Jason Castro performs Hallelujah on American Idol

[Yankovic]

This is from last week!

American Idol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2nRxKC-OyA&NR=1

Randy Jackson said Leonard Cohen!

[Sue]

Randy Jackson said Leonard Cohen!

Yes! He really did! Is no-one else watching? I thought there'd be endless discussion of this - what must be the **first** appearance of a Cohen song either on American Idol or on X-Factor in the UK. And this single exposure has apparently shot Hallelujah to the top of the itunes most wanted list, not Lenny's version granted. Personally, I would rather have liked the first appearance of a Cohen song on one of these talent shows to have been something a little less covered-to-death already but still, it's a Great Event and one which I had been expecting anytime soon.. and now here it is

[dharma]

is it just me or does anyone else wish leonard's music wasn't associated with these trashy tv 'talent' shows?

i know certain artists (tom waits for example) won't allow their songs to be used in tv commericals. i wonder how much control leonard has on his songs being covered by other artists and used in ad campaigns, or does he give carte blanch to their use?

i remember waiting for a miracle cropping up on a tv commerical a few years ago, but at least that was for a uk charity

[Joney]

I saw this performance and didn't like it, in fact it made me dislike Jason Castro who I'm sure is a nice enough fella, however he sang it without any emotion, I found it rather painful, but maybe I'm just a purist.

I was gobsmacked when Simon Cowell said it was one of his favourite songs!

[blonde madonna]

Hallelujah is a staple of the Idol songbook. Chances are he will win it now.

Australian Idol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA9Gpisd2IY

Swedish Idol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv4hqi1gvOY

Canadian Idol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFK2pTp9qRw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG2CNG6SKfU

[Sue]

is it just me or does anyone else wish leonard's music wasn't associated with these trashy tv 'talent' shows?

You may find them trashy I find them interesting. You seem to be saying that Leonard's music is not for ordinary people, would that be a fair interpretation?

[dharma]

Sue,

I am definitely NOT saying that, but I do believe shows like The X Factor are a complete anathema to Leonard’s art.

As I said before, artists like Tom Waits do everything in their power to STOP their music from being used in TV ads. “Commercials are an unnatural use of my work.” says Waits, “It’s like having a cow’s udder sewn to the side of my face. Painful and humiliating.”

I feel exactly the same way about Leonard’s songs being associated with the type of “blood sport television” epitomised by The X Factor.

[sagcl1]

If it means 1 person takes an interest in LC coz of this garbage,bloodsucking,irrelvant,patronising bile than OK -Clive Lewis

[Yankovic]

Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah is the number one download this week on iTunes!

[dharma]

Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah is the number one download this week on iTunes!

buckley's at #72 on the UK version of itunes

i read a hillarious quote on youtube the other day about leonard's version of hallelujah:

"This guy isn't anything like or nearly as good as the original Buckley version, and the chorus isn't even that good, but it does make you think of what the original would've been like with a chorus."

[Yankovic]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertain ... 6356.story

'Hallelujah' goes from 'Idol' to hit
By Geoff Edgers | The Boston Globe
March 18, 2008
Article tools
E-mail Share
Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Reprints Post comment Text size: If you watch television, the song has by now become unmistakable: A spare piano chord, a breathy voice and opening lines flecked with biblical references before an uplifting chorus kicks in. This is "Hallelujah," a 23-year-old song that has become the most trafficked tune of the soundtrack era, setting the mood for dozens of TV shows and films.

Last week, the no-longer cult classic achieved loftier status. Its most popular cover version, released by the late Jeff Buckley in 1994, zoomed to No. 1 on the iTunes download chart, thanks to that ultimate signifier of 21st Century ubiquity, a performance by an "American Idol" competitor. At the same time, Leonard Cohen, the song's enigmatic 73-year-old composer, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, serenaded with a version of the song by popular Irish balladeer Damien Rice.

Process of discovery

"This is a watershed moment," said Michael Barthel, a Syracuse University graduate student who last year presented an academic paper on the song's staying power. "Every generation discovers 'Hallelujah,' and right now, a whole new generation of people is discovering it."

How does a rock-era song becomes a standard at a moment when radio play is hopelessly fragmented and pop songs are more beat-driven than lyrical? More often than not, it's delivered in the background of a wordless montage featuring life, death, or heartache. Among the TV shows that have given "Hallelujah" prominent play are "House," "The West Wing," "Cold Case," "The L Word," "Nip/Tuck," "Lost" and "Ugly Betty." With its somber tone, "Hallelujah" has been used to dramatize real-life tragedy, including episodes of "Without a Trace" and "Third Watch" centered on Sept. 11.

"It's so emotional and has a slow build and definitely can pack a punch," said Alyson Vidoli, music coordinator for GO Music Services, which finds music for "House," "Dexter" and several other shows.

"Somehow, it always seems to fit for the moment, and when you hear it, you say, 'We need more songs that are inspirational,'" added Tom Calderone, executive vice president of VH1.

Singer Brandi Carlile calls "Hallelujah" the "best song ever written."

"We have jazz standards and folk standards that have been passed down to generations," said Carlile. "We don't have that in rock 'n' roll right now. So it's kind of exciting to think of a song like 'Hallelujah' being sung 200 years."

It's an unlikely path for a song that was barely noticed upon its release. Cohen, a Canadian cult hero, wrote "Hallelujah," and recorded it in the early '80s for his "Various Positions" album. In the past, he has described it as "a song about the broken." The singer, who rarely talks to the press, declined an interview for this story.

Inauspicious beginning

The album did not make a dent in the record charts. The song's long path to iTunes began in the early '90s when another cult hero, former Velvet Underground member John Cale, decided to re-record "Hallelujah" for a tribute album to Cohen.

"I called and asked him to send the lyrics," Cale said. "I had one of those old fax machines. I went out to dinner and my floor was covered in paper. There were 15 verses of this song. I went through and just picked out the cheeky verses."

Cale's recording -- sung with a simple piano accompaniment -- would be embraced by Buckley, who was the son of '60s and '70s singer Tim Buckley. Cale's version has been used on the sitcom "Scrubs" and in "Shrek," but it is Jeff Buckley's recording, released on his 1994 album, "Grace," that has been featured most often in television shows. And it doesn't come cheap. Vidoli said that the rights to use a big song such as "Hallelujah" can cost as much as $40,000, which most cable networks can't afford.

Networks enthusiastic

Networks, however, haven't shied away from the Buckley rendition. "The O.C." used it twice before featuring another version, by singer Imogen Heap, to mark the death of Marissa, a lead character, in the show's third season. In "Ugly Betty," the Buckley version plays as a character collapses and dies of a heart attack.

Many, though, hadn't heard the song until last week's "American Idol" performance by the blue-eyed, dreadlocked finalist Jason Castro. "I thought it was fantastic," said Kaore Bonell, 37, a business consultant in Los Angeles. "I had to research it and see who did it before and what it was about."

He also had to own the song, and bought Castro's "Hallelujah" on iTunes. Heeding the advice of "Idol" judges who praised the Buckley version on the air, thousands of fans downloaded that one in addition, or instead.

The post-"Idol" surge pleased Mary Guibert, Buckley's mother. But she has grown concerned that the version recorded by her son, who drowned in 1997, may be reaching saturation. Guibert does not have the authority to deny permission for the song's use but is consulted by his record label when requests are made.

"It's not special if it's everywhere," said Guibert.

the rights to use a big song such as "Hallelujah" can cost as much as $40,000, which most cable networks can't afford.

[Yankovic]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news ... ujah_N.htm

Praise be to 'Hallelujah': Classic reborn digitally, thanks to 'Idol'

By Edna Gundersen, USA TODAY
For 23 years, musicians and fans have been singing the praises of Hallelujah, the oft-covered Leonard Cohen classic that exploded into the digital era after Jason Castro performed it two weeks ago on American Idol.
The 20-year-old contestant's performance sent Jeff Buckley's definitive version into the cyberspace stratosphere with sales of 178,000 downloads, up from 2,500 the week before, marking the biggest Idol bounce yet.

The tune sold another 71,000 copies last week. Some fuel probably was provided by Damien Rice's rendition at last week's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which aired live on VH1 Classic and will repeat in edited form Saturday on VH1.

Idol bumps are as predictable as Simon Cowell's smirk. Last week's Lennon/McCartney theme boosted sales of the Beatles 1 set to 9,000 copies, up 70% from the previous week's 5,000. (Fab Four single tracks are not available digitally.)

But such leaps pale against the Hallelujah surge.

Initially released in 1984 on Cohen's Various Positions, the song gathered steam when Buckley released it on 1994 debut Grace. The singer/songwriter drowned in 1997 at age 30, but his Hallelujah endured as the most popular and revered take on a Cohen favorite.

Rufus Wainwright, John Cale and k.d. lang have interpreted the song, along with artists as diverse as Bob Dylan, Imogen Heap, Starsailor, Bono, Chris Botti, Popa Chubby and, most recently, Michael McDonald, who sings it on his new Soul Speak album.

LeonardCohenFiles.com cites 123 covers of Hallelujah.

And Castro's acclaimed revival on Idol wasn't a first. Damien Leith, winner of 2006's Australian Idol show, sang it in competition as did 2007 Swedish runner-up Amanda Jenssen and 2005 Finnish fifth-placer Henna Heikkinen.

The Hallelujah chorus should come as no surprise, says Josh Jackson, Paste magazine editor.

"Leonard Cohen is one of our greatest living songwriters, and this is his masterpiece," Jackson says. "The song unveils itself so perfectly. But it wasn't a perfect piece of recorded music until Jeff Buckley made it beautifully sad by slowing down the tempo and creating this quiet, minimalistic late-night thing.

"This song keeps having resurgences every few years. A lot of filmmakers and TV producers use it for a sad montage. I remember hearing it on The West Wing a few years ago, and it so perfectly fit the moment."

The song, typically Buckley's version, has figured prominently in films and a host of TV series, including The OC, House, Grey's Anatomy and Heroes.

"The strangest was Shrek," Jackson says. "It was the only time I've gone, 'Wow, that was out of place.' "

[Yankovic]

http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/leonard_cohen/news/11318

LEONARD COHEN TO REPLACE HASSELHOFF ON AMERICA'S GOT TALENT

Leonard Cohen

Cohen will bring 'gravitas and perspective'

Leonard Cohen is set to replace David Hasselhoff as the new judge on the third season of NBC's talent show, America's Got Talent.

Cohen will join Sharon Osbourne and Piers Morgan as judges of the US version of the "Opportunity Knocks" style show.

Hasselhoff was unable to return for a third series due to ongoing health problems.

A source close to the singer said Cohen was hoping to bring "gravitas and sense of perspective" back to light entertainment.

The Grammy winner and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, best known for his hits “Chelsea Hotel” and “Avalanche”, is due to start his world tour on June 6.

For a full list of Leonard Cohen's world tour dates click here.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/leonard_cohen/news/11327

LEONARD COHEN ON AMERICA’S GOT TALENT, AMY WINEHOUSE ON DR WHO. IT MUST BE APRIL FOOLS!

Leonard Cohen

A round up of today’s pranks

It’s April Fools Day (April 1) and the prank stories have been doing the rounds.

Here at UNCUT we posted a news story that ‘Laughing’ Leonard Cohen was due to take over from David Hasselhoff as the third judge on America’s Got Talent. We’d like to point out that it was completely fictitious. Obviously.

Meanwhile our sister publication, NME published a story that Amy Winehouse would appear in the next series of Doctor Who as an evil alien overlord and Gigwise claimed she was about to launch her own beehive hairdo dubbed the “Wino”.

A story of Liam Gallgher streaking in the USA, complete with a fake video, was posted on the unofficial Oasis blog http://stopcryingyourheartoutnews.blogspot.com.

In non music-related japes, The Guardian claimed that Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was asked by Gordon Brown to spearhead a government initiative aimed at "injecting more style and glamour into British national life".

[Manna]

My guess would be that Leonard is gladmood to have this. Hallelujah is his most covered song. I didn't like Jason's as much as Leonard's either, but the guy is pretty easy on the ocular system, eh?

My sister made me watch it on youtoob because she is madly in love with Jason's dreds. She wants to eat them. She made me say that too.

[friscogrl]

"Trichophagia" medical term for eating hair-EEEWWW