Idol's David Archuleta Stumps Our Resident Pop Music Nerd
Hey, so you know how on Idol they're off the whole Lennon/McCartney thing and now onto songs released during the contestants' year of birth? God, that made some of us feel real old last night. Anyway, this from MTV News' Gil Kaufman, who lives in Ohio and not in New York:
They pay me to do a lot of things here at MTV, one of which is to be a walking encyclopedia of music. What was the name of that horrible Britney ballad with the black-and-white video that began her descent into madness ("Someday (I Will Understand)")? How about the drummer who used to be in Maroon 5? Right, Ryan Dusick. I swear I knew both of those without even checking Google.
So, I had to admit I was a bit thrown off last night when "American Idol" front-runner David Archuleta began singing a song from the year of his birth, 1990, that didn’t ring a bell. At all. Not even the chorus. I can honestly say I’d never heard it, and considering I used to, literally, read and practically memorize the Billboard top 10 charts, I feared I was slippin’.
Turns out the tune is called “You’re the Voice” and it is from an album called River of Love from acclaimed producer David Foster, featuring a vocalist I’ve also never, ever heard of, Jeff Pescetto. Even better, it was originally sung in 1986 by an Australian guy named John Farnham, who, yes, I’ve also never heard of, but who was apparently one of the biggest rocks stars of the '70s and early-'80s down under, best known for, yes, his hit covers of songs by Three Dog Night and David Cassidy. Now, I’m not saying I know it all, but if a guy whose only job is to know as much about popular music as possible can’t even place your song selection, you’ve got problems.
I have no idea what little Archie tried to clear, but here are some other songs from the year of his birth that might have, you know, resonated a little bit more: “Nothing Compares 2 U” (bonus points for Sinead O’Connor covering the Prince composition), "Hold On” (Wilson Phillips), “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You” (Michael Bolton), and “More than Words Can Say” (Alias).
I'm just sayin'.
