PopEatsPop

This site is dedicated to documenting pop songs that have been covered by another act. A covers project? No not quite. PopEatsPop is not really about famous songs being covered but rather when a pop act usually in a distant country records a song that is then swiped by another who tends to have a larger record company behind them! Any suggestions would be great! Drop a line at cartharsispopboy@hotmail.com

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Wanna touch your hand and explode like a star.........


Daylight-demo by Paul Mahos & New Life Crisis
Very rare original
Daylight in Your Eyes-unreleased by Victoria Faiella
Unreleased 'female' original
Daylight In Your Eyes by No Angels
The smash hit single
Daylight In Your Eyes-swing version by No Angels
Big band version from their Swing album
Daylight In Your Eyes-unplugged by No Angels
On their unplugged album
Daylight In Your Eyes by Audiosmog
Supposedly ironic cover that is quite brilliant!
Daylight-Tony Moran Mix by Paul Mahos & New Life Crisis Ultra rare remix of the demo

Seeing as its girlband season over at one of my all time fav blogs, dontstopthepop, I thought it prescient to cover one of the biggest tracks by a girlband ever recorded outside of the UK. Only the thing is, the song was originally recorded by a man whose version sounds like naughties answer to George Michael. The singer in question is called Paul Mahos. His version simply called Daylight was recorded with his band and sounds far more macho than its other editions. He whispers the lyrics like he's reading the most erotic prose to a nineteen year old svelte songstress from Norway called Inrala whilst doing unimaginable things with his fingers.

The bridge is completely different to the other versions and as you'll hear Mahos does this George Michael-esq callback that hasnt been heard since GM's Prejudice days. Brilliant! The original might be more macho than its sisters but its no less poppier or discotastic. It has never been properly released and remains a highly sought-after demo...

The real PopEatsPop "moment" comes when the track evolved from a male tale of seduction to a post-feminist post-Spice Girls anthem. The writers of the song gave it one Victoria Faella. Heard of her? Thought not. Victoria was born and raised in New York City and has earned her pop music stripes by working as a backing vocalist for Enrique Iglesias, Alanis Morissette, Lenny Kravitz, Jewel, Robbie Williams, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and Donna Summer. In 2000 she was signed to Sony/Epic and recorded the Drama LP. It featured Daylight and Even When I Sleeping which was recently covered by Marie Wilson and Leonardo's Bride. However Drama was shelved for reasons unknown. When Victoria was ready to release Daylight through an new Sony imprint a year later the song had been put aside for the Popstars project some three months before the auditions had even begun! Her career was dumped before it was even given the green light because of industry and nothing more. Still shes got a myspace going with new music so all is not lost. She's also appeared in hit show The Soprano's and stars in the Billy Joel musical.

As you will hear Victoria's version is no different to No Angels edition and I think is pretty safe to say the band simply sung over the instrumental. Moreover, I know i might be stepping on eggshells here but Victoria's vocals appear to remain on the finished No Angels track. Shockingly, I hear very little difference to Victoria's version and the No Angels mix. Could the No Angels version just be a remix of Victoria's unreleased 2000 edition? Controversy! Judge for yourself though...

Anyone who follows pop should know who No Angels are. But did they know that they launched their careers on a cover? Well thats nothing spectacularly new specially when were talking about tv bands where songs are pretty much like used condoms. I wont take that analogy any further than ones mind should do. However what marks out this episode is the fact that Daylight In Your Eyes by No Angels sounded so fresh, so them and so unique. Pick at the skin and one finds that song was originally by a boy and then wound up on a stalled LP already one year old by the time the German Popstar band recorded it.

The song under the guise of No Angels has gone on to be the most successful song by a European product of Popstars with sales over the million mark. It can also claim to be the most global song of any tv pop product. When it was released in February 2001 not even the makers of the band nor probably the girls themselves would have expected Daylight In Your Eyes to do go to no.1 in Europe, Brazil, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Argentina and Switzerland. Going by world charts alone then Daylight In Your Eyes is the biggest single by a girlband since the glory days of Bewitched and Spice Girls. No Angels did release the song in other markets including the UK, New Zealand, U.S and France but commercial success wasnt as huge as it was in Germany. Daylight sold over one million records and became the most successful single of the year in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The German rock band Audiosmog decided to do a rock-ironic cover of the song but rather than being post-pop it actually isnt as bad one might presume. When the macho lads hit the chorus the song really takes off and their version is quite glorious. The rockers probably had no idea that despite their buckets of sarcasm they were actually doing a song that was meant to be sung by men and originally by a rock act. Which of course makes their seemingly comic cover quite brilliant!

So today to get you out of your Christmas blues PopEatsPop offers the rare demo by Paul Mahos, the unreleased "female" original by Victoria, the No Angels smash hit and the Audiosmog cover. Also included are versions of the song by No Angels including the swing interpretation and the unplugged performance. Now I don't mean to brag but not only have you got the original and Victoria cover which are ultra rare in themselves....but also included is the Tony Moran remix of Paul Mahos' Daylight. I think this is too rare to describe so enjoy!

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

I dont know what it is that makes me feel like this.......


Superstar by Christine Milton Original Superstar with unique lyrics and completely copied by Jamelia
Superstar by Roni Duani First cover with eastern influences entrenched deep into its funky stylings
Superstar by Jamelia International hit by someone whose such a superstar she doesnt have a surname!
Superstar by Bianca Ryan 3rd cover by American starlet with completely different lyrics

And now to the second cover that can be neatly sectioned off in four cities: Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Birmingham and Philadelphia. Superstar was written by Danish music maestro Remee/Cutfather/Joe and originally given to Christine Milton. Here is the original Superstar video by Christine:




It was a no.1 in Denmark under the auspices of BMG. Christine then went on to release 2 more singles and expected to take Superstar to the UK as she'd been promised international releasing rights. However something dodgy is allegedly said to have occurred between EMI and its producers who gave Superstar to Jamelia. In this time in Jamelia's career the shit was really hitting the fan. The album bombed and its lead single Bout entered the UK charts at no.37. Her career was over. Even before Superstar was released by Jamelia as a single Christine was already in a tussle as she was having issues bringing the track to Sweden, Australia and Germany. The problem was EMI had bought the international rights to the song under her nose and wanted to use it for their breaching act from Birmingham. When Jamelia released it the song quickly became hers and she scored top positions around the globe. Christine Milton and her record company remain in a bitter legal battle with Cutfather&Joe so I wont say anything on the matter...However her version includes different lyrics and is the best of the two.

Truth is, Jamelia is THIRD singer of the song. Just prior to Jamelia releasing Superstar in September an Israeli singer called Roni had gone to no.1 with the song in July. Roni Duani is a huge 'Britney' type singer who has also covered Excellence, Via Gra, EyeQ and No Angels. She is now servicing in the Israeli national army as it is mandatory there but is planning to release a disco album next year! Her version of the song is the most different of Superstars as its not even in English but should take its rightful place as the first cover of the song. Even if people remember the Christine original they get their facts wrong and cite the Jamelia version as the first cover. Well thats not right is it!?

Roni's version is both electro and acoustic. Its odd like that. It has traces of his parent version by Milton but verges into flourishing sparks of Arabic folk music. Here is her wonderful and probably best video done for Superstar:




You can see shes very pretty and even as an out proud gay man Roni does something to me. You know you would too! Failing that you can always look at the stunning dancers she struts her butt against. As Superstars go, Roni's cover remains the most interesting however its the latest version that completely rearranges the the message the song...

And thats by sweet little Bianca Ryan. All other versions are lyrically about some other person of desire 'that must be some kind of superstar'. However Bianca's is about her and dreams of becoming a superstar. The song might have the same title and chorus but the verses, bridges, middle 8's and couplets are completely different. It also leaves the electro disco traits of its three sisters and pulls out some kind of strange of harmony between rock and funk. Musically then this version of Superstar is the most interesting as it sounds so polished and different to the original. Thats not to mention the odd lyrics and the twist of message.... 'Fancy goals and lots of make-up'. Indeed.

Out of all Superstars Jamelia's turns out to be the most boring and adds nothing really to the original. Some might say that Jamelia simply sung over Christines key melodies, didnt even bother to take off her backing vocals and for this she wins PopEatsPopWhoreof2004! The other covers dare to dream beyond its confines with Bianca Ryan's version winning the award for clearly challenging the original and simply using it as a mere template. So what is there to say about the most famous version? The video is not a patch on Roni's, the vocals don't come anywhere near the original and the production is eclipsed by the latest Ryan cover. So what made it so good? The faux-rnb walking down the street in the video? I can't actually tell! All that can be said is its a product of record company dealings, dodgy meanings and lots of broken promises and caused a many tear to fall.

Today we have all four versions by the four girls. Enjoy

Whatever it takes, swear its true...its pure and simple


Pure And Simple by Girl Thing Original version
Pure And Simple by Hear'Say PopEatsPop cover
Pure And Simple by Bianca Ryan Excellent cover by American "superstar"
Pure And Simple by Hear'Say Rare second recording by the PopStars band
Pure And Simple by Chris Moyles, All Saints & Oasis Quite funny spoof but reveals a real legal issue over the track...


Seeing as I've been away for so long I thought it would be right to make the "comeback" post a bumper edition! This time they have one key PopEatsPop star and thats a little American girl with a huge voice. She goes by Bianca Ryan and she was the star of America's Got Talent which was a sort of spin-off to American Idol. Her album is a database of covers but its her critical PopEatsPop tracks that wins her such a special place in my heart. Much has been made of the PopeatingPop element of Leona's recent version of Kelly Clarkson's 'original' A Moment Like This but I think it would better to focus on better songs used and abused by reality tv contestants/starlets. Can i just add that the song was already recorded by Swedish band Fame and Dutch act Glennis Grace so those comparing Kelly Clarkson to Leona might wanna open the playing field. Why be so Anglo-American? There are other countries in the world!

So lets take the older of songs first: the iconic Pure And Simple. Originally it was given to Girl Thing who'd worked with Alison Clarkson on their first and only album. It was pinned as their saving grace after two flop singles but the record company bottled out and gave the song to an act that was bound to sell.
That act was Hear'say. The girls of Girl Thing were outraged. There were even a few promo singles of the Girl Thing version that actually got played by over-excited Dj's wanting to claim to be the first station to play the new song by the Popstars band. Despite the gigantic sales of the Hear'say record the song writers have recently stated the the original remains to be the better of the two citing the male vocalists, Danny and Noel, as crucial let downs. If you compare the two you can clearly hear what they are talking about. The Girl Thing edition clearly sounds 'right'. I think the song simply, ahem, wasnt meant for male vocals. The boys are just too deep for its brilliant upper register c-notes and classic backing harmonies so much it sounds like they are out of tune. Which they werent. They just couldnt sing a song written for girls.

The sheer PopEatsPop factor of this little moment in pop music history must not be questioned. One record was about to drop only to be withdrawn by a machine that some would say would be the new world order. The Hear'say track zapped out the last dying breath of Girl Thing and is now pretty symbolic for our fascination with celebrity, confusion and delirium. Musicians dont just need the TV to promote their records but must eat the rectums of animals(rather than svengali's) all infront of a public that couldnt quite give a boo about decency. Its a world that allows Jordan to flourish and Jade to release her own scent. The huge success of Pure & Simple can be cited as reason for this wonderful situation were in. It sold 1.3 million in total and 500, 000 in its first week. A record beaten by Will Young's cover of a Westlife album track.

Proving that the song is really made for a female singer is the newest version of the song by Bianca Ryan. Her version teases out the gospel backdrop of the song and makes it sound like a track Mariah Carey would have recorded back when she did songs like Anytime You Need A Friend and My All. Bianca Ryan should not be reckoned with. With some good material and management she could be the next Christina or Mariah which explains the cover of this song. While Hear'says version will go down as the most selling it will be Bianca's that stands the test of time for without any doubt her popeatspop cover leaves the other recordings in tatters....

However one can't really cover Pure & Simple without pointing out the fact that even the original song doesn't sound so original at all. I could wax lyrical about that fact that it sounds like something else in a Popjustice post-ironic way. But I'll let Chris Moyles do it (when he used to be quite a good radio dj). So today there are all three takes on Pure & Simple including one rarer version by Hear'Say that found its way on the flop second album. Enjoy!

Next update later tonight!




Friday, December 22, 2006

Pinkie's things that made his 2006 (yes its a damn list!)



The world of blogs, youtubes and torrents...


They suddenly became interesting when the hegemonic media industry kept on giving us the same old crap. A new order set itself in. Places like Xtube took sex to the streets, Blogger gave us an international voice whilst Youtube allowed us to make silly videos or seek out old pop bands. Myspace however gave us Sandi Thom and torrents allowed us the ability to watch Desperate Housewives 2 years before they were televised in the UK.


Robyn wins the artist of year

What is this girl on? I want it! Now! No other Robyn song sounds the same. She cannot be pinned down, catagorised or generalised. She sells in Sweden but could break out next year in the UK. For this we are relieved. Her London shows upstaged the mediocre attempts of the British indie scene to appear uber. Robyn is fashion. She is iconic. She is post-fashion. She is beyond uber. If NME/Radio 1 refuse airplay of her new singles it is because her boots are to deconstructive for their little minds. Think Cars. Think I Feel Love. Think Light Years. Think I can't get her out of my head


Itsu

Poor old Itsu. Known around the globe for its killer food it became the location of international mystery. The shop that runs along such places the Royal Academy of Art and the Ritz fell under the intense media attention when a particular Russian was poisoned after eating at its Piccadilly branch. It has now been boarded up with a fabulous James Bond type banner and has become a tourist destination. The food wasnt good anyway. Poor mans Yo-Sushi.


Clea/The death of girlbands

The big 'band' story wasnt 5ive returning nor the amazing success of Take That but clear destruction of Clea. In 2006 they released their poptastic Trinity that flopped and ended up being responsible for the loss of their 3rd member Lindsay. They are hemorrhaging members like those Sugababes but without their success. As the two remaining members have vanished 2006 marks the end of the girlband. Yes other blogs might argue otherwise but this year saw the greatest hits of Britains only successful girlbands released with no other all-girlgroup on the horizon to replace them. Mrs.Robinson produced an album that many argued was 'just ok' but like Trinity it barely charted. The All Saints reunion came and went while we were too preoccupied with the reunions of Take That and Five(which still has to come to something). The Pipetts got all the Hoxton crowd back in HMV but it ended up being hype over nothing & those Spice Girls became nothing but a digested flem in the throat of history. Even the comeback of Bananarama turned out to be nothing but a quickie for old times sake. In other countries it would appear that girlbands are doing better. Monrose, the German winners of Popstars, are getting huge album sales with their debut Temptation. PussyCat Dolls, Danity Kane and those Australian Young Divaz also had a good year so all is not lost.


The Death Of Pop Music?

Smash Hits, James Blunt, Top Of The Pops, gothrock win at Eurovision...need i go on?


Key Acts of 2006

-Ann Winsborn for her epic pop album Pink Collar Crime(released 2005)

-Amy Diamond for her excellent second album

-Amy Winehouse for not going to rehab and staying alive for her 2nd album

-Dannii Minogue for Love Fight & Gone

-Dover for their electrorock album Follow The City Lights

-Robyn for her work with Basement Jaxx, KleerUp and Christian Falk

-Christian Falk for his new LP People Say

-The Knife for Silent Shout


Key popblogs of 2006

-The Zapping

-XoLondon

-Tip Top Pop

-DontStopthepop

-SoundsofSweden

-HotStuffFiles

-PopPosterGirl

-DirrtyPop

-ChartRigger

-The EyePod


2007 here we come!

Kylie's new shows+material

Mika!

PopTrashAddicts

Robyn in the UK


The solo music of the Sugababes (put ya money on Heidi, Mutya and Siobhan)

Harry Potter 7

The new Hannibal movie








Thursday, December 21, 2006

Its time to put the voices in ya head to bed

PopEatsPop will be back soon...in the meantime...just ponder on the brilliance of Agnes Carlsson. Yes shes a bit like the recent winner of X Factor but she's not covering old Kelly Clarkson tracks. Instead her new single is an old Clea track. Classy!