Cover Your Mouth Instead Next Time
I’ve never paid enough attention to Leona Lewis to have any other thought of her besides boredom and indifference, but now I officially hate her. OK, maybe not hate but I would be lying if I said I’m not tempted to call immigration the next I get word of her being in the U.S.
When covering a classic there are two very important questions an artist should ask themselves. The first being the most important: “Will I mess this up?” The nearly as important follow-up question is: “Will I piss off fans of the original enough if I mess this up?
Leona Lewis, you have failed to answer both questions correctly.
I don’t know who that man was that slapped her and while I don’t excuse him for what he did, I’m tempted to Tweet Coko and ask her to grow her nails back for the sole purpose of scratching her up. Or at least put some fear into her heart.
How can you mess up a classic like this?
This was my song in second grade. Yes, second grade…I’m not as old as ya’ll. No shade.
Leona took every ounce of black out of this song and made it into something only a room full of intoxicated Norwegians could appreciate.
If you’re going to touch an SWV classic then you need to place your own spin on it without tarnishing everything that made it such a great song to begin with.
JoJo got it right:
See, Leona, that’s how you do a cover.
When I heard this, I didn’t think to call the police and report truancy on JoJo.
Even your idol managed to pull out a decent cover of an even more challenging song:
Some people didn’t dig this, but I love it. But I guarantee you one thing: Mariah did just enough to prevent a riot in the place. I dare you to perform your version in a room full of SWV stans.
The only good that comes of this ratchet cover is Coko, LeeLee, and Taj getting a check in the recession.
Wow. Damn, You really weren’t kidding about her taking EVERY ounce of blackness out the track. Isn’t this Leona chick supposed to be able to SAAANG? why can I not hear a trace of vocal ability in that SWV cover? THIS chick was supposed to be the second coming of (Old Style) Mariah CAREY?
FAIL.
I could not even RECOGNIZE the song she was singing until I read you saying it was SWV’s “I’m So Into You.” Awful. it sounds like a bland karaoke version of the song. Leona, how could you?
“I’m not as old as ya’ll. No shade.”
Hmpf!
I am sorry, but the unnecessary and overdancing fool in JoJo’s video is hurting my feelings.
A little bit of research goes a long way. You see, this song was a demo before Leona jumped onto “The X Factor.” She recorded an entire album of random songs and submitted them to a record company, who turned her down years before she went on the show. It was never intended to be released as a single, and I’m sure whoever produced this joint wasn’t sitting there contemplating, “Hmm, how can I piss of an entire generation of New Jill Swing fans?” I bet they were thinking to just give the girl a karaoke beat so she’ll have something to sing in front of.
Well, of course when Leona finally got put on after winning “X Factor,” the original record company who had the demos released her old work as an album since, by law, they owned it: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Kept-Secret-Leona-Lewis/dp/B0019W31FO. If I’m not mistaken, there was a similar scenario with Kelly Clarkson after she won “American Idol.”
At least give the girl some half-credit. Her new team actively tried to prevent this album from coming out, and she hasn’t done any promotion for this effort. Kudos to her for not denying its existence, either. Are we really going to throw this girl under the bus for a demo song recorded during her teen years?
When it was recorded doesn’t negate that it sucks, and if anything actually further illustrates the point that despite years of singing and being in the business, her voice still lacks any oomph to it despite millions of dollars in marketing trying to convince me others. Thank you for the back story, though.
Those dancers are not needed
Oh Leona! Le Le Le Leona….
Personally, I thought it was good. But of course, I secretly stan for this girl (my gravatar), despite the fact she finds black men disgusting. It might have just been the beat. It’s too “pop,” where the beat for the original track was r&b/hip-hop influenced.
Hey Micheal, I was wondering about your take on the recent attacks of the Alien Cockatoo princess (Rihanna) being a devil worshipper, and artists (CBreezy’s bicycle) Omarion and Tiffany (alledgely) “going in” on her and the Queen Bee:
http://www.ultimate-rihanna.com/2009/10/21/news/tiffany-evans-blasts-rihanna-as-a-devil-worshiper/
http://www.theprophetblog.net/omarion-speaks-about-rihanna-illuminati-rumours-theres-a-very-dark-and-sinister-side-of-the-business
Ok when I started that Jojo performance I instantly started laughing at that random ass dancer beside her!
But i love that cover, white girl got some pipes on her
and yes you are right this is a lazy and like someone said karaoke version of a perfectly good song that should have been left alone.
How Dreadful!! (Dwight from RHOA voice)
michael i disagree. leona lewis can sang. have u heard her music since winning x-factor? the woman can, i repeat, sang.
and damn, jojo should be sooooooooo much more famous/popular than she is. she did an amazing job with that song.
First of all,
Leona did a hell of a job singing that cover (which is my jam) of I’m so into you. All of you who are hating; including the owner of this site need to fall back. Is it it because she seems denies her African-American heritage? Or her direct resemblance as a Mariah Carey knockoff? Either way the girl can sing. Stop it! You know its true.
Whoa, people. Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. She is not Aretha. She’s not Mary. She can’t *sang*. But she can sing. Let’s not deny that. It will be interesting to see where her voice is 10 years from now.
However, she does give that Celine Dion/early-early-early Mariah power ballad vibe. When Clive and Simon put her out, they did slide in a Whitney reference here and there. I will agree that her first album was the musical equivalent of drying paint for my personal tastes, but she’s got the same marketing strategy that helped Whitney get to where she is today: Big voice in easy-to-swallow pop that doesn’t scare away the Top 40 crowd.
I’m not stanning for her like the person above me and I could care less about her ethnicity. But the girl does have a voice.
Oh cut her some slack. She was like 16 when she recorded this! This was recorded nearly what, 7/8 years ago??
ugh this beat is horrible. if she remixes it there mighe be hope… and there is no blackness in this song whatsoever. smdh.
Awwwwwwwww,i feel sorry 4 leona after she got slapped in the face
but yeah,NO ONE CAN TOUCH SWV.
i miss them.
Ugh- seriously?
I needed the cleansing presence of Taj (no Survivor) to heal my spirit after this incredibly bland experience. Leona Lewis cannot sang- she has a nice voice, but there’s no emotion behind it, therefore, she can merely “sing.” This, in our general opinions, is not a good remake. At-tall.
And youngins (and people who haven’t accepted the fact that they’re old) is it “hating” to offer honest criticism these days? STOP. YOURSELF.
@See what had happened was) First of all what the hell are you talking about? I am never a stalker for anyone. Providing facts is what I do. I do speak of things I do not know. People keep hating this girl because she does not seem to connect with the African American audience. Bottom line. So, Idiot before you use stupid made up 12 year old cyber words; learn how to read real ones; and interpret correctly. Dumb Ass.
@jaedalaurez) Yeah it is hating when you deny the blatant truth. So once again, Stop.
I don’t care if she’s purple, if a song sucks it sucks regardless of when it was recorded. I hope you feel better now.