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Blogocentric Formulations #836001 added December 12, 2014 at 11:51am
Restrictions: None
Last Christmas, I Gave You My Heart
** Image ID #2014892 Unavailable **
"Last Christmas"
by Jimmy Eat World
I know this is probably shocking given my love for pretty much anything 80s, but I genuinely like the Jimmy Eat World version of this song better than the 1984 original from Wham! super-duo George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.  Still, the music video for the original  is by far the best video version and I highly recommend it to anyone who can appreciate the finer things in life, such as coiffed hair, overused soft focus, and lingering sultry/creepy glances at the camera from George Michael. The video also features Spandau Ballet bassist Martin Kemp, model Kathy Hill, and a clean-shaven George Michael, which is actually his last filmed appearance without facial hair, as he grew a beard for the video of "Everything She Wants" and has maintained it since then. Come on, you know you want to check it out... 
I also wanted to include this version from Ariana Grande because I found it while I was researching this song and it's kind of growing on me. I think she has a gorgeous voice; the song is a little too over-produced and synthesized for it to replace Jimmy Eat World as my favorite, but it's a new and decent version of the song nonetheless.
There are plenty of other versions of this song if you don't like these three though. Covers have been recorded by everyone from pop "stars" Hilary Duff and Ashley Tisdale (separately) to German dance music trio Cascada. What I particularly love about this song is that it's an original from the past few decades. I get so tired of hearing the same covers of the same songs that have been around forever; I really respect when an artist has the courage to record a completely new holiday song... you know, kind of like Mariah Carey did with "All I Want For Christmas (Is You)." I'm also awed by the fact that Jimmy Eat World released their cover of "Last Christmas" as a 2001 single that was a follow-up to their hit album Bleed American... and that the B-side of this single was, of all things, a cover of "Firestarter" by The Prodigy.  If you aren't familiar with that song, I highly recommend checking out the Jimmy Eat World cover and then listening to the electronica/synthpunk original version to fully appreciate how bizarre the choice was, not just to cover the song but to include it as a B-side to a Christmas song. 
Wham!'s version of "Last Christmas" actually ended up as the runner-up during the prestigious "Christmas #1" race on the UK Singles Chart. Despite its second-place finish, the single sold over a million copies making it the most successful non-#1 song in the history of that UK Singles Chart. It's also the bestselling single in Japan to have never entered the Top 10 on their music charts... and has placed on the German singles chart every year since 1997. I guess the Germans really love George Michael!
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