Matt Corby Delivers A Stripped-Back Version Of The TLC Classic 'No Scrubs' For Like A Version

6 May 2023 | 9:23 am | Mary Varvaris

"I couldn't sing it in that key. It's too high."

(Pic by James Adams)

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Matt Corby has delivered a slick cover of TLC’s No Scrubs for triple j’s Like A Version.

Accompanied just by an acoustic guitar, Corby transforms an iconic R&B tune into a song that becomes completely his own. Starting off in a lower register than the original song, Corby admitted: "I couldn't sing it in that key. It's too high”.

As the song builds and the cover nears its final verses, bridge and chorus, Corby lifts the key and belts from that strong, raw point in his voice. You believe him as he sings every word of No Scrubs, despite how different and stripped-back it is from the TLC song we all know and love.

"I wanted to find an interesting way to move the chords around,” Corby told triple j. Sharing his inspiration from a young artist he currently works with, he added, “I basically just superimposed No Scrubs onto the chords to Missing You from Budjerah."

While performing in the triple j studios, Corby played one of his new songs, Reelin’ from his new album, Everything’s Fine, which you can listen to here.

You can check out Matt Corby’s Like A Version below.

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In a recent interview on NCA Newswire, the Brother singer revealed his thoughts on artists finding fame and success through TikTok.

Corby called the trend of musicians finding success (including signing record deals and topping the charts) on the app “fleeting”.

He elaborated, “I mean, anything that is viral is so fleeting, right? It needs to be backed up with hard work and craftsmanship.”

Corby then discussed the viral nature of TikTok songs, lamenting the lack of connection that comes from the app’s users casually scrolling through and hearing ten seconds of a song.

“Do you want to go and see a show of that? You don’t know yet; there’s not a lot of trust between the punter and the musician,” he said.

“You get no real experience of an artist with them editing a video of themselves singing a song. It’s a great way, if you’re a record label, to maybe find a one-in-1000 talent, that’s kind of cool.

“But then there’s still so much hard work that needs to be done developing that artist and connecting them with the right people and putting out the right records and getting them lined up and getting them playing shows.”