Hallelujah

I just read about this interesting new development – apparently, there’s a focused campaign taking place to overpower X-Factor winner Alexandra’s cover of ‘Hallelujah’ with Jeff Buckley’s definitive version of the Cohen classic. If you join this Facebook Group you can join the fight, so to speak. However, take note that they ask you buy a copy of the single as a caveat to membership. The goal is to make the single #1, presumably over the X-Factor version. As of today, Buckley’s ‘Hallelujah’ was sitting at #3, and the group had over 70,000 members.

Now, as far as I’m concerned, the X-Factor version isn’t offensive or outright awful. However, I also don’t think it’s any good. Not because the girl can’t sing, but because ‘Hallelujah’ doesn’t really lend itself to this sort of pop interpretation. Some songs just don’t work outside a certain context, and this is one of them. My personal ranking of the various covers would go something like this:

1)Jeff Buckley
2)Rufus Wainwright
Shrek OST
3)John Cale
Fragments of a Rainy Season
4)Leonard Cohen
Various Positions
5)Anyone Else 

It’s a complete sacrilege to put Rufus & Jeff over Leonard, I know, but I don’t care. I just happen to like their versions better. So sue me!

UPDATE: I created this little widget so you could sample even more covers of this great tune. As I find more I will add them!