Gwyneth Paltrow's 'lazy' 'Over the Rainbow' cover
The Oscar winner and a "Glee" star take on Judy Garland's standard... and commentators are far from impressed
Gwyneth Paltrow, who seems to garner more publicity these days for her music than she does for her movie roles, has teamed up with Glee star Matthew Morrison to cover the classic "Over The Rainbow." (Listen to the audio at Entertainment Weekly.) Morrison, who has rocketed to stardom playing Will Schuester on Fox's hit musical comedy, has sung with Paltrow before on Glee — the two once even shared an onscreen kiss (though rumors of a real-life romance have been shot down). Does their new duet generate any electricity?
There is nothing original about it: "I suppose you can't really judge" the song on such a short clip, says Lainey Gossip. "But there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of difference" between this cover and "the version that the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was so well known for." Covers are supposed to break new ground, and when a "sound is SO associated with a particular artist," it strikes me as "lazy" to "front like you're somehow making it fresh."
"Preview listen of Matthew Morrison and Gwyneth Paltrow 'Over the Rainbow'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
And it is just dull: This song is "about as unoffensive as you can get without crossing over into nursery rhyme territory," says Becky Bain at Idolator. If anything, this version is "even more easy listening" than the Kamakawiwo'ole version. This wouldn't be such a negative if Morrison's other recent single, "Summer Rain," weren't also so "sappy."
"Matthew Morrison and Gwyneth Paltrow get cheesy on 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'"
This is so, so awful... but it could be worse: Paltrow "is like a PG-rated funhouse mirror of pop culture," says Drew Grant at Salon. "Hold her up to anything," and you get an "antiseptic, safe-for-work result that is at best entirely unsatisfying, and at worst, a slap in the face to the source material." But Garland's original version of "Over the Rainbow" is already "pretty saccharine," so there's only so much damage Paltrow can do.
"When terrible is fine: Gwyneth sings 'Over the Rainbow' on Glee"
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Assad's fall upends the Captagon drug empire
Multi-billion-dollar drug network sustained former Syrian regime
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The key financial dates to prepare for in 2025
The Explainer Discover the main money milestones that may affect you in the new year
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published
-
Sudoku medium: December 19, 2024
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published