Thu, 23 Mar 2006 20:09:00
Chris Daughtry covers Live on American Idol *UPDATED*
jo-jo posted in her Livejournal about her local Fox affiliate running Chris Daughtry down after he did that amazing cover of Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line." When I read her post I was all "YEAH! Screw Fox!"
Then I went and downloaded Live's cover.
Uhh...Yeah. Live__I_Walk_The_Line.mp3
I was in the TV Squad blog's chatroom during the show, and each and every one of us (except the two guys that hate Chris) were so impressed that Chris obviously arranged this as Barry Manilow isn't a rocker. The video gave the impression that Chris was the driving force behind the arrangement. Live was never mentioned.
Now, to be fair, this could be creative editing on the part of American Idol, so that we think Chris and Barry did the arranging. Otherwise there is no point to the little clip of him working with Barry and the band. I'm not alone here...check the Technorati tag for Chris' name, you'll see that most everyone assumed it was his arrangement. I guess that Live greatest hits CD did not sell very well.
What bugs me is that they praised him for *his* originality, and it was Live's originality that made this cover work. I will say this though: Chris' vocal is better that Ed Kowalczyk's, and I like Live. Listen for yourself:
I'm a bit put off by this...but I'm still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for another week, and it's time to stop doing alt. rock covers. He's got to try something new.
*UPDATE*
Holy CRAP. The traffic to this post is pretty stiff, and my email is blowing up. I can understand why...although I am still a little miffed at Chris for not acknowledging that it wasn't him who created this arrangement...the more I listen to it the better it gets. I think that Chris' version is better than Live's.
Anyway, apparently Fox asked YouTube to take down the video I uploaded as it violated the DMCA.
Yeah, wouldn't want people to get excited about your fucking show and tune in next week or anything right Fox? Anyway, screw them. The video is now hosted via Flash here in this post, or you can download it for yourself, in iPod-ready MP4 or a Windows-friendly WMV. Fuck Fox.
Chris_DaughtryI_Walk_The_Line.mp4
Chris_DaughtryI_Walk_The_Line.wmv
*UPDATE* 2
Looks like jo-jo's local Fox station was ahead of the curve here, I'm seeing this AP story all over the place.
"American Idol" chat rooms were buzzing Friday over a controversy surrounding Chris Daughtry's version of "I Walk the Line." Judges praised Daughtry for making the song his own when he performed the Johnny Cash tune on the Fox network show. But some fans say the version wasn't Daughtry's, but ripped off from one done by the band Live in 2001. One fan posted a message saying, "I just want to punch him in his bald head." Another reads: "This guy is a rip-off. Judges are plain dumb." And a third message says, "Live singer Ed Kowalczyk called and said that he would like his vocal style" back.
A lot of people are unhappy that Chris basically took credit for something that Live did. The more I see of this and the more I think about it, the more this is Randy Jackson's fault. Randy specificially credited Chris with arranging the song. Simon alluded to not compromising, which is still a valid statement. Chris refuses to sing in any other style than the one he's great at, so in that regard, he has refused to compromise.
As for the backlash...Maybe, but I'm not seeing it. I have been *inundated* with email and messages from YouTube users looking for a copy of the video, and every one of them is a huge fan. Hell, this post is 3/4 complaint against Chris, and I still keep listening to his cover because it's just that damn good. If he loses Idol or the fans vote him off over this, it won't mean anything except the fact that he can start his Alt. Rock career that much earlier and not have to do the dumb, horrible crap that every AI winner has to do.
Originally posted 2006-03-23 12:43 AM
Posted by JimK at 08:09 PM on March 23, 2006
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Categories: Entertainment
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Technorati: Chris Daughtry American Idol Johnny Cash
Comments:
#2 Posted by jo-jo 
on 03/23 at 11:31 PM -
i respectfully refer you to my response on livejournal ;)
(which of course, can only be viewed by people on my friends list. sorry. i can always repost it here. summary: VOTE BALDY)
#3 Posted by Joe R. 
on 03/24 at 11:28 PM -
I never watched American Idol, mostly because I thought it was all pop crap. Finally watched this, and I’m underwhelmed. If this is what comprises “great” in the modern rock vocal scene, I’m going to start seriously considering trying out for Rock Star: Van Halen if they do it.
I’m glad he’s being successful on the show, though. I always had the impression that if someone like Chris Cornell showed up, he wouldn’t make it through round 1.
#4 Posted by jo-jo on 03/24 at 11:30 PM -
i think people are reading too much into “you made it your own"… they say that all the time for performances that don’t sound like karaoke. it just means you brought some personal flavor to it, not that you created a new arrangement.
really, compare what they said to him to what they say to others… it’s the same thing…
i do think chris should say at the next ep something like “i’m aware of the chatter, and i never intended for people to think i CREATED this version. i was simply paying homage to a band i respect and admire, much like bucky [or whoever] performed a buddy holly [or whoever] song. i apologize if anyone took it any other way.” blah blah blah asskiss asskiss asskiss votebald votebald votebald etc.
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Heck, I like his “Dead or Alive” rendition better than Bon Jovi’s. But maybe that’s just ‘cause he put a tad more rock on it and had a deeper, more in-your-face vocal tone to it.
I’ve actually never watched much Idol before this, but I’ve watched episodes here and there this season. Do they release a CD with all the finalists’ various performances at the end of the season? ‘Cause I really want a copy of that “Dead or Alive"…