there's sometimes this tendency in song covers on youtube where a male singer will change male pronouns in a song into female pronouns (usually the song is a song about x person's feelings towards male y and vice versa for girls). am i the only one who gets only slightly bothered by it? i only ask cause sometimes it really throws off lines of a song..
I don't know, it doesn't really bother me. I guess people choose to cover the song because it means something to them or they can relate to it so I suppose they adapt it a little to suit their own situation. But you're right, it really throws you off if you're trying to sing along.
I believe they do that just because they don't want to sound gay. It's a tad annoying at times, but I'm not saying that singers can't do that and that they MUST be gay. It's just bothersome how it does throw off the song- you're right on that ._.
Yes! It annoys me so much, I'm glad I'm not alone, haha. Just use the original gender please! It throws it off so much to change it. I usually just end up turning off covers that do that.
Yep, I wouldn't say it destroys the song, but everything that isn't covered the way it was made is a great turn off for me, auto tune included. If you don't want to sound gay on youtube, then don't be so insecure about it. Good singers are also good interpreters, so they can portray whatever type of character the music asks for. One of my favorite singers is an open lesbian who, since she's an interpreter, sings compositions from other people. She has pretended to be in love with a man tons of times, and beautifully. I'm not a professional singers, but if I was I would make sure all music I wrote was gender neutral.
At first, it bothered me too. However, I think it's fair that someone sings a song according to how it's relevant to him/her. I mean, I wouldn't expect singers who sing songs that refer to them to use the wrong pronoun. I definitely wouldn't mind if a gay guy sang a love song and changed all the shes/hers to hes/hims. To each his own. Whatever helps him/her connect with the song better.
It doesn't bother me. The way I see it, people cover songs to, in a way, make it their own expression. In the same way, you don't listen to remixes because you want it to sound the same way it did on the radio. If you want it to sound like the original, just listen to the original version. Then again, I listen to a lot of classical music. Most of the time, there is no definitive version. A composition will usually have many different variations and arrangements for different instruments or even genres. To me, even vocals are just another instrument. Even when its the original singer, you want it to be a little different when you hear them live. Else, they might as well be lip syncing.
A good cover is one where an artist puts there own spin on it - if they just clone the original then what is the point (Prime Example : A1's cover of Take On Me)? Part of that is often amending the lyrics to make them more relevant to the singer or simply bringing them up to date.
I don't think it's bad...it's probably just something personal. Think about it like this - if a guy is doing a cover of a song ... On youtube...that probably says "I want this guy...I want to be with him" then it's probably going to be sung by a girl and that guy is probably pretty confidant to be doing so.
The White Stripes' cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene is a really good example of a cover which doesnt try to change up the genders. Even though its a very beautiful and sad song either way, with White Stripes I think a male voice makes it a much more painful song. With Parton its a woman begging her man not to leave her for a more beautiful woman. And she lists some of the was that she cant compare to this other woman's (Jolene) beauty. With Jack White, it sounds more like a gay man worried that his man is going to leave him just for a beautiful woman in general. And the bit with "I cannot compete with you Jolene" just comes off a lot stronger.... well to me at least, I have a bias of course Im sure. Dolly Parton's Version The White Stripes' Version
I neither care when they change it or keep them the same. That White Stripes cover of Jolene is excellent by the way.
