It seems "controversy" is the theme for this season's "American Idol." The latest flap involves rocker contestant David Cook and his use of a Beatles song.
On March 11, Cook performed a rock version of the Beatles' song "Eleanor Rigby," winning big points from the judges for his originality. Though, according to Entertainment Weekly, it may not have been so original after all. A Seattle rock band called Doxology released a statement last week saying Cook had used their version of the song, without attributing it to them. They were also taken aback by how the studio version Cook recorded for iTunes sounds similar to theirs.
In their press release, lead singer Luke McPherson insists the band is not looking for royalties from the iTunes recording, but for credit that Cook used their arrangement. McPherson also said: "We just want David Cook and American Idol to do the right thing and acknowledge these facts. It's that simple."
It's quite possible David Cook didn't even know about this group and Fox hasn't responded to the accusations. This comes after many people scolded him for his performance of "Billie Jean" last week, saying it wasn't original either. In that case, though, Ryan Seacrest did announce to the audience that Cook would perform Chris Cornell's version of the song.
Other controversies that have flared up this season on "Idol" include ex-contestant David Hernandez being outed as a former stripper and the revelation that Carly Smithson had already recorded a professional album several years ago. –Chris Sardelli
Perhaps the infinite monkey theorem applies in this case?
In the case of "Billie Jean," Chris Cornell was credited from the outset. With "Eleanor Rigby" David identified two separate influences for the final arrangement, which goes some length towards explaining why they were not credited originally. That said, who the hell cares? Doxology will continue to dwell in utter obscurity as long as their only claim to fame is a not-so-original "cover." Now that they've received their credit they can stop crying into their beer and go back to practicing in their basement.
These are all jealous people who bash on great performers because they are getting the spotlight. Somebody always has to bash someone else.
-- 1. Posted by: JoeMo at April 2, 2008 10:32 AM