Merge Records’ Welcome Entry Into The Digital-Music Fray Britney and Heidi: The Story Gets Stranger

Idolator's American Idolatry

51SW-NfJpFL._AA280_.jpgAs of this moment, Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”–which Jason Castro performed last night to much fanfare and Googling–is No. 5 on the iTunes Music Store’s Top Songs chart and Nos. 2 and 7 on the Amazon MP3 store’s singles chart; Cohen’s version is also at No. 98 on Amazon. (If the iTunes Store actually charted the digital tracks they’re selling from each contestant, instead of hiding behind a cloak of Fox-sanctioned secrecy, I have no doubt that Castro would be the runaway No. 1 the minute that the contestant’s performances went on sale Friday.) Am I a bad person for being kinda happy that Phil Collins’ “Another Day In Paradise,” which David Archuleta pounded his way through, hasn’t seen a similar bump? [Amazon / iTunes]

 
By Maura at 12:00 PM on Wed Mar 5 2008
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  • 92BuickLeSabre

    @NeverEnough, KurticusMaximus, Paul D, and summeroflove: No. Thank you all for playing, but the original is still the best, and Cale is second.


    @Your GPA: I hate myself for saying this given ^, but I thought the breaking at the end was kind of sweet and added to his vulnerable take on the song. Did I mention that hate myself for saying that.

  • NeverEnough
  • Fawn Liebowitz

    The Clemson Takenote college a cappella group does an awesome version of this song

  • Paul D

    @NeverEnough: @summeroflove: @KurticusMaximus:


    Oooo, sorry. That is INcorrect. Thanks for playing.


    Buckley's is the ONLY version worth listening to.


    Wainright makes me throw up in my mouth. It was in fucking SHREK for jebus sake!

  • summeroflove

    @summeroflove: Doh, or Jeff Buckley.

  • KurticusMaximus

    @NeverEnough: True. And Allison Crowe's version is 100 times better than Rufus'.


    Jeff Buckley's version really isn't all that great.

  • summeroflove

    @NeverEnough: I sooo wish people would stop covering that song. I don't think anyone's going to do it better than Rufus anyways.

  • Lucas Jensen

    @slowburn: We just listened to it in the office, so no.

  • Anonymous

    Anything that gets more people to listen to Jeff Buckley is all right by me. And Maura, I think -- I hope -- that the Phil Collins song ran out of steam in the early 90s.

  • NeverEnough

    Rufus Wainwright's version is 100 times better than Jeff Buckley's.

  • scarletvirtue

    No, Maura, you're not a bad person. As much as I like David, that song was incredibly sucky.


    I'm just glad that no one performed "The Living Years" - that would be so many levels of awful and tragic.

  • Your GPA

    Am I the only one who thought his breathy, can't reach high notes delivery was horrible? You can't sing that song if you can't hit those notes! Why was everybody happy with that performance?

  • extracrispy

    It will be interesting to see how well these iTunes/Amazon downloads are at predicting the winners.


    DialIdol still has Archuleta in first place. But I'm right there with you... he's way too stagemommed for me. (If stagemommed is not a word, it should be.)

  • Tauwan

    I hate to be that guy, but damn, never underestimate the power of American Idol. I say shit goddamn! We may not all be able to rally behind a presidential candidate when the time calls for it, but we'll dial a number or send a text in a heartbeat just to further someone else's American Dream. I guess I kind get what they were getting at in that Mandy Moore/Hugh Grant movie with. That still doesn't make it an entertaining, thought provoking farce though.

  • Nicolars

    No, Archuleta is legitimately precocious and awful.

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