Watch an episode of The Traitors and – as well as marvelling at the ineptitude of some of its contestants (oh Ross, mate!), and the huge amount of white wine guzzled per episode – the thing most likely to jump out at you is the show’s music. Mainly because the music is absolutely terrible, but what’s interesting is the unusual way that it’s terrible. While the show does have a fondness for landfill chart hits (London Grammar is a particular fave), it also serves up what the music journalist Dorian Lynskey calls “Traitor pop … absurdly melodramatic cover versions of songs that are already plenty dramatic.”
The template of these cover versions is pretty standard: take a familiar pop or rock staple, slow down its BPM by about 40%, transpose it to a minor key, get an unremarkable vocalist to sing the chorus in a bluesy, mournful way, occasionally throw in some sudden orchestral swells to shake things up a bit, and you’re pretty much there.
