radiohead

Every once in a while serendipity strikes and stories intersect one another in the most perfect of ways. The band Radiohead was only two years in when front man Thom Yorke wrote the song "Creep." He was in college at the time—the University of Exeter, to be exact—and according to NME's "10 Geeky Facts About Creep," he just belted the song out during rehearsals one day.

In Rolling Stone's "Radiohead's Pablo Honey: Ten Things You Didn't Know" piece, they share, "According to drummer Phil Selway, the surprise tactic paid dividends for the studio novices. 'When it was recorded, we didn’t even know it was being taped–we were just warming up for another track by it. The reason it sounds so powerful is because it’s completely unselfconscious.'”

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Jonny Greenwood's heavily chaotic, distorted guitar was the cherry on top of already eerily uncomfortable lyrics, allegedly based on Thom 's "experience with a woman." Rolling Stone also relays that there was a lot of controversy around the song. Radio stations weren't super keen on playing the F word, the band was sued for having the same chord progression as the 1974 song "The Air That I Breathe" by The Hollies (Note: Lana Del Rey was, ironically, later sued by Radiohead for the same alleged crime), and the BBC didn't want to play it because it was "too depressing."

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But "Creep" obviously went on to be one of their biggest hits, and certainly the breakout song from their album Pablo Honey.

Cut to 2025 and tons of "Creep" covers later, when another college student on the other side of the pond in Ohio decided to give it a go. Her name is Erin Morton, and she sang it in the second annual Jam Band at the UC College-Conservatory of Music with a small backing band behind her (Erin shouts them out on her Instagram page, with special nods to Sarah Folsom, Jacob Priddy, and Sydney Short, who filmed the performance). The crowd was small, but their stillness and clear focus on every note is a surefire tell that they're riveted from the jump.

"When you were here before. Couldn't look you in the eye. You're just like an angel. Your skin makes me cry," it begins. The lyrics alone are enough to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. But when she sings it, it feels like you've been dunked into an ice bath in the Arctic.

To say she makes it her own would be an understatement (though it is pointed out that she's influenced by singer Vincint Cannady's version). From clearly classically trained soprano notes, she fluctuates between a dramatic musical theater style to crowd-clapping gospel. Doesn't matter which church—she takes you there.

Erin told the University of Cincinnati news site, "I’m incredibly grateful for all the kindness, support, and encouragement I’ve received over the past few weeks — it’s been overwhelming in the best way possible."

The comment sections from TikTok to Instagram agree that it is an incredible performance. One Instagrammer writes, "Phrasing, technique, tone, power, dynamics all just flawless. You're a star." Another notes, "I have NEVER been moved to tears by someone singing, but I am bawling like an absolute baby over this." Another viewer agrees, saying, "The goosebumps came and then the tears followed. Incredible." And perhaps when words don't do it justice, this person sums it up saying, "If I could sing like that, I'd never speak again."