Don’t ask me how with the hundreds of videos I’ve already watched, but I’d never heard Conchita Wurst sing ‘I’ll Be There‘ until today.
And, if the lovely Ms. Wurst hadn’t added a video of the song to a playlist on her channel a few hours ago causing it to pop up in my YouTube feed, I wouldn’t have heard it then either (Thank you, Conchita!). So, now that I have heard it and loved it, can I just say, “Holy Moley, Ms Wurst. You’re spectacular“.
‘I’ll Be There’, of course, was originally sung and released by The Jackson 5 in 1970, and was a massive hit at the time.
Conchita’s version was sung during the Austrian TV singing contest Die Grosse Chance. Which leaves me wondering even more now than I did before, how the HELL did she not win that?
The most famous cover of the song, however, was the 1992 version sung by Mariah Carey and, yes, it was beautifully done.
But……after listening to both Conchita Wurst’s cover of ‘I’ll Be There’ and the one from Mariah today, in my opinion Conchita’s version would be very difficult to top. By anyone.
That’s because it’s the less polished feel of her performance that makes it so good, the lower key she sings it in that rocks this song, and the pure raw emotion in Conchita’s voice and face that make it so powerful.
In fact, if this is not the best cover of any song Conchita Wurst has ever done, I would be very surprised. (And, yes, love, I am being completely honest when I say that).