Song Review: "Hallelujah" by Alexandra Burke

The winner of the popular British talent competition The X Factor has been chosen, and thankfully, the public chose the best contestant, Alexandra Burke.

Burke has a smolder in her voice that I haven't heard since the days of Toni Braxton. As seen in her performances, she's an extremely versatile performer who could virtually sing anything.

Still, it should come to the surprise of no one that instead of capitalizing on her abilities, the producers gave the future pop star a cliched song to serve as her coronation single.

Let me make myself clear here; Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" is not cliche at all. In fact, it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my entire life. What is cliche is why they chose the song. The song's title and message is easy to sell in the crucially lucrative Christmas market. The song choice feels extremely insincere, which is very sad since Buckley's version is brilliant because of the singer's heartbreaking sincerity. It's almost like they're robbing his memory somehow.

Let me preface this by saying that Alexandra Burke is an absolutely brilliant singer who should definitely follow Leona onto massive global success. That said, her version of "Hallelujah" misses the original intention completely. The tenderness and sensitivity that made Buckley's version so ethereal is completely absent in her rendition. The arrangement and her voice are to blame for that; both are so strong and powerful that it turns the song into an exhibition of bombast. By the time the song hits its crescendo and the unnecessary choir is thrown in, you can't help but slightly, ever so slightly, roll your eyes just a bit. Her voice does sound phenomenal, but it doesn't quite fit. The vocal delivery should be passionate, but also tender and sweet. It's a shame, but her voice kind of takes away from the lyrics of the song. It's very possible that if the arrangement was screwed up changed, that her voice could've delivered it, but the song's continual build forces her voice to build with it, regardless of the song.

To her credit, there are some wonderful sounding moments on this song, particularly in the ill-advised final chorus. The tone of her voice is beautiful, and the power notes she hits are affecting. If you were to ignore what she was saying, it sounds perfect. Unfortunately for the X Factor winner, Buckley's version will always be waiting in the wings, and the comparisons are practically guaranteed. The musical purists will decry her version as an assault on his memory and claim that its another example of the music competition's ineptitude.

Whether or not all of that's true, one thing is for certain. The public should be proud of voting an amazing singer and a genuinely nice girl through to pop stardom. While her first single may not be up to par (and the blame should be solely laid on Cowell's shoulders), it shouldn't stop her from being the global success that the world is waiting for her to be.

Rating: 6/10