Coldplay Attempts to Cover “Billie Jean”

Written by Rizoh. Posted in Gumbo

Published on July 12, 2009 with 38 Comments">38 Comments

Watching Coldplay’s cover of “Billie Jean” made me gain more appreciation for MJ’s prowess as a vocalist. He demonstrated ridiculous range on “Billy Jean” (somewhere in the neighborhood of C-sharp), capped off by that inimitable falsetto. I’ll cut Chris Martin some slack for fumbling the chorus, but why the hell was he bouncing around like he had menstrual cramps?

 

While we’re on the subject, behold one of the greatest music performances of all time, Jackson’s legendary Motown 25 performance of “Billie Jean” in 1983. During the performance, MJ unveiled a dance move that was way ahead of its time and is still a YouTube phenomenon today — the Stanky Leg dance. Skip to 2:03 for evidence.

 

OK, I understand that some of you were still in underoos when Mike rocked Motown 25, so here’s a more recent re-interpretation. LL Cool’s “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” sampled “Billy Jean” to great effect.

Rizoh

Rizoh is the most powerful man in all the lands. He lives in Houston where he earned a BS in Nerf Herding. He's the founder of The Rap Up, the editor of Roc4Life.com, and is in the Grammy-awaiting band Pervertable Disciples.

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  • j6

    Okay I was a big LL fan back in that time frame. Why can’t I remember that ish. I must have purged it from my memory. Kinda like Prince and the Graffiti Bridge “movie”

  • j6

    Okay I was a big LL fan back in that time frame. Why can’t I remember that ish. I must have purged it from my memory. Kinda like Prince and the Graffiti Bridge “movie”

  • rob

    Check out Chris Cornell’s cover of Billy Jean.

    Very cool re-interp.

  • rob

    Check out Chris Cornell’s cover of Billy Jean.

    Very cool re-interp.

  • Pablo

    “one of the greatest music performances” does lip synching count?

  • Pablo

    “one of the greatest music performances” does lip synching count?

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    ^^Lip syncing is actually a common technique in concerts.

  • http://my.rawkus.com/profile/Rizoh Rizoh

    ^^Lip syncing is actually a common technique in concerts.

  • Ricky Choo

    LMAO @ the white chick with the green dress completely out of sync @ 3:21
    how cliché!

  • Ricky Choo

    LMAO @ the white chick with the green dress completely out of sync @ 3:21
    how cliché!

  • Joe

    Coldplay is gay.

  • Joe

    Coldplay is gay.

  • jimmy

    In white people’s defense, the white girl next to her appears to be nailin it hardcore

  • jimmy

    In white people’s defense, the white girl next to her appears to be nailin it hardcore

  • DopeBoyFresh

    btw, Chris Martin is also clearly using Auto-tune (albeit subtly). The shift between pitches is beyond crisp. Pavarotti couldn’t pull that off. And Martin still sucked. I guess that MJ guy did some stuff well…

  • DopeBoyFresh

    btw, Chris Martin is also clearly using Auto-tune (albeit subtly). The shift between pitches is beyond crisp. Pavarotti couldn’t pull that off. And Martin still sucked. I guess that MJ guy did some stuff well…

  • me

    Coldplay blows.

  • me

    Coldplay blows.

  • Mark Dunne

    MJ hardly ever sang live. To that extent, he was a fraud.

  • Mark Dunne

    MJ hardly ever sang live. To that extent, he was a fraud.

  • Anthony C.

    Wow that Coldplay cover was just…awful-good to see MJ’s legendary moment again.

    The Cool J video-I do not remember, but the 2-d animation in it’s great.

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  • Anthony C.

    Wow that Coldplay cover was just…awful-good to see MJ’s legendary moment again.

    The Cool J video-I do not remember, but the 2-d animation in it’s great.

  • Anonymous

    at least Coldplay was actually singing the song, MJ was a total lip sync.

  • Anonymous

    at least Coldplay was actually singing the song, MJ was a total lip sync.

  • drwu87

    @DopeBoyFresh

    You don’t know what you are talking about. I saw Coldplay that night and the night before and there was no auto-tune either night. Chris Martin probably should use auto-tune live but that doesn’t take away the fact that you know little about either artist.

    I respect the band for showing love for one of the world’s greatest performers.

  • drwu87

    @DopeBoyFresh

    You don’t know what you are talking about. I saw Coldplay that night and the night before and there was no auto-tune either night. Chris Martin probably should use auto-tune live but that doesn’t take away the fact that you know little about either artist.

    I respect the band for showing love for one of the world’s greatest performers.

  • greg

    Have you listened to chris cornell billie jean cover on deezer. It kicks ass.

  • greg

    Have you listened to chris cornell billie jean cover on deezer. It kicks ass.

  • peter

    Wow. Coldplay is truly terrible. It’s a disgrace that such a shitty band would butcher such a legendary tune. Hey Coldplay fan: kill yourself!

  • peter

    Wow. Coldplay is truly terrible. It’s a disgrace that such a shitty band would butcher such a legendary tune. Hey Coldplay fan: kill yourself!

  • DopeBoyFresh

    @drwu87

    Notice my use of the word “subtly”. The technicians don’t try to make Martin good, they just make sure he doesn’t a complete ass of himself. Sometimes even that’s not enough.

  • Adi

    Goodness, that’s truely awful. Coldplay really aren’t very good.

  • lmaa

    alarming amount of assholes on this website.
    kill yourselves please.

  • SWMBoy

    Say what you will about Chris Martin’s performance, but at least he wasn’t LYPSYNCHING. I hadn’t watched that Motown 25 clip since i was a kid. Talk about disappointment on that front. Towards the end of the song he started covering his mouth because there were too many layers of focals to mime. I mean, the dancing is great, but man.

  • GayJesus

    I agree that the Motown performance is hardly musical. Great dance routine, though.

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  • Not worth my time, but…

    With many the artists using Auto-tune during live concerts, it is not surprising that when people hear an artist sing wihtout “cheating” using Auto-Tune they thing it sounds like he/she can’t sing. Auto-Tune surfaced around 1996 and it has made music like chain restaurants…reliable, but very forgetable. I can’t sing and appreciate those who can…spare me the artists who are afraid to give me his true sound…imperfections sound real while Auto-Tune homogonizes music. OK, so this is not the best cover, but it is the real thing.

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  • http://www.therapup.com emma

    Say what you want about coldplay , but they have revolutionized music almost as much as mj has. Do you know how many artists have cited coldplay as one of their musical inspirations. A LOT. So whether they suck or not , some music that you really like might not exist (or it’d b a lot different) without coldplay around. Just think about it.

  • DopeBoyFresh

    @drwu87

    Notice my use of the word “subtly”. The technicians don’t try to make Martin good, they just make sure he doesn’t a complete ass of himself. Sometimes even that’s not enough.