J. Holiday “Oh Shelia (Ready For The World Cover)”
As great of a jam as Ready For The World’s 1985 No. 1 “Oh Shelia” is, you got to admit that the song is a bit of a joke, from the faux-Australian-accented spoken intro (“Like I always say/ What’s good for the goose is always good for the camera”) and goofy “Dee-da-dee-da-lee”/ “Dee-da-dee-da-loo” self-edit, to the fact that the entire cut plays like a Prince spoof, down to the melodramatic orgasm hiccups/ moans and The Time-mimicking nimble funk swing.
So what would be the point in covering the tune, if one isn’t also trying to bring the camp that makes it so great? (Remember, there’s a reason why this has become a long-time karaoke fave for half-sloshed participants.)
R&B thug crooner J. Holiday’s remake (from his new M.I.A. – The Lost Pages mixtape) is a respectable straight-forward attempt with a pretty nice ’90′s house party-friendly R&B groove as it’s backing, but it’s far more resigned than “Oh Shelia” ever needs to be.
If you want that damn Shelia to get her act together the right way Holiday, you gotta give her (and us) the silly accent interjections and at least one “I wanna do naughty things to you” nympho grunt (preferably, with your hair whipped out into an extra-shimmery Jheri Curl).
Pick up the rest of M.I.A. – The Lost Pages at DatPiff.
