Leona Lewis – Run
IMHO there are three types of cover version.
The first and best is where an artist comes across a good but typically unloved song and sprinkles a little magic on it, turning it into something amazing. 
On occasion the transformation is so good that the song becomes indelibly sealed in our hearts forever.
Johnny Cash’s verson of NIN’s Hurt is a perfect example of this.
NIN gave it brilliant lyrics and a quirky body but ultimately it was dingy, tuneless and dark. Johnny’s version retained the darkness but gave it a living soul.
Then there’s the second type – which bands like Girls Aloud do with such aplomb. They take mediocre songs that nobody really gives a shit about, tweak them a little, then release them as mediocre cover versions that nobody really gives a shit about. 
This is a wise move if you’re in the teeny-bopper business. Girls Aloud have gone to great lenghts not to mess with any song that the parents of their fanbase might take offence to. This ensures that when little Sophie asks for the new Grils Aloud album as a stocking filler the parent won’t object to buying it.
Good move, good management.
Finally there is the worst kind. The kind that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up in rage. The kind that I would happily kill because of. The kind that proves Simon Cowell knows nothing about music – just packaging, marketing & money.
This brings us to Leona Lewis’s version of Snow Patrol’s Run – one of the finest singles of the last decade. On Cowell’s advice the singer, with a proboscis to shame any self respecting anteater, agreed to do something that in musical terms is so unforgivable that the little credibility she had is now gone forever and a similar fate awaits her recording career.
Lewis’s catastrophic decision to mess with near perfection is living proof that she too is guilty of not caring about the music – only the fame & fortune. She is now rightly regarded by music affectionados, teenagers & desperate housewife’s worldwide with utter contempt.
It’s an interesting fact that her version of Run was the fastest selling digital release of all time until people actually heard the song – stopping the downloads dead in their tracks.
Leona – please do us all a favour – Run!
Below is Run as it should be heard (not the best video in the history of the world – but one of the best tunes).
Or you could listen to the words of the lead songwriter himself …..
Gary Lightbody has called chart-topper Leona Lewis “the next Whitney” after her success with his song Run.
“She obviously studied the song and thought long and hard about how to interpret it,” said Gary. “She’s stripped it to its bare core. I think she sounds absolutely phenomenal.
“I’m not a big fan of shows like The X-Factor, but when talent like this comes along, I can’t slate it. She’s going to be around in 20 years. She’s the next Whitney. She takes my breath away.”
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The song didn’t arise out of Cowell but the Radio 1 Live Lounge where all artists are asked to perform a contemporary cover. Snow Patrol themselves covered Elbow’s iconic “One Day Like This” recently and now it’s on their latest single.
orr leona iz crying her gay little eyes owt or bless
orr leona iz crying her gay little eyes owt or bless……
i love girls aloud because they ar the best
” She`s the next Whitney “. Cant wait, f##cked up crack head with Her boyfriend/girlfriend prising turtles out of Her butt. Will the Functioning Alcoholic be getting a Video Exclusive and Interview of this constipatial historic event?. I find that when I`ve had to much Gin n`Crack, syrup of figs is more useful than a dessert spoon.
Yes
Quoted elsewhere is…
“…initially we we’re caught up in the buzz of a high profile re-release of one of our old songs but, in hindsight, it probably wasn’t the wisest of moves. I hadn’t really considered what our fans might make of it. I agree it’s bland and has lost its integrity. Hopefully it will quickly be forgotton.”
Good on ya Rebecca. Nice to see you’ve got an opinion.