Pace on Earth

Hallelujah

Just in time for Christmas we are reminded of the power of the internet. This week’s British pop charts contain 3 different versions of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. The no.1 slot is held by the song that started all the excitement, Alexandra Burke’s pop-tart hack job. Burke was the winner of X-Factor which is an American Idol-type reality show. The song is her much anticipated first single. As a response, fans of Cohen and the late Jeff Buckley started an internet campaign to try and overtake Burke’s version on the charts with Buckley’s haunting version that Cohen himself has described as his favourite. It appears as though their efforts will get that version to no.2 but not beyond. It is the first time that the same song by different artists has held the no.1 and no. 2 slots. In an interesting twist Cohen's version has risen to no. 34 on the charts.

I would guess that Mr. Cohen is seeing these unexpected royalties as a Christmas miracle. I urge you to check out Buckley's version:

Pace out.

posted by Vitamin S @ 5:25 p.m.