So it looks like Chris Cornell has responded to the "controversy" about David Cook's performance of "Billie Jean" last week on American Idol. While Ryan Seacrest clearly introduced him by indicating he was doing Chris Cornell's version, that introduction doesn't seem to have been enough. The incident is similar to one during Season Five when Chris Daughtry performed Live's arrangement of Johnny Cash's classic "I Walk the Line." Then, as now, the judge's didn't seem to realize that the contestants were singing other artists arrangements of the pieces, instead praising their bravery and originality.And they weren't the only ones. Even in my review of the episode I clearly stated that it was Chris Cornell's arrangement, and yet I still got comments from people who thought David was trying to pull one over on America by pretending it was his own work. Cornell didn't see the episode as he was returning from abroad, but he was immediately deluged with emails blasting the judges for praising Cook's brave 'arrangement.'
"Don't get me wrong. He sang it great," Cornell said of Cook's performance. "But it was literally a note-for-note take on what I came up with. At the end of the day, it's all good. It's a good thing for me. There was a moment when I was sitting there writing this new arrangement thinking, 'Is this a good idea or a bad idea?' Watching the response from the judges was really gratifying. They were signing off on it right there. It was something that worked. It was an idea that went over huge."
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Regardless, the controversy has stirred up increased interest in Cornell's version, which spiked to Number 12 on iTunes download charts, and allowed him an opportunity to get with the press and hype his new album, which unfortunately is in such an early state that it doesn't have a name or projected date yet. If only David Cook could have performed it a few weeks later, maybe he'd have something better prepared. Still, he's working with Timbaland on it, so that's a pretty good pedigree right there.
As for the controversy itself, I blame Idol and the judges in particular. Yes, they learned their lesson from the outcry over Daughtry's "I Walk the Line" and introduced the performance as Chris Cornell's arrangement, but why didn't anyone bother to tell the judges? For that matter, I am so sick and tired of the judges not all being familiar with every song that is performed each week on the show. At the most it's twelve songs a night. The songs are available for the contestants to listen to so they can become familiar with it; why can't some Idol intern trot over some copies for the judges to listen to?
Don't they think it would add credence and weight to their opinions if they were at least familiar with the original work? Or if they're concerned it will color their commentary to know the source piece, can they at least be told when a contestant is covering someone else's arrangement of a song? All of this could have been avoided (twice now!) if the judges had known or been told in advance that the contestants had not arranged these songs themselves. Or maybe Idol likes to stir up controversy because it means more press coverage. And here we are talking about it. Damn you Idol and your manipulative ways!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-01-2008 @ 1:15PM
David said...
Jason, I appreciate your bloggings every week about AI! That said, you just wrote:
"For that matter, I am so sick and tired of the judges not all being familiar with every song that is performed each week on the show."
Either:
- you really are "sick and tired" about it, which means you need to take a step back and not take AI so seriously; or
- you chose your words poorly in your posting :)
It's just a TV show! Have fun with it, write about the fun stuff, and don't get too worked up :)
I'll also disagree with your broader point about the judges. They don't need to be music history experts. Two of them are producers, and one of them is a performer. Their jobs in life are to make hit records (and in Paula's case, help people to help producers make hit records). Simon seems awfully good at making hit records (if his public stats are to be believed), so I think his lack of expertise in music history has not hurt him, ya know? :)
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4-01-2008 @ 2:03PM
skim said...
No one's asking them to be "music history experts." Their job on the show is to properly judge the performances, and they can't do that if they're not familiar with the music. Given the millions they're being paid, it's reasonable to expect they spend a couple hours to prepare for each show.
4-01-2008 @ 2:10PM
David said...
Well, Skim, I felt Jason was asking for just that, from reading his post. I think you bring up a good point, however, about the judges spending more time preparing. If I were in one of the judge's shoes, I would definitely ensure I knew the etymology of each song being performed each week.
4-01-2008 @ 1:24PM
Tony said...
"I am so sick and tired of the judges not all being familiar with every song that is performed each week on the show." He sang Billie Jean, not Smooth Criminal.
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4-01-2008 @ 1:40PM
lucyfan62 said...
It really just goes to show no one pays attention to anything Ryan Seacrest says! I heard him say "Chris Cornell" when introducing the song, but my other half missed it completely. The judges rarely listen to Ryan when he's talking so it's no surprise they missed the intro. And with thousands of songs available, who can be expected to know each and every song out there?! They just need to stop jabbering during the show and pay attention once in a while!
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4-01-2008 @ 1:47PM
chrisb said...
You're right, this would be a non-controversy... except that David Cook does this every week, and not every performance is credited like the Chris Cornell arrangement was.
Nearly all of his performances were covers of covers:
Hello - Incubus
Eleanor Rigby - Doxology
Day Tripper - Whitesnake
Billy Jean - Chris Cornell
I can almost guarantee tonight he does White Stripes' version of "Jolene."
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4-01-2008 @ 2:49PM
Wintermute said...
Day Tripper was credited as Whitesnake's version, just as Billy Jean was credited as Chris Cornell's. I'm not so sure about Hello and Eleanor Rigby, though. I've long since deleted those episodes from my DVR...
I'm with Jason about the judges, though. They really should be familiar with what they're judging. If they're not, then they aren't earning the salaries they make from the show.
'mute
4-01-2008 @ 6:25PM
BStu said...
Okay, I've listened to Doxology's version of Eleanor Rigby and the similarities are just not significant enough to say that David Cook performed their arrangement of the song. That is a blatant example of a minor act trying to promote themselves anyway they can. Both versions seem inspired by a common source, namely Godhead's version of the song. And frankly, Doxology's is more of a rip-off on that count. The "note for note" accusation is a joke. I literally subjected myself to both versions phrase by phrase, and there are significant departures. They only sound similar because they are doing the same song in a similar genre, but that hardly rises to the level of a rip-off. I mean, we're talking about a cover song, here. Of course they'll sound similar.
4-01-2008 @ 1:47PM
rex said...
Jason- I think you mistyped "I walk the Line" when referring to it later in the post calling it "I Walk Alone".
I think it is reasonable to be annoyed with the judges for not knowing anything about the songs that the AI contestants sing. I realize that it is just a television show and doesn't really fall into the actual world of music, but it can be very distracting and annoying when the judges say they have never heard a song before.
I don't think the judges need to be "music historians" but often times it seems that unless Randy played bass in their band or Paula choreographed for the group, then the judges don't know anything about the original musicians/songs. Maybe they should do a theme week where the contestants are limited to the songs on Simon's Ipod? I smell a product tie-in for that week!
Also- Chris Cornell doesn't need Timbaland's pedigree or help (although I am interested to hear the new album). Just listen to "Seasons" by Cornell and you will understand how amazing he is.
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4-01-2008 @ 2:44PM
Chuck said...
What annoys me is that people get so upset about David Cook doing other people's arrangements of songs . . . when all contestants are doing that. With the exception of Blake Lewis last year, how many of these contestants EVER do an original arrangement, or if they do, more than once or twice? And I mean a REAL arrangement, not just "I'll play it by myself on guitar, and you guys come in halfway through." I mean really sitting down and changing the piece?
Even if they're singing a cover of the original arrangement it's still somebody else's arrangement. And yet I haven't heard a single person complain about how Chikezie was trying to fool everybosy by doing a Luther Vandross arrangement of a song. But everyone assumes David Cook is trying to trick us all.
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4-01-2008 @ 3:06PM
Jennifer said...
I agree with Jason that the judges should know in advance if the contestant is going to be singing a cover of a song. This completely affects their judging of originality which is a key ingredient. They usually tell the contestants that aren't original that they need to make it their own and not just do Karaokee. While I still think that David Cook was amazing and probably deserves to win regardless, he got too much praise for originality.
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4-01-2008 @ 3:41PM
CK said...
When they were pimping iTunes, David Cook even admitted that he goes there to find different versions of songs. So what. Everyone else copies the original artist, it just happens that David picks the better versions!
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4-01-2008 @ 3:55PM
Skippy said...
"Then, as now, the judge's didn't seem to realize"
I hope that apostrophe is just a typo...
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4-01-2008 @ 4:36PM
Bob Mc said...
I didn't catch while watching that it was Chris' version of the song, so I thought David Cook just did a very cool cover of the song. A few weeks back, he did an emo version of another classic 80s song and killed it. Was that also a copy of another artist's version?
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4-01-2008 @ 7:08PM
matthew m. barnes said...
it's not so much that they're doing other people's arrangements, but that we're being lead to think that they aren't other people's arrangements. i had no idea about the Chris Cornell thing and everyone i watched with (a lot of people) thought that David Cook had just done the most amazing thing ever by coming up with that arrangement. obviously, we need to start paying attention to Ryan Seacrest.
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4-01-2008 @ 11:14PM
johntal said...
a cover of a cover and everybody worries about attribution. since when have Idols ever claimed that they have personally arranged any song. silly contoversy
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4-02-2008 @ 12:59PM
the_0ne said...
I'm very confused. Why is there any controversy at all? How much more clear do you get than being introduced... "And here is David Cook performing a Chris Cornell version of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean." Not verbatim, but basicly the gist of Seacrest's introduction.
In fact, after Cook finished singing, I hit the net to look up Chris Cornell because I couldn't remember what group he was in when he did that hunger strike song. And believe me, we try to ff through most of what Ryan Seacrest says, but we didn't miss that.
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4-23-2008 @ 12:50PM
rehabber said...
David Cook hacks some people off because he is talented and intelligent. It's 50/50 (in my opinion) whether you are pleased for someone when they do well or are upset and envious of them.
With all the stress, demands and distractions the contestants have going on every week, David has simply figured out what the judges were looking for and gone about giving it to them. He does not try to re-invent the wheel, but gives credit for what he uses (if we will pay attention). He has also done his own arrangement (the week after this "controversy"), and is simply a brilliantly gifted and intelligent person. He will be successful whether he wins AI or not, and I'm happy for him.
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