Two decades after “No Scrubs” first topped the charts, reaching No. 1 on April 10, 1999 and staying there for four consecutive weeks, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone of a certain generation (hint: rhymes with "schmillennial") who doesn't feel compelled to sing along when they hear TLC’s era-defining kiss-off to scrubs and busters.Back around the turn of the millennium, "No Scrubs" topped The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll in 1999 and earned T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chilli their second Grammy nomination for Record of the Year. But "No Scrubs" is universal, a timeless classic that transcends its dated "futuristic" music video concept and anachronistic lines like, "You as clear as DVD on digital TV screens." Countless musicians of all genres have tried their hand at covering the song. It's so ubiquitous, even Meadow Soprano gave it a whirl.
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So what is it about the track that makes people say, "I, too, should sing this"?Is it nostalgia? The fact that “No Scrubs” is simply a great song, a reminder of the toll of dealing with deadbeat men that continues to ring true to this day? A matter of cultural appropriation, along the lines of Ben Folds' "Bitches Ain't Shit" or Jonathan Coulton's cringey "Baby Got Back"? The answer is probably a combination of the three, depending on who's doing the covering, but we'll undoubtedly be hearing new renditions of "No Scrubs" for the next 20 years. So to celebrate the anniversary of the FanMail track hitting No. 1, we put together a list of some of the most notable “No Scrubs” covers—from the good, to the mediocre, to the scrubs.Kacey Musgraves has been covering "No Scrubs" on tour for years now, and she pulls it off by making it her own. She plays it straight—there's no smirking or "Isn't it hilarious that I of all people am covering this song?" posturing—and adds a little steel guitar for a country twist. As one YouTube commenter noted, "I can't believe she successfully yeehawed TLC.""No Scrubs" is the perfect song choice for this feminist punk trio, appearing on The UK group's 2016 Crooked Room EP. Big Joanie add a little extra oomph to every "no" in the song, driving home the point to all the scrubs out there: You're not getting her number.
Kacey Musgraves (2015)
Big Joanie (2016)
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Jorja Smith (2018)
Zara Larsson (2016)
Kelly Clarkson (2012)
Kim Cherry (The Voice) (2019)
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Bastille (2013)
Robert Francis feat. Sasha Spielberg (2015)
Passenger (2017)
Little Mix (2013)
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Unlike Pluto feat. Joanna Jones (2017)
Glee (2013)
Incubus (2000)
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