Readers of this b-to-the-l-to-the-o-to-the-g (not to mention a certain vlog) know I have an ongoing obsession with all things Fergie. "Glamorous" ranks in the top 3 most played tracks on my iPod, I keep checking Billboard to see when "Big Girls Don’t Cry" will crack the top 50, and I may be the only person in America who wasn’t amused by Alanis Morissette’s "My Humps" parody. But sometimes, even the people we love get spinach in their teeth, and we have to tell them.
Fergie, you have spinach in your teeth.
And by spinach, I mean the carbon-copy cover of Heart’s "Barracuda" you recorded for the Shrek the Third soundtrack. (Click here to judge for yourself.) Your every intonation is so completely in sync with Ann Wilson’s original, that for a split second, I wondered if you recorded during a particularly serious night at a karaoke bar, or if perhaps AOL Music had goofed and posted a remastered edition of Heart’s ’70s classic. Yes, your voice is strong and clear, Fergie, but as the judges on American Idol always say, "You’ve got to make it your own!" Or, as my colleague Annie Barrett said to me after we finished rocking out to your version in my office (yeah, there was some head-banging going on, if you must know), "If Heart’s version didn’t exist, and I heard this, I’d enjoy it. But since that’s not the case, it makes you wonder why the Shrek folks didn’t just go with the real thing." Now (and I say this with love), go floss your teeth.
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So . . . recording a faithful version of “Barracuda” is the equivalent of having spinach in your teeth? Then what’s the equivalent of peeing your pants onstage?
I think Heart’s (Ann Wilson) version is much better, vocally.
“it makes you wonder why the Shrek folks didn’t just go with the real thing”. Well, they did go with the cover version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” in first installment, so there’s your precedent. Maybe they want to appeal to younger audiences who don’t know Heart and think Leonard Cohen is the brother of Seth Cohen. (And just for the record, choosing the cover of a Leonard Cohen song over the original is the equivalent of peeing your pants onstage – if that answers your question.)
I grew up watching Fergie sing her little heart out on Kids Inc, and so when all her songs came out and she was rapping/talking, I was like, what are you doing? I know you can sing!This cover may not be all that original, but it brought a smile to my face. I was like, THIS is more like it!
Fergie is useless, laughable.
Heart’s original is a classic–no remakes needed.
I am not sure how this song can be arranged to fit Ferg’s vocal range because Ann Wilson wailed the song into a true classic.
If you’re going to spell like Fergie, you need to spell words wrong.
I’ve never heard the original version, so I can’t compare. However, I did enjoy hearing Fergie’s version. She’s actually got a nice voice! It’s good to hear her sing an atual song, rather than these forced rhymes and spelling out words when she and her “writing” team were too lazy to come up with actual lyrics. She really belted it out!
Braniac, listen to the original, you’ll hear that she did nothing but copy the original. For a second I thought it was the original with a little updating.
PJ’s right. The song is basically a copy of a Heart song that did not need to be redone. Ann Wilson’s vocals gave more of an emotional quality to the song, and Fergie’s version lacks the kind of passion that Heart’s version had.
Shoot, who knew Fergie could sing?
This is by far the best I’ve heard from Fergie. But, the original Heart version is so much better. And I own it already.
All I can say is why???? It’s dull and boring not even close to Anne’s vocals – I’m sad.
She destroyed that song…Fergie sucks!!!!
She destroyed that song…Fergie sucks!!!!
what mike said.
I like the Ferg but like you said, this is just karaoke. She should’ve brought Will.I.Am in and put some funk in the heart!
Punalicious!
You weren’t amused by Alanis’ version? Did you simply find it not that funny or were you actually personally offended? Either way, I am unhappy with the result.
Fergie should have updated her remake by spelling K to da A-R-A-O-K-E….
Is there a link to the original song? Is it available on iTunes? Judging by the posts, the original seems great, it would be nice to hear it.
I actually found the Alanis parody very amusing! I’m not a big Fergie fan, but even her fans could probably find humour in it. I read somewhere (I know you can’t believe everything you read) that Fergie herself enjoyed it.
“…it makes you wonder why the Shrek folks didn’t just go with the real thing…”
…ummm, is there some question about the reletive marketability of Fergie versus Heart in 2007?
Seriously, where’s the push for “Big Girls Don’t Cry”? Her peeps shoulda been aaaall over promoting that song the minute it hit “Idol”.
I find Fergie truly repugnant. The fact that anyone wastes one dime on this skank absolutely floors me.
I have not heard her version of the song, and I will even avoid the movie to keep it that way.
Carbon-copies are the worst; that’s why no one liked the new ‘Psycho.’ If you want to hear an “original” cover (if that makes sense) of this song, check out Rasputina’s version: cellos and drums! (on iTunes)
Why is she singing? why is she famous? why are we talking about her? I can go on all day…
Man, you people! There is absolutely nothing wrong with this version of Barracuda. Fergie has pipes, go figure. And Slezak, this ain’t AI….it’s Shrek.
Critics. UGH!
Ever since she peed her pants on stage I can’t help but think of Fergie as pathetic~
MeME, the only pipes Fergie has are the pipes that got put inside of her by music executives and producers. She wouldn’t even have a career if she hadn’t slept around. She is a talentless waste.
Regarding the relative marketability of Fergie vs. Heart, please keep in mind that Heart’s original version found new life on the “Charlie’s Angels” soundtrack.