cover me this

When I first heard Dermot from X-Factor say that Leona Lewis was performing her next single 'Run', covering Snow Patrol's classic rock anthem, my first words were fuck. Ten seconds in the song I was drawn into a beautiful melody that I found difficult to get out of, throughout the course of the song it just got louder and better and for that reason I instantly fell in love with it.

It looks like she'll be number 1 in the English charts this Sunday, and fair play, it's a good vocal cover and it gives Snow Patrol a small Christmas bonus.

So while we're talking covers-I'll give you my top ten covers in reverse order. Feel free to differ.

10-"You Keep Me Hangin' On"-Kim Wilde (originally by The Supremes)
There's a reason why this topped the chart twice in the States.

9-"Walk This Way"-Run-D.M.C feat Aerosmith (originally by Aerosmith)
The combination of rap and rock brought Aerosmith back into recognition and outlined the importance of rap to us all.

8-"I Will Always Love You"-Whitney Houston (originally by Dolly Parton)
5 years ago this would of being higher but it has become dated to me-still a classic but as dated as the original.

7-"Baby One More Time..."-Travis (originally by Britney Spears)
The original is still an all time favourite of mine, however I like what this cover represents, not only is the song a good pop song, it's also a good song in every way possible.

6-"Stop Me"-Mark Ronson (originally by The Smiths)
Never liked The Smiths, this song made me question why.

5-"Hallelujah"-Jeff Buckley (originally by Leonard Cohen)
It's just seven minutes of pure magic in my eyes and did you hear it may be the x-factor song for Christmas-that's when the song will be added to the worst cover list.

4-"Comfortably Numb"-Scissor Sisters (originally by Pink Floyd)
Listened to the original and got bored within the first ten seconds, never got bored of their version and thats why it's on my list so high.

3-"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"-Elton John (originally by The Beatles)
It's just a good cover, that's all.

2-"Respect"-Aretha Franklin (originally by Otis Redding)
Always respected her but never a fan of her music. However this song is so good, I almost feel bad not liking her stuff.

1-"Nothing Compares 2 U"-Sinead O'Connor (originally by Prince)
Everything about Sinead's version is just perfect, she made it her own. Prince did a duet with The Family and it's just not good. It's properly my favourite song of all time, so its really no surprise it's my no.1 cover song.

icon?

I adore Britney Spears. At first it was the delight of seeing her new video on MTV every 3 hours (how times have changed), to see what she was going do next either a magazine cover or performance. Yes it may have being mimed but it was still damn good. Look back at the earlier MTV music awards performances and tell me they don't have some credibility.

I know things began to take a slippery slope but it made me love her even more. She became my Madonna, my Micheal Jackson, all of whom have had their share of mistakes but still hold their crowns firmly. Although I screamed at the annoyance and disappointment of her doing something stupid again, i was engrossed! Her presence on my computer was never put on hold, even though i was angry with her. I could never quite stop reading in hope that it would get better, that she would get better!

You could say I became one of her children. Many may rise their brow at such a statement. However you must think about what I'm about to say. When I say children, I speak of fans. Fans an extremely important factor to any artist and no one can deny the shit us Britney fans had to put up with, in the last three years. No other fans would put up with it, maybe with the exception of Madonna. Britney fans are more than your normal 'boyband tag along' fans, we stay for the long haul. For that reason I'd never question her legacy. She has kept her army of fans and they're the only ones that matter in the end of day. People who diss her aren't going to buy her albums, it's the people who stick by her who will. You may claim that she'll never sell as much as she use too, but no artist will ever sell the amount that were sold back then, times have changed, music has changed.

I feel I'm beginning drift off the point. The bottom line is and you haters better learn to accept this, Britney is an icon. She's an icon because she has survived. She delivered the goods, kept giving and ten years later she's still giving. We seen her dark days, the media would not let you forget it but she's back. Maybe not to her peak but you have to remember it was only this January that she was strapped to a stretcher been brought to hospital for an psychiatric illness. What she has achieved so far this year is astonishing. She has told us that she, "goes through life like a karate kid". To me that defines her as icon. Why? After all she achieved, to have fallen so far from the top and get back up to reclaim her title so gracefully, she has proven she can kiss ass-wouldn't you consider that iconic?