Last week guest blogger Scott posted about the Jeff Buckley cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” describing it as ‘insipid’ compared to the original.
Well, as he pointed out, apparently all of the UK is conspiring against him.
This week, the number one song on the British charts is a cover of “Hallelujah” by Alexandra Burke, the winner of the British analog of American Idol, X-Factor. The number two song? Quoth the Guardian: “In second place…was the late Buckley’s interpretation of the song, which was propelled…by an internet campaign masterminded by music fans who feared that Burke would desecrate Cohen’s 1984 anthem.”
Sorry, Scott. The fact that Cohen’s own version also charted, at #36, makes me feel slightly better.
You can see the video of the Burke version here. Or do something better for your soul and download the original from Amazon here.
EDIT: In the comments, Mike Epstein recommended the John Cale version. It is indeed wonderful. Enjoy.
zed equals zee 