The songs Boygenius recorded in Simlish
For how little it has to do with the medium directly, The Sims has had a remarkable impact on the world of popular music. Creator Will Wight released his first simulated city-building video game, SimCity, all the way back in 1989, but it was when Wight first released The Sims in 2000 that a whole new generation began to explore the wonders of his virtual creations and their unique language.
Since Wight believed that pre-recorded English dialogue would have become repetitive, thanks to the limitations of technology at the time, he sought to create a different way for his characters to communicate. Simlish has since evolved into a semi-constructed language – although grammar and pronunciations don’t have too many specific English counterparts, most of the nuances and hallmarks for the fake language have been established and canonised, so much so that English songs can be reconstructed into Simlish.
Over the years, everyone from Natasha Bedingfield to OK Go has re-recorded some of their best-known songs in the nonsensical language. Lily Allen did it for her number one hit ‘Smile’, as did Katy Perry for her own chart-topper, ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’. Jason Derulo, Paramore, and My Chemical Romance have all translated their own works as well. Even alternative rock gods Depeche Mode got in on the Silmish trend, transforming their brooding 2006 single ‘Suffer Well’ into a wacky time capsule of the computer age.
The continued success of The Sims has meant that video game developer Maxis has been able to bring in newer artists to record their tracks in Simlish. The company turned their attention to indie artists like Car Seat Headrest, Tegan and Sara, and Snail Mail for more recent additions to the Simlish musical canon. Japanese Breakfast even recorded a version of ‘Be Sweet’ in the language.
“I played The Sims a lot when I was a teenager especially and have sunk many hours of my life into creating various families,” Japanese Breakfast leader Michelle Zauner told Waypoint about her contribution to the Simlish universe. “So to be singing one of my songs that still feels relatively new in a new language was really funny.”
Back in 2021, The Sims 4 landed a major pull for the soundtrack to the expansion pack Cottage Living: 2/3rds of the indie rock supergroup Boygenius. That year, both Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus released breakthrough solo albums with Little Oblivions and Home Video, respectively. Seizing an opportunity, they both recorded one song each in Simlish – Baker went with ‘Faith Healer’, while Dacus decided to re-record ‘Hot & Heavy’.
Check out the Simlish versions of ‘Faith Healer’ and ‘Hot & Heavy’ down below.
