Jade Ewen (right) has released “It’s My Time”, the UK’s entry for Eurovision 2009 and the British version of “No Boundaries”, the American Idol season eight song co-written by Kara DioGuardi (left)
American Idol winners’ singles have never been known for their Grammy worthiness, but it reached a whole new low with “No Boundaries”,co-written by fourth judge Kara DioGuardi. The song will go down in AI history for having the most clichéd lyrics and for being so lacking a melody that it made both Adam Lambert and Kris Allen sound bad live.
Just as I thought that I found one of the worst TV-related singles ever (as much as it sucks, it can’t be the worst song ever), I was corrected when I stumbled upon “It’s My Time” by Jade Ewen.
The song was the United Kingdom’s entry in the annual Eurovision Song Contest, written by Broadway legend Andrew Lloyd Webber and songwriting queen Diane Warren. The song came in fifth place, but it was the country’s best showing since 2002, so it was still a success.
Well, not really.
“It’s My Time” is a terrible song. I mean terrible, and this is coming from someone who loves an overblown pop ballad. Lyrically, it could pass an American Idol coronation song, with its lyrics about climbing past adversity to reach the spotlight. While the concept has been wrung to death, never before has it sounded so boring. First off, the title is repeated about a hundred times, as if we’re going to forget that it is “her time”, even though we want to. Although to its credit, without the repetition, we wouldn’t know where the chorus was, since the song’s structure is so scattered and unfocused. Another problem is it’s production. While Andrew Lloyd Webber has produced some of the most beloved music in theater, pop is a genre he should definitely steer clear from. It’s over-the-top, melismatic arrangement may sound rich, but its ultimately exhausting and annoying.
Jade Ewen is a good singer, but it’s not really hard to imagine someone else singing this song even better. Still, she happens to be the best part of this dramatic snoozefest. She’s very convincing as she sings this drivel, as if she really believes that this is her moment in the sun.
If only that were true. “It’s My Time”, after its physical release, peaking at flop-worthy #27, well below Eurovision’s winner, Norway’s Alexander Rybak at #10.
It seems like the British people came to their senses about this track, but how on Earth did this place fifth in Eurovision? Similarly, how did the Idol allow “No Boundaries” to be recorded?
Finally, when it comes to contests such as those, why on Earth is the worst of pop music presented?
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