leonardcohenforum.com

B4real wrote:Thanks Dick for the info,
This is a quote from the text in the Australian -

"We worried about including Hallelujah," said Mensch, "because it's been covered by everyone. But no one has sung it like she does: and when you hear the words, you realise it's a song about a sex fiend! Maybe that's why they don't want to let her sing it at the Last Night of the Proms this year, as a lead-in to Rule Britannia."



Everyone has varying opinions about this song

If THIS song is about a sex fiend, then King Solomon was a sex fiend also. As in THE BIBLE. I can't believe Mensch said that ......that song is so much deeper than that.......

dick wrote:
And, as most of you have probably read on Marie’s post for Today’s Cohen, it will again be featured in the finals for American Idol this week.

Rumor Control: Simon Cowell 'loves,' but does not own the rights to, Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah'
by Michael Slezak

In the wake of Lee DeWyze’s much-buzzed-about rendition of “Hallelujah” on American Idol this week, internet chatter turned to the fact that Alexandra Burke, season 5 winner of Britain’s The X Factor, also performed the Leonard Cohen composition during her championship run on the latter show. Message-board conspiracy theorists and several gossip sites picked up on the connection and claimed that Idol judge Simon Cowell (who also produces and serves as a panelist on X Factor, which he’ll bring to U.S. audiences in fall 2011) chose “Hallelujah” for DeWyze because he’d purchased the rights to the song several years ago and stood to personally profit from the performance.

I went straight to the source for answers, and it turns out the story was pure rumor. Cowell “loves the song” but “he does not own the rights” to it, his publicist explains.

Turns out they actually belong to Sony/ATV Music Publishing. A rep for the company says that Cowell could potentially make money off the recording of “Hallelujah” if it was done by an artist on his label (i.e. Leona Lewis or Susan Boyle), but that Sony/ATV owns the publishing rights.

And thus concludes another edition of “Don’t Believe Everything You Read on the Internet.” –additional reporting by Whitney Pastorek

Comment Of The Week: American Idol’s Leonard Cohen Fixation
By americansongwriter on May 21st, 2010


(Photo: Lorca Cohen)

American Songwriter reader Michael C. comments on Lee DeWzye’s performance of “Hallelujah,” which marked the umpteenth time that song has appeared on American Idol:

“First thing is first – The song is a perfect song, it’s that simple. Lee DeWyze did a great job with it, he has that sort of singer/songwriter raspy voice that is needed in my opinion.

Those of us who love and support the true singer/songwriters of today’s world (and yesterdays world for that matter) seem to find frustration when the “mainstream” so selfishly gets to decide when they will or won’t support those kinds of artists.

I read what Leonard Cohen had to say about it being over played and that is probably true. But listen, about 30 million young people who like pretty much what MTV and today’s radio decides they should like at least have been given the chance to discover the genesis of that song and Leonard Cohen. Perhaps that will lead to a Josh Ritter discovery or Joe Pug, maybe John Hiatt, Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Adams, Thad Cockrell, John Prine, or heaven forbid Bob Dylan or Townes Van Zandt.

So, even though I struggle with American Idol, MTV, mainstream radio, and that whole false idea on what music is – Every so often, something great comes of it, regardless of how Cohen feels about the saturation of that song. DeWyze did it justice and it will be nice to see if he knows anything about songwriting in the future. As for Leonard Cohen, I would imagine the money that has been rolling in since the first contestant on American Idol performed it has served as a pretty decent shoulder to cry on.”

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COMMENTS -
* Sue said:

I believe that Leonard Cohen lost any rights to the song “Hallelujah” when his manager, without his knowledge, sold the rights. She also stole most of his money. So – I agree with most of what you say, but not your wrap-up. Leonard Cohen is not making a fortune from people covering his amazing song “Hallelujah” as Simon Cowell is quoted as once saying. If Leonard Cohen sings the song himself he would make money that way – but not when other people cover sing it.