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This is not controversy.SOTR is like 70 years old and has been redone 1000's of times.And, shockingly, all the versions sound very similar.
Hi Jane!
I just read an article on CNN.com that says Katharine McPhee just signed a record deal with Clive Davis and they plan to release two singles at the end of this month, one of them being "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
Naturally, I have issue with this. I can already expect it to be the same version and performance as was presented on American Idol. She's already copied your interpretation and version almost exactly note for note. So with that anticipation, how exactly can we expect this to work out? Are they going to give you credit for copying you, or have they even contacted you in any fashion? I think it's dishonest and misleading not to credit you for your beautiful and unique verstion of that song.
I'm curious to fing out what will happen, but in a situation like this, one must give credit where credit is do.This guy doesn't know what he's talking about. Note for note? Not nearly! At least it seems he referred to "they" and not Kat, herself, but that's my only positive thought here. Has this guy even heard Kat's version?P.S. I checked out this guy's MySpace, and it appears he's a part time stage actor, and singing "is his passion." He also works in child welfare research...Not a bad person, but he shouldn't jump to conclusions.This one also upset me, not for what the poster says about Jane, but the sly little mention of Kat.
Hi Jane's myspace again!
First and foremost, you and I both know that "Over the Rainbow" belongs to one person, and one person only-- that'd be JUDY. Now, with that in mind, I am fiercely "protective" of Over the Rainbow, and I do not normally like listening to other people singing her song. But the very first time I heard you sing, I heard Over the Rainbow, and more importantly, the recording of when you were a little kid singing it. Even at such a young age, you had it. You had the very idea of the song, the words, and their meanings. You were not, and have not been just singing pretty notes, with dreams and bluebird wording, like so many do (i.e. McPhee a la AI). Though others' versions sound "pretty" or melodical, they don't "get it". YOU get it, Jane. And I think, more so than any arrangement, that's really the key. If you notice, through the years, Judy's arrangements and stylings of the song changed because her interpretation changed. She sang her heart through that song more than any other song she sang. I think out of all the other performers who have attempted to sing it, that you have been able to connect with Judy's idea of the song and reach down deep into the music and bring out the brains, the courage, and overall- the heart of it. Before Judy it was just Harold's music and Yip's words on paper, Judy brought it to life, and you- in my opinion- keep it there. It's not a place you can get to by a boat, or a train.. it's far far away.. behind the moon, beyond the rain.. and you've found it. As a Kat fan, I obviously disagree with her dismissing of her version as "not getting it." I heard and still hear pain the Kat's first two renditions of the song. Kat "gets it." Yes, with a song like this, there will naturally be a feeling of whimsy, but that's why it's such a timeless song, for it perfectly melds the fantasy aspect with reality, and when Kat sings it, I get a feeling that "over the rainbow" is a dreamworld that the singer deludes herself into thinking she'll be but knows in her heart she'll never be. Kat captures this beautifully. I'm also a bit upset on behalf of the Eva Cassidy version. Again, though a little sleep-inducing for me, if one hears that and gets a feeling of "pretty notes and bluebirds," then they're not really listening.