Jon Bon Jovi horrifies fans with ‘Fairytale of New York’ cover: ‘My day is ruined’
One listener called the American singer’s rendition ‘horror beyond imagination’
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Your support makes all the difference.Listeners have roasted Jon Bon Jovi over his cover of The Pogues' “Fairytale of New York”, which is being dubbed “much worse than you could imagine”.
On Monday (7 December), the singer-songwriter announced the release of his new holiday album A Jon Bon Jovi Christmas in a short video he shared on Twitter.
Bon Jovi accompanied the clip with a caption declaring the album “an early gift from me to you”.
The album includes three festive covers including Tom Petty’s “Christmas All Over Again” and Elvis Presley’s “If I Get Home On Christmas Day”, but it is the musician’s rendition of The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” that has fans riled up.
The cover has received less than favourable reviews on Twitter, where one user wrote: “2020 has been pretty terrible, but nothing comes close to how terrible Bon Jovi’s version [of] ‘Fairytale of New York’ is.”
A second called the cover “horror beyond imagination”. While another commented: “If you think YOU’RE having a bad day, listen to Jon Bon Jovi duetting with HIMSELF on ‘Fairytale of New York’.”
Others echoed the same sentiment in regards to Bon Jovi’s decision to sing both parts of the famous call-and-response duet by Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan.
“Jon Bon Jovi’s version of ‘Fairytale of New York’ is much, much worse than you could imagine – not least because he took on both roles himself,” commented one listener.
One user said “with no exaggeration whatsoever, that my day is ruined” after they listened to the cover.
“Fairytale of New York” continues to rank in Britain’s favourite Christmas songs of all time. However, in recent years the track has been mired in controversy over its use of the word “f****t” in its lyrics.
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In his own cover, Bon Jovi chose to omit the slurs “f****t” and “slut” entirely. Instead, the singer has penned his own lyrics for the verse, such as: “You’re a squirrel ‘cause you’re nuts / You’re a kick in the gut.”
This year, BBC Radio 1's decision to broadcast a censored version of the song attracted criticism from people including Nick Cave who said the amendment “mutilated” the song.
Addressing the decision, The Pogues retweeted a post by journalist Harrison Brock stating: “This is all I’m gonna say on it for the whole year: the word itself being in ‘Fairytale of New York’ doesn’t bother or offend me.
“But straight people being so angry & outraged at its removal and literally fighting and arguing for the right to sing it bothers me deeply.”
The Irish-punk band appear to agree with Brock, having shared his post accompanied by the caption: “This.”
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