I have 3 cover songs to reference in today’s post. The first one is Beyonce singing Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” which is getting mixed reviews from real people (vs. the famous folks just kissing up to Beyonce and Dolly). I’m glad she kept the melody, I’ll start with that. Changing the melody of a song, even if the lyrics stay the same, is one of my all-time pet peeves. It happens periodically in Christian music. For example, about 15 years ago “Amazing Grace” got a refresh from Chris Tomlin when absolutely no one was asking for it.
The first in the trio of songs is from a sister duo. Halle and Chloe cover “To Love Somebody” with a slight lyric change. Here’s more about that one.
And then there’s the basketball players. Of course, they’re not expected to be good singers and good thing… because they’re not. Covering Christina Aguilera’s “What A Girl Wants,” here’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren singing about what a pro wants.
I’m sorry if you watched through the entire AT&T commercial. It’s bad, I know. At least Halle, Chloe, and Beyonce can actually sing. But still, I’m not a fan of covering songs and changing the lyrics. In those cases, it’s less of a cover and more of an adaptation. The genre of country music is interesting because over the course of years and decades, entertainers and actors seem to want to try it at least once. Just recently actress Kate Hudson released a couple of songs and this one isn’t that bad.
But for every Darius Rucker (who successfully “crossed over” from pop music with Hootie & The Blowfish), there are 10 Kevin Costners.
-Out of the Wilderness
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