- Definitive
- A version widely regarded as the reference version. Not necessarily the best version nor a personal favourite, but often the most well-known.
- Dubbed
- Use for broadcasts (movies) only.
- Hit song
- Went as high as Top20 in any chart worldwide. The relevancy of the chart in question is up to the editor's discretion.
- Editor's pick
- A version that isn't famous, but that has some intrinsic artistic or musical value which make it worth discovering
- More famous than the original
- Excludes originals, obviously.
- This version has to be itself famous.
- The original can be obscure or famous, as long as it's less famous than the version in question.
- Obscure original
- An original that will likely come as a surprise to the vast majority of people, and that even at the time of its recording or release was little known.
- Note: The original of a "more famous than original" version, is not necessarily obscure.
- Obscure original: Robert Hazard's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
- Non-obscure original: Claude François' Comme d'habitude
- Out of the vault
- Versions released more than 10 years after they were recorded
Example: Good Christian Soldier was recorded in 1973 by Billy Joe Shaver , but only released in 1996 on his album Old Five and Dimers Like Me [Reissue]
- Versions released more than 10 years after they were recorded
- Revival
- Cover version that was a hit at least 20 years after the original was first a hit.
- Note: Hit in this context is as high as Top30 in the charts
- Scat
- Vocal performance with nonsense words.
- Improvised (possibly also the melody)
- Example: Ski-bi dibby dib yo da dub dub Yo da dub dub
- Can be considered the opposite of vocalese (jazz): Scat removes words that often were there, vocalese adds words where there usually weren't any,
- Unusual
- A version that offers a significant different and preferrably surprising take on the original or the usual/common approach to the work in question.
- Unrecognizable
- Vocalise
- Vocal performance without words, just one or more vowel sounds.
- Not improvised, the vocal melody is a part of the work.
- Example: lalalala lalalalala ooooo oooo lalalala
- Its work may or may not have lyrics.
Example: Romance , with Nana Mouskouri singing the tune but without words.
- Do not confuse with vocalese (jazz)
