Oh dear. It’s just too easy to be mean. Where do I start? The fact I couldn’t tell who was Mariah Carey and who was Justin Bieber; Bieber’s awful ad libs, and his annoying pronunciation of words (“Christ-mass”, “mizzletoe”); the attempt at scatting at the beginning; the constant, irritating melisma; the vocoder; Mariah’s whistle notes; or the fact that she was stupid enough to have another crack at a classic.
Don’t get me wrong — I have a complete soft spot for the 90s original. But I ask myself, why? Why would you reinvent something that was already so successful in the first place?
The whole premise of the video seems to be based on the fact that all Bieber and Carey want for “Christ-mass” is each other. If you can suspend your disbelief then you may be able to enjoy Carey frolicking creakily around in a red velveteen number, and Bieber doing funny little poses on a podium which might have been acceptable if he was a credible rapper… but unfortunately he isn’t. If that doesn’t please you, then at the very least you can enjoy Bieber’s red leather/tartan/sheepskin jacket.
You can see the awkward interactions, blatant product placement and dollar signs in their eyes here.
I already hate myself for listening to this over and over again to write this review.
Rating: 2/10
6 Comments
I agree entirely.
When people cover songs… I try not to compare them too much to the original… but in this case… it might have well have been Bieber singing over the original mp3 in a recording studio then adding some harder drums (cause that’s what music has to be like these days).
It’s especially redundant considering that this song always gets back into the charts each Christmas (because it’s so good), so there is no market for a copy of it.
If the original didn’t exist I’d give it a 5, maybe 6.
I agree, there’s always the argument of original vs cover, and what the actual ‘original’ is…but in this case it just seemed more like a money making opportunity than a cover!
I agree that the cover was pointless, because not only does the original 1994 version resurface every Christmas, but Mariah actually re-recorded and re-released it in 2010, so doing it in 2011 is pretty aimless. Bieber has his fans though, and I’m sure millions of people love this. I personally think it’s interesting, because I like the addition of male vocals to the song, and I think Bieber does an okay job (despite hating him).
I think you raise a really interesting point Andre: just because millions of people love something, does it make it good?
No, of course not!
Grandma and a Twinkie duets, what can be more annoying this Christmas.