Hayley Williams And Jared Leto Celebrate Lady Gaga’s Birthday With “Bad Romance” Covers

Becky Bain | March 29, 2010 10:49 am

Birthday girl Lady Gaga must be really feeling the love this week, especially since other musicians are sending their personal b-day presents to the singer in the form of covering her biggest hits. (Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, after all.) Paramore’s Hayley Williams uploaded a twitvid of her singing “Bad Romance”, accompanying herself on piano, and 30 Seconds to Mars recorded a darker rock version of the hit song at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge. Listen to both covers after the jump, and we’ll prepare you by saying that one is the perfect b-day gift to bring joy to Gaga’s heart, and the other one should come with a return receipt.

Hayley Williams – “Bad Romance”

It’s nice to hear how truly great Hayley’s voice is without loud rock riffs covering it up. And with that indifferent expression on her face throughout the whole video, you have to wonder just how easy it is for her to knock a song out of the park while barely even trying.

We, uh, wish we could say the same thing about 30 Seconds to Mars’ cover of “Bad Romance”, which sounds like it was recorded for a Halloween sound effects CD.

Way, way, way too angsty and tortured for our liking. Jared Leto’s screechy vocals add nothing to this track, in fact—remember when American Idol‘s Todrick Hall pulled apart Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” so much so that it didn’t even sound like the same song? We’ve got the same problem here. “Bad Romance” should never, we repeat never, performed in a minor key.

The good news is, it’s the thought that counts, and we’re sure Gaga appreciates the sentiment (even if we don’t).