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Find out which songs inspired our Even More Music Month Live Lounge artists!

  • 1. Kasabian

    Kasabian say DJ Shadow's Organ Donor is a major inspiration! It's from Shadow's hip hop collage masterpiece ...Endtroducing, which came out in 1996 - a year before Kasabian started up. "Perfection," say the band.

  • 2. The Script

    Danny O'Donoghue and the boys chose Nos Da Cariad from David Gray's comeback record, Life in Slow Motion. It was released in 2005, when The Script were playing small gigs and working on material for their first album.

  • 3. Sam Smith

    Sam heard Fast Car on a trip with his teacher to an awards ceremony - and it inspired him to sing at the school concert! He busted it out for Radio 1 in the Live Lounge and the results were something very special.

  • 4. 5 Seconds of Summer

    The 5 Seconds boys weren't even teenagers yet when blink-182 came out with I Miss You in 2004. But it made an impression - it was one of the first songs they covered on YouTube when they were first starting out.

  • 5. Duke Dumont

    You can hear a direct line from the lush syncopation of Gabriel by Roy Davis, Jr., to the UK bass anthems that Dumont has taken to the top of the Official Chart. Though The Duke's never written anything quite this chill.

  • 6. FKA twigs

    FKA Twigs chose I Put a Spell on You by Nina Simone as the track that inspired her to play music. Put a Spell on You was originally by Screamin' Jay Hawkins and was recorded by Nina back in 1965, way before Twigs was even born!

  • 7. Mallory Knox

    Jesus Christ by Brand New was a favourite of all the members of Mallory Knox when they were starting out. "We always wish we could have written it," they say, "and it's still a huge influence on us when it comes to writing."

  • 8. Paolo Nutini

    One of the first songs Paolo's Nonno (his grandfather) played him as a kid was When My Little Girl Is Smiling, from the Drifters' 1962 album Save The Last Dance For Me. The soulful vocals and orchestration feel very Nutini-esque...

  • 9. Kiesza

    "The first song that made me want to play live was Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah," says Kiesza. "The way he sang it was haunting. The way it moved me made me realize I wanted to be able to give that feeling to others."

  • 10. Jacob Banks

    Slow Dancing In A Burning Room is a deep cut from John Mayer's 2006 album Continuum. It's not hard to hear how the Birmingham-born Mr. Banks finds inspiration from this wistful and yearning elegy to faded love.

  • 12. Nick Mulvey

    What's Bob Marley's Who The Cap Fit all about? Nick says it's about "having the courage to be yourself, fully and unapologetically. It was amazing for me to realise maybe, just maybe, I could do it as well.”

  • 13. Ella Eyre

    Ella loves Good Luck by Basement Jaxx so much that she's started doing it live. "It’s such an infectious sound," she says, "with so much attitude, musically and vocally!" Ella's supporting Basement Jaxx for a one-off show in December.

  • 14. Lonely The Brave

    November Rain by Guns N' Roses is just the kind of sweeping, straight-ahead rock anthem that the Lonely boys have made their signature. "It inspired us to make music," they say. Nothing guilty about this pleasure, then!

  • 15. Hozier

    Irish singer-songwriter Hozier chose Nina Simone's Sinnerman as his inspiration. This spiritual song dates back to the turn of the 20th century and there's a definite likeness to Hoziers raw songwriting which is riddled with religious metaphors.

  • 16. James Bay

    Gimme Shelter is the first track from The Rolling Stones album Let it Bleed and is James Bay's inspiration. The BBC Introducing artist stepped up to the mark to do a last minute Live Lounge for us and blew everyone away with a superb cover of HAIM's Forever.

  • 17. Professor Green

    "I first heard The Notorious B.I.G.'s One More Chance Remix while skating as a young kid at Roller City in Edmonton," says Green. "Biggie had charm and was also self-deprecating which isn't a quality you find amongst American rappers."

  • 18. George Ezra

    Paul Simon's 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover‎ is George Ezra's inspiration this month. Its distinct mix of sadness touched by whimsy finds echoes in pretty much everything George has done so far.

  • 19. Catfish and The Bottlemen

    "The first band that ever brought us really close together on our musical tastes were Little Comets!" say The Bottlemen. "We have their song Jennifer blasting round the venue before we come on every gig without fail!"

  • 20. Labrinth

    Multi-instrumentalist Labrinth chose Purple Rain by Prince and The Revolution as his inspirational track. There certainly seems to be a lot of influence from this epic song in Labrinth's music. Powerful gospel-style vocals and soaring emotion is where its at!

  • 21. Marmozets

    High energy Yorkshire quintet Marmozets named Everlong from the album The Colour And The Shape by Foo Fighters as the track that inspired them the most. You can hear a clear influence from the Foo's in their raucous alternative rock.

  • 22. Ella Henderson

    "When I first heard Amy's voice I was completely mesmerised," say's Ella. "Her originality made her a powerful & timeless young woman."

  • 23. Ben Howard

    The song that Ben Howard says inspired him to play music is Richie Haven's Freedom. Richie played this song during his set at Woodstock Festival in 1969. He was first to grace the festival stage and played an elongated set as the other bands were stuck in traffic! (Sadly this song isn't on Spotify)

  • 24. Kwabs

    You can hear a clear distinction between Kwabs' colourful, soulful music and Stevie Wonder's uplifting song Higher Ground from the groundbreaking 1973 album Innervisions.

  • 25. Indiana

    Gabriel by Joe Goddard is very close to BBC Introducing artist Indiana's heart. She got noticed after uploading a cover of it to YouTube. "It was the start of this journey, the song that inspired me to concentrate on music, and the song that got me noticed," she says.

  • 26. DJ Fresh and Ellie Goulding

    Dream team DJ Fresh and Ellie Goulding chose Papa New Guinea by The Future Sound of London as their inspirational track. It's not surprising that this pop infused jungle style breakbeat appeals to both of them.

  • 27. Melissa Steel

    One in a Million features on the Aaliyah album of the same name and was released in 1996. Melissa was a mere three years old when the song was released and you can hear Aaliyah's strong influence in her music.

  • 28. Lower Than Atlantis

    If I Could by Hampshire alt-rock band, Hundred Reasons is the song chosen by the guys from Lower Than Atlantis. It features chuttering guitar riffs that wouldn't sound out of place on Far Q.

  • 29. Alt J

    The influence of Radiohead’s 15 Step from the album In Rainbows has worked its way into the DNA of Alt-J's distinct sound. If Alt-J's electronic-indie works live then then Radiohead paved the way. (Sadly this song isn't on Spotify)

  • 30. Ed Sheeran

    Ed Sheeran was 12 years old when he watched Eric Clapton play the song Layla on TV for the Queen’s Jubilee in 2002. A gig that he would play 10 years later! "I heard the riff and thought, I wanna learn to play guitar!" says Ed. So he did just that, and it’s safe to say he turned out to be pretty good at it.