CURRENT SINGLE – “Better Than You’re Used To”
If you’ve ever seen Tyler Rich live in concert, there’s a good chance you’ve seen him perform a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean, which he included as the last track on his debut album, Two Thousand Miles. Tyler admits that it’s a little bold to take on a song by the King of Pop, but he explains that he began covering the song as a way to make good money. “Before getting my record deal, I would play in Vegas or Northern California in these casinos, and I would play in these lounges,” Tyler explains. “And in order like, for me to decide how much money I was gonna get to take home that night, I had to figure out what versions of certain songs can I do that’ll get me the most tips.”
Tyler grew up listening to all types of music, and he says, “I grew up obsessed with Michael Jackson. I mean, his music videos were like movies to me when I was a kid. So, I kinda put this version together, in my mind, that was like this sultry, bluesy, kinda, I don’t know, like dirty country kind of vibe and started playing that and my tips started going crazy.”
Needless to say, Tyler made his cover version of “Billie Jean” a permanent fixture in his casino lounge set lists, and he still enjoys singing it from time to time even now, because it still gets a huge reaction from his crowds,
Tyler Rich – Billie Jean :35
“Before getting my record deal, I would play in Vegas or Northern California in these casinos, and I would play in these lounges. And in order like, for me to decide how much money I was gonna get to take home that night, I had to figure out what versions of certain songs can I do that’ll get me the most tips. And I grew up obsessed with Michael Jackson. I mean, his music videos were like movies to me when I was a kid. So, I kinda put this version together, in my mind, that was like this sultry, bluesy, kinda, I don’t know, like dirty country kind of vibe and started playing that and my tips started going crazy. And I was like, well this is for sure the cover I’m always going to do at these lounges to make money.”