Hallelujah on UK X-Factor (all threads merged here)

[Birdonawire]

I suppose there is one good thing that will come of this; kids all over the world will be singing Cohen(that is, if the show is seen all over the world). Lets just hope some of them actually manage to learn the words LEONARD COHEN as well!

[Andrew McGeever]

I'll probably watch the "final" of this television programme.
I don't watch much television, but my take on this is best summed up by Kathryn Williams, as quoted in this month's "The Word".....

"Because there's so much youth culture around music, it's really special when you get to feel what it's like to have seen so much more. I think that's why he's doing so well live now, because he doesn't have to fit himself into a tight pair of jeans."


Andrew

[John Etherington]

I once said that Leonard's greatest achievement was never having a hit single, and I stand by this! Come to think of it, Leonard has never had a single song in the charts, unless you count Noel Harrison's "Suzanne" which I think got to about No. 27 for one week, then was instantly forgotten. That the world's greatest songwriter has never had to have his work tainted this way is a great thing. However all this is about to change, so I guess we'll just have to live with the consequences. Until the present time, discovering Leonard's work has been like a process of initiation. If you had a great enough inner need for it, you somehow found it.

All good things, John E

[danny]

@sevenation

Mmm.mmm, mmm. It was never Leonards best song/text by far, even on that LP. John Cale stuck his knife in there like any genius would., for reason. Since then? Blah.

[danny]

Okay, John Cale is also genuis, I admitted that on another thread. I forgot to compliment Jeff Buckley for a good original cover of Cales cover. Leonard rarely sang anything better than the song 'All Flowers in Time Bend Towards The Sun' by Jeff and his Scottish lover Liz Frasier of the Cocteau Twins.

I hope one day to hear Leonard singing a Coteau Twins or Jeff Buckley song.

[FOXWOOD]

The Sun is running a campaign to get Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah into second place in the Christmas Chart.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sh ... 025078.ece

( I have to explain here I really am not a Sun reader. I just Googled Leonard Cohen in News and this is what came up!)

[stargazer61]

The Sun is running a campaign to get Jeff Buckley’s version of Hallelujah into second place in the Christmas Chart.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sh ... 025078.ece

( I have to explain here I really am not a Sun reader. I just Googled Leonard Cohen in News and this is what came up!)

As if anyone thought you were!

[osmachar]

Why not get the original version rather than any ol' cover???

[John Etherington]

As I suggested a week or two back, I would love to see a Leonard four-track single with three versions of "Hallelujah" - the original, the "Cohen Live" version and the best recent version (plus bonus track "Silent Night"). In the absence of this, I guess Jeff Buckley's recording would be an appropriate hit version at this time of year, with it's rather angelic vocal.

All good things, John E

[paddieu]

So has anyone found out yet whether Leonard still gets any royalties or anything at all from his own catalogue ?

[Birdonawire]

...Until the present time, discovering Leonard's work has been like a process of initiation. If you had a great enough inner need for it, you somehow found it.

All good things, John E

Well said John.

[honeyrose]

According to my newspaper,

"And the X Factor winner is . . . Leonard Cohen. The mordant songwriter is set for a £1 million windfall after his classic song Hallelujah was chosen as the debut single by tonight’s winner. The ITV1 show’s three finalists have each recorded their own version of the song, which is expected to become the Christmas No 1, selling one million CDs and downloads. Alexandra Burke, 20, from North London, is the bookies’ favourite, ahead of Eoghan Quigg, 16, from Northern Ireland, and the boyband JLS.

"The royalties will be welcomed by Cohen, 74, who returned to the live stage this year after a former manager separated him from his $10 million retirement fund. His first British shows for 15 years were rapturously received and grossed £5 million.
The Canadian singer distilled Hallelujah, layered with Old Testament imagery, from an original 80 verses to the 6 that form its most popularly performed version.

"It has opened a world of lucrative commercial opportunities for Cohen, who previously opted for seclusion as a Zen Buddhist monk. Marty Bandier, the chief executive of Sony/ATV Music, the song’s publisher, said: “We get a host of requests from films and television to use it. But Hallelujah is recognised as one of the greatest songs ever, so it demands a high fee.”

So I am still confused. Who is getting the royalties here, Sony or Leonard?

[John Etherington]

So we're going to be flooded with these ghastly versions. I guess it's now only a matter of time before football supporters adopt it a a chant for their team. If I hear the words X-Factor again, I'm going to scream (hopefully, it will rapidly become last year's thing).

Cheers, John E

P.S. Perhaps Jarkko could merge the threads relating to this topic, so we don't have to keep seeing the XF words?

[Jeremy]

Seems pretty clear Mr C gets his rightful (monetary, at least!) due.

This morning's Times:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/ ... 333323.ece

[John Etherington]

P.S. One of the other X-F******* threads in the News section gives a link from The Times, which suggests Leonard will get royalties.