''Cover Boy'' is an

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

singer, songwriter and recording artist

Matt Fishel Matt Fishel is a British singer, songwriter, music producer and record label owner. He plays guitar, piano, bass and keyboards. He grew up in Nottingham in the East Midlands in the late 1990s, going on to study Music and Performing Arts at Paul ...

. It was released internationally on 14 July 2014"This week's new releases 14-07-2014"
''

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

'', UK, 14 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014."iTunes-Music-Matt Fishel-Cover-Boy"
Retrieved on 22 July 2014. through Fishel's own record label Young Lust Records. The EP comprises seven

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s. ''Cover Boy'' is Fishel's ninth release and his first collection of cover songs.

Release, style and song choices

In May 2013, in an interview with Italian magazine "Pianeta Gay", Fishel announced that he was working on an EP of cover versions, including songs from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.Fishel, Matt (from interview with Migliore, Nicola)
"Intervista esclusiva al promettente cantante Matt Fishel"
''Pianeta Gay'', Italy, 06 May 2013. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. On 16 June 2014, Fishel released the artwork for the upcoming EP and announced its title ''Cover Boy'' and the release date.Fishel, Matt

"Cover Boy Artwork", 16 June 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. ''Cover Boy'' was released worldwide on 14 July 2014 as a seven-track digital download on all international

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

and

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

stores. Musically, ''Cover Boy'' incorporates elements of

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

, pop,

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

, and

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

. The EP contains six new recordings, which include: " Summer Rain", originally performed by

Belinda Carlisle Belinda Jo Carlisle ( ; born August 17, 1958) is an American singer. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist. Raised in ...

and taken from her 1989 album ''

Runaway Horses is a 1969 novel by Yukio Mishima, the second in his ''Sea of Fertility'' tetralogy. Mishima did much research to prepare for this novel, visiting locations recorded in the book and studying historical information about the Shinpūren Rebellio ...

''; "

Run With Us "Run With Us" is the end theme song for the 1980s television series ''The Raccoons''. It was written by Kevin Gillis, Jon Stroll and Steve Lunt. The song was originally recorded by Steve Lunt for the first season in 1985 but was later covered ...

", the official theme tune to the 1980s/1990s animated television series ''

The Raccoons ''The Raccoons'' is a Canadian animated television series that ran on CBC from November 11, 1985 to March 19, 1991 in Canada and on Disney Channel from July 4, 1985 to August 28, 1992 in the U.S., with three preceding television specials from ...

'', originally performed by

Lisa Lougheed Lisa Dawn Lougheed (; ; born September 9, 1968) is a Canadian former singer, dancer, voice actress, and songwriter. She is likely best known for her role in the animated television series ''The Raccoons'', where she performed for the soundtrack ...

; "

Finally Finally may refer to: Albums * ''Finally'' (Namie Amuro album) (2017) * ''Finally'' (Blackstreet album) or its title song * ''Finally'' (Sean Ensign album) or its title song "It's My Life (Finally)" * ''Finally'' (Layzie Bone & A.K. album) ...

", originally performed by

CeCe Peniston Cecilia Veronica "CeCe" Peniston (; born September 6, 1969) is an American singer and former beauty queen. In the early 1990s, she scored five number one hits on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Music/Club Play. Her signature song "Finally" rea ...

in 1991 and later used in the 1993 film ''

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens, played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce, and a transgender woman, played by Tere ...

''; "

Big Casino "Big Casino" is a song by American Rock music, rock band Jimmy Eat World from their sixth studio album ''Chase This Light'', which was released on October 16, 2007. The single was released on August 28, 2007. The song impacted radio on September 1 ...

", originally performed by

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach Lind. They h ...

and taken from their 2007 album ''

Chase This Light ''Chase This Light'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Jimmy Eat World. The band began working on the follow-up to ''Futures'' (2004) by late 2005, and had made demos by early 2006. They started recording their next album with engin ...

''; "

Sky Fits Heaven "Sky Fits Heaven" is a song recorded by American singer Madonna for her seventh studio album, ''Ray of Light'' (1998). It was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard; the song also contained additional production from William Orbit, a ...

", originally performed by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and taken from her 1998 album ''

Ray Of Light ''Ray of Light'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released in early 1998 by Maverick Records. A stylistic and aesthetical departure from her previous work, ''Ray of Light'' is an electronica and techno-pop reco ...

''; and "

Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young ''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American neo-noir rock musical film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It is described in the opening credits and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable" and is a mix of various movie genres wi ...

", written by

Jim Steinman James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, mus ...

for the 1984 film ''

Streets of Fire ''Streets of Fire'' is a 1984 American neo-noir rock musical film directed by Walter Hill and co-written by Hill and Larry Gross. It is described in the opening credits and posters as "A Rock & Roll Fable" and is a mix of various movie genres wi ...

'' and originally performed by Fire Inc.Stump, Howard
"Matt Fishel * Cover Boy"
''Soundtrack To My Day'', United States, 16 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. Also included on ''Cover Boy'' is Fishel's

A cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

cover of

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

's song "

Hyperballad "Hyperballad" (sometimes written as "Hyper-Ballad") is a song by Icelandic musician and recording artist Björk, released as the fourth single from her second solo album, ''Post'' (1995). The song was written by Björk and co-produced by long t ...

", taken from her 1995 album ''

Post Post or POST commonly refers to: *Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal service **Iraqi Post, Ira ...

''. Fishel's version is included as the seventh and final track on ''Cover Boy'' due to his receiving several requests from fans to release it officially after he posted it on his MySpace page a few years earlier in the mid-2000s.Fishel, Matt

"A bit more info on Cover Boy...", 05 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014.

Music videos

"Tonight Is What It Means To Be Young"

On 22 June 2014, before the release of ''Cover Boy'', Fishel released a teaser video on his YouTube channel for "

"., YouTube. 22 June 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. The video contains a three-minute preview of the seven-minute song, comprising footage of rain, thunder, lightning, fire and angels, and concludes with a topless male torso emerging through flames, accompanied by two interlocking

male symbol A gender symbol is a pictogram or glyph used to represent sex and gender, for example in biology and medicine, in genealogy, or in the sociological fields of gender politics, LGBT subculture and identity politics. In his books (1767) and (177 ...

s, commonly recognised as a gay male symbol.

"Finally"

In April 2014, Fishel announced a new video project via his official Facebook page, asking his fans to submit their photographs for an upcoming video. The title and details of the song were not yet revealed, other than that the video would be for one of the songs from his upcoming covers EP. Fishel requested that his fans, regardless of whether they were "gay or straight, transgender, bi, black or white, young or old (or anything in-between)", submit photos of what 'Pride' meant to them, their partners and their friends, with a view to including the submissions in a collaborative music video celebrating international

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

.Hawkey, Alex
"Finally! This Gay Singer’s New Music Video Is The Perfect Tribute To Pride And Unity"
, ''Outrising.com'', USA, 18 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. Fishel asked fans to use his Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages to send in their submissions.Fishel, Matt

"Matt Fishel Video Project", 29 April 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014.Fishel, Matt

"Video Project, May 2014 - Send Me Your Pics!", 29 April 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. On 13 July 2014, the day before ''Cover Boys release, the results of this video project were revealed when an official music video was published on Fishel's YouTube channel for the EP's lead single "

"., YouTube. 13 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. The video is animated by Kenneth Wilcox and is a fast-paced photo montage video "in celebration of gay pride everywhere".Shaw, Andre
"MATT FISHEL CELEBRATES GAY PRIDE WITH COVER OF ‘FINALLY’"
, ''GNN Gay News Network'', Australia, 15 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014. The video displays the song's lyrics on the screen alongside all the submitted fan photos, which include many

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

couples hugging, kissing, getting married and celebrating

Gay pride LGBT pride (also known as gay pride or simply pride) is the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. Pride, as opposed to sham ...

, as well as heterosexual couples and individual '

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as F ...

s'. Fishel maintains the original song's use of male pronouns, giving the song a gay male perspective, and the video opens with the lyrics "Meeting Mr. Right, the man of dreams" displayed on the screen. To accompany the video's release, Fishel posted the following statement underneath the video's credits on his official YouTube channel: "A HUGE heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed photos for this video and helped to make this a very special project and a celebration of international Pride! I had so much fun going through all the fabulous pics which you sent in from all over the world, representing the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Lithuania, Cuba, Thailand and China. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy the results! Mx". In November 2014, Fishel won the 2014 RightOutTV Music & Video Award for Best Lyric Video, for "Finally"."RightOutTV Music & Video Awards 2014 Winners Announced"
, The Seattle Lesbian, US, 11 November 2014. Retrieved on 14 November 2014.

"Run With Us"

On 10 August 2014, Fishel released a new music video for "

", the second single from ''Cover Boy'', on his YouTube channel., YouTube. 10 August 2014. Retrieved on 12 August 2014. The video is a compilation of clips and footage taken from the original animated Canadian television series ''

'', from which "

" was the official theme tune. In Fishel's video, the footage is re-edited together in time to the music as an homage to the show, with scenes matching the song's lyrics. The video was created by Fishel with permission from ''

creator

Kevin Gillis Kevin Gillis (born 2 February 1950) is a Canadian TV TV writer and producer, a singer-songwriter and a former TV host, mainly known for his work in animation. He is famous for creating the '' Raccoons'' franchise as well as other cartoons such a ...

, who also co-wrote the song.Fishel, Matt

08 August 2014. Retrieved on 12 August 2014.

Critical reception

Howard Stump of music blog Soundtrack To My Day said of ''Cover Boy'': "Fishel has an amazing grasp of Pop music, serving up delicious treats with each release. So when taking on the treats of some of his favorite artists, my expectations were raised...he not only met them, but exceeded my expectations...'Cover Boy' should not be missed at all. The collection is a thoughtful and tuneful journey, one I keep taking again and again." He called Fishel's rendition of "

" "special, and should not be missed" and said of "Finally": "the song feels so new, so fresh. I just love it!" Alex Hawley from Outrising.com said of "Finally": "with a distinctly rockier edge than the original’s club-infused panache, Matt has also maintained the original’s use of male pronouns...which we think is awesome", calling the accompanying music video "the perfect tribute to Pride and Unity". On the day following the release of ''Cover Boy'', Grammy Award-winning

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and songwriter

publicly thanked Fishel for covering "

" on Fishel's Facebook fan page, saying "Thanks so much for covering one of my favourite songs...Cool job. Like all your stuff!"Steinman, Jim

"Matt Fishel's Official Facebook Page", 15 July 2014. Retrieved on 22 July 2014.

Track listing

References

External links

* Official Website: http://www.mattfishel.com * Matt Fishel's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattfisheltv {{Authority control Matt Fishel albums 2014 albums