister’s then-latest single, “God Is a Woman” with a twist that has some fans reckoning it’s even better than the original.
Aurora has never been one to cover a song straight, without weaving her own sound into its movements, melodies, and atmosphere. But this cover takes her game to a whole new level, amassing more than 8.4 million views to date and leaving die-hard Ariana fans absolutely mind-blown.
Music Man readers can watch Aurora’s “God Is A Woman” cover unfold in the video above.
And if you haven’t heard Ariana Grande’s original in a while, just hit play on her stellar BBC performance below…
The R&B single is stripped of its trap beat as Aurora reimagines the track on a keyboard, with no backing but a single guitarist and two harmonizing singers. Instantly, the track feels refreshed as Aurora transforms it into a ballad, her fairy-tale voice glitzing a haunting ambience over the pop hit.
A lo-fi beat lets Aurora’s phantasmal atmospheres simmer as she approaches her first verse. And rather than plunge listeners into Ariana’s club anthem aesthetic, Aurora sings through Ari’s rapped lyrics, inventing brand new melodies and moods so vivid that she practically creates a new genre.
Even while focusing on her piano work, Aurora can’t resist unleashing some of her trademark hand movements in the midst of the song, serving pure emotion and connection to the hit as she makes it sound completely her own. One fan even commented, to the tune of more than 11,000 likes, “This – is – how – you – do – a – cover!”
Another fan spoke on behalf of 20,000 listeners when they commented, “So wild how the same song can feel so different depending on who’s singing it. Ari’s version feels very sexual, like you’re worshipping a woman’s body and her sexual prowess, which can be empowering in its own way. Aurora’s version feels like it’s honoring the divine feminine within all of us, like honoring the essence of what it means to be a woman in the spiritual sense. She is magic.”
Yet another fan added some jaw-dropping context behind this performance when they revealed, “What makes this even more impressive is that she didn’t even know what song she was supposed to cover on this show. They gave her a song and 1 hour to prepare. Now that is mind-blowing.”