Profit maximization among major record labels had been causal to the pervasiveness of “one tune, multiple verses” in Cantopop and Mandopop of the 1980s and 1990s, a music production practice that contributed much notoriety to the history of cover version in East Asia. Nevertheless, a broader view of popular music and media culture across the region since the 1970s would reveal various ways in which the textuality and functionality of cover version have been deeply intertwined with the mobility, malleability, and accessibility of specific genres, styles, languages, and media forms at different times and places. In this panel, the presenters will look into such noteworthy variety with the discussant through three cases: 1. Teresa Teng (1953–1995) as a transnational pop singer translating enka songs into Sinitic-language sentimental ballads during the 1980s; 2. Justice Bao (Bao Qingtian) as a widely-broadcast television drama whose distinctive theme song was rearranged several times for different region-specific audience settings during the 1990s; and 3. Sunny Lam (1986– ) as a prolific independent singer-songwriter creating online DIY cover version music videos for lighthearted commentaries on social issues during the 2020s.