Welcome to Games 13 and 14 of the Ultimate Pop Song Tournament!
These games are CLOSED. (GO HERE FOR OPEN GAMES)
To see the complete bracket, just go here. For info on how we chose the songs and everything else Tournament-related, go here.
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Prepare for a face-off between two of the biggest power ballads of the 90s and two killer tunes from the 80s.
Game 13 (Deep Feelings Division)
“Nothing Compares 2 U” (Sinead O’Connor) v. “I Will Always Love You” (Whitney Houston)
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3. “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Sinead O’Connor)
A celebrity who didn’t know how to play the game, Sinead O’Connor torched her career with Pope-rippings and National Anthem-refusings, never realizing that her protests (however justified) needed to be packaged correctly in order to resonate the way she wanted them to. No matter how terrible it got, however, her public image could not tarnish the insistent genius of her music. She’s recorded at least 20 brilliant songs, and they’re ably represented by this soul-shredding interpretation of a Prince ballad. That sound you hear in O’Connor’s voice? Actual pain. That noise you hear in the background? Producer Nellee Hooper’s perfect drum loops, which lend texture to her broken heart. That doctor who told Sinead she’d better try have fun no matter what she did? A fool. The fool. — Mark
14. “I Will Always Love You” (Whitney Houston)
If I’d hosted this tournament in 1993, I couldn’t have put Whitney’s Monster Ballad on the list. I’d heard those lung-busting notes a billion times. I’d been in an Algebra class where we spontaneously sang the chorus as a group. I needed a damn break. But 18 years is long enough, thank you, and now I can hear the track for what it is: The perfect vessel for Houston’s pre-crack voice, which sang the shit out of notes until your head exploded with amazement or fear. — Mark
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Game 14 (Deep Feelings Division)
“We Belong” (Pat Benatar) v. “Lost In Your Eyes” (Debbie Gibson)
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6. “We Belong” (Pat Benatar)
A few years ago, I saw Pat Benatar in concert, and she sang all of her old hits except “We Belong.” I KNOW, RIGHT?!?! The only justification I can imagine is that the children’s choir she hired got salmonella at a local buffet, and she knew it was pointless to attempt this song without the assistance of 40 moppets in robes. Because otherwise, what sane person would miss the chance to deliver a song so melodically satisfying? So filled with odd-yet-evocative lyrics like “have we become a habit/do we distort the facts?” I’d argue this one is too good to be called cheesy. It’s just grand. – Mark
11. “Lost In Your Eyes” (Debbie Gibson)
Look here, people: Debbie “Deborah” Gibson wrote her own damn material, and she she wrote and produced “Lost in Your Eyes” when she was still a teenager. That makes me feel inferior, since at nineteen, my crowning creative achievement was an impression of Maya Angelou I did for my college improv troupe. But I get over my shame by letting this song wash me away. There’s a charming sincerity here that is all the more poignant when compared to the knowing sexuality of the teen queens who inherited Gibson’s crown. Sure, that also dates the song… but can’t we take four minutes to revisit a simpler time of Blossom hats and cool denim jackets? — Mark
22 responses so far ↓
1 Sadie // Jul 27, 2011 at 4:09 am
Insomniac voting ….
Whitney. “Please don’t cry”
Pat.
Although combined, these are very obsessive love songs, huh? If someone puts these together for you on a mixtape, run!
2 Pat // Jul 27, 2011 at 7:11 am
Game 14 broke my heart. So hard to choose, as I love them both so much!
3 Danny // Jul 27, 2011 at 9:14 am
Is there some deep-seated affection for “Nothing Compares 2U” that I just don’t know about? I was blown away to see it whomping a classic like “I Will Always Love You” (with only 41 votes so far, to be fair). Sure, it’s overdone, but I thought it had enough historical weight to at least make it through round one. I’d never heard the Sinead song before today, and giving it a first listen without any previous attachment to it… it’s fine? I guess? Kind of haunting and a little boring. But doesn’t sound like anything special to me. [/potential blasphemy]
4 Dan Turner // Jul 27, 2011 at 9:16 am
I’m just going to say:
Sinead was right; Whitney is wrong.
AND
Pat can still sing. Go see her.
5 Maggie // Jul 27, 2011 at 9:48 am
These were easier for me. “I Will Always Love You,” and I’m sad it’s getting its ass kicked right now.
Also, I love Debbie Gibson, but no song in the tournament has me grabbing the hairbrush and belting along like “We Belong.”
6 Alison // Jul 27, 2011 at 9:56 am
No no, Mark, not “Lost in your eyes”. “Foolish Beat” FTW! I was totally obsessed with that song when I was ten.
Also: Sinead. Forever.
7 jessica // Jul 27, 2011 at 10:10 am
I will stick to my indefensible position that Whitney Houston doesn’t understand that song at all, thank you very much. She sings it with all this uplifting power and joyfulness and … that completely loses me, I’m sorry. Listen to Dolly’s version (my personal favorite is from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas but WHATEVER), and you’ll get the absolute perfect amount of heartbreak, sacrifice, and obligation mixed with regret.
8 Joslyn // Jul 27, 2011 at 10:22 am
As promised, I made up for my vote against “9 to 5″ by voting here for the Dolly Parton-penned “I Will Always Love You”. I have a deeply irrational hatred for “Nothing Compares 2 U” – this might be wrong, but I recall it beating out “Vogue” for all the song-of-the-year honors when it was released and “Vogue” was my JAM, so, yeah, sorry Sinead.
And while I think “We Belong” is probably the better song, and totally deserving of the win, I had to throw a vote to Debbie Gibson. Somewhere out there exists a photo of me in ripped jeans with a smiley face drawn on my exposed knee.
9 Mark Blankenship // Jul 27, 2011 at 10:33 am
Hi Danny… If you weren’t listening to the radio in 1990, when Sinead really broke out, then you probably missed the window when she was, like, destroying people with her voice. For a while there, she was held up as the next great singer of our time, and if it weren’t for her reckless politics, she probably could’ve stayed at that level of respect for years. I was caught right up in the Sinead maelstrom, so I have personal attachments to “Nothing Compares,” but objectively speaking, I also just admire it. Prince’s songwriting, Sinead’s vocal… they’re incredible. I’d encourage you to dig around YouTube and pull up some other Sinead songs like “The Last Day of Our Acquaintance,” “Fire On Babylon,” “No Man’s Woman,” and “Black Boys on Mopeds:” They showcase a singer of amazing gifts with a unique flair for songwriting in her own right.
And to everyone in general… I love hearing the various reasons that we’re voting for things (or not voting for them.) I’m voting for Sinead because I feel spiritually obligated too.
10 Christy Baker // Jul 27, 2011 at 10:42 am
I have to tell you, I am kind of devastated by how badly Debbie is getting trampled in this one. By the way, she and Tiffany are supposed to be embarking on a co-headlining tour this year or next. I think I need a date, Mr. Blankenship.
11 Mark Blankenship // Jul 27, 2011 at 10:49 am
A Debbie/Tiffany concert would be worth any amount of money.
12 Danny // Jul 27, 2011 at 10:57 am
Thanks for the history, Mark. Though I still don’t really get the song, I understand that music works best in context (and reading her Wiki page, it’s clear what an international mark this song was able to make).
Also… she crazy! That SNL performance! I guess Sinead was just a cultural blind spot for me (I was 3, okay?), but glad to learn something new today.
13 Mark Blankenship // Jul 27, 2011 at 11:01 am
Danny, you don’t remember being three?!?!? But seriously… no worries. I actually didn’t know a few songs in this tournament until Nick and Joe suggested them, and now, I’m rapidly falling for them. (That includes the Pet Shop Boys song, btw.)
14 Merediddy // Jul 27, 2011 at 12:02 pm
How dare you insult Pat Benatar by pitting her against that no – talent hack Debbie Gibson. I hope she wipes the floor with Deb! (Please take this in the in no way serious spirit in which it was intended)
15 Jeff C // Jul 27, 2011 at 2:24 pm
I Will Always Love You should probably count as two Dolly Parton songs, but I digress. How Will I Know is the best pop song Whitney ever sang, followed up by her unsurpassed version of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV (the only version of the anthem to make the Billboard Top 20). I still voted for Whitney here, though.
Confession: Debbie Gibson was my 4th grade crush, all the way. Loved seeing her make a cameo in the video for “Last Friday Night (TGIF)”. I prefer Out of the Blue, but I had to vote for Lost in Your Eyes here, out of lost innocence.
16 Guy Lodge // Jul 27, 2011 at 3:00 pm
I’m impressed and a little surprised that Sinead is winning this one so comfortably. I’d never have pictured myself voting against “I Will Always Love You” in a female-ballad-vocal duel, but you somehow picked the one track that makes me do just that. Sorry, Whitney — you’re still astonishing, but I just can’t say no to the hurt Sinead is serving up here.
17 missquiss // Jul 27, 2011 at 3:02 pm
God, I love Sinead. For the record, Prince does a live version with Rosie Gaines that is also phenomenal. That man is a genius.
18 John Ramos // Jul 27, 2011 at 4:13 pm
That’s the version that’s on Prince’s greatest hits, isn’t it? Both versions are amazing, honestly.
I find the “We Belong” video to be HILARIOUSLY incongruous with the lyrics of the (great) song, but that’s a discussion for another day.
19 Mark Blankenship // Jul 27, 2011 at 4:34 pm
Oh my God, John, the “We Belong” video. The lime green gloves.
20 Kitty // Jul 27, 2011 at 5:37 pm
I’m with Jessica, I’ve never liked the Whitney Houston version of IWALY because she doesn’t sing it with the right kind of emotion. Nothing is conveyed other than a sort of joyful wistfulness expressed with big notes. No.
This song will ALWAYS be about the sorrow, gratitude, and resigned love that Dolly Parton felt for Porter Wagoner. Any version of Dolly singing it will always be superior to any cover. So my vote goes to Sinead. “Nothing Compares 2 U” came out my sophomore year in college and I can still remember the first time I heard the song and saw the video. I had only known O’Connor for “I Want Your (Hands On Me)” and never realized how pretty she was or how special her voice could be.
As far as the other race in this bracket, it’s “We Belong” all the way. I was surprised actually not to see “Only In My Dreams” by la Gibson in the Joy Bomb division as her 1 song entry. “Lost In Your Eyes” never did much for me.
Funny you should mention feeling inferior; Debbie and I are the same age and I remember when “Electric Youth” broke as her first hit, finding out her age and that she wrote all of her stuff. I WAS SO JEALOUS.
Speaking of jealousy, I’m going to see Deb(orah) Gibson and Tiffany in concert together in Chicago on August 13. Don’t hate.
21 Jessica // Jul 27, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Nothing Compares 2 U vs. I Will Always Love You: This is horrible…Some of these first round match-ups are killing…I gotta go with Whitney. Her voice is so pure and beautiful.
‘We Belong’ vs. ‘Lost in Your Eyes’: Pat Benatar
22 john b // Jul 28, 2011 at 10:16 am
If it would’ve been Dolly vs Sinead, this would’ve been hard. As it is, no contest. Pure beautiful authenticity versus the party-trick “see how many notes I can sing in a single word!” trilling that Whitney pioneered, and which ruined soul music for a generation.
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