Sondre Lerche “Countdown (Beyonce Cover)”
With most of the appeal of Beyonce’s fan & crit-beloved 4 single “Countdown” lying in Be’s superwoman diva vocals and a thrillingly frenetic production that makes a fine modern pop-soul mess out of old-school Boyz II Men shout-outs, dizzying horn cycles, marching band percussion and bits of dancehall trickle, having the song stripped down into a sleepy coffeehouse acoustic form might not read as all that necessary on paper…
…that is, until one has given an ear to this early Xmas gift of a remake by elfin Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche, who, armed with nothing but a guitar, brilliantly proves the worth of “Countdown”‘s sweet praise of monogamy sans big-budget/ superstar gloss.
Also, dude deserves some sort of prize for expertly wading his way through all of the song’s many wordy, hip hop-speak lyrical hooks without ever really falling into Corny-ville.
Well played, Mr. Lerche, well played.
