Top 5 Dramatic Readings Of Pop Songs, From “Baby” To “Poker Face”

Becky Bain | February 16, 2011 4:37 pm

We’re assuming James Earl Jones stopped by the Gayle King’s talk show this morning to promote his new Broadway play, Driving Miss Daisy. But since nothing is anything nowadays without some Justin Bieber in it, Gayle somehow convinced the lauded actor to read aloud the lyrics to Bieber’s “Baby.” It’s about as funny as you think it would be — but was it the funniest ever? Hop below for our 5 favorite dramatic line readings of songs by Bieber, Gaga, Rihanna and more.

IDOLATOR’S TOP 5 DRAMATIC READINGS OF POP SONGS

#5 – Justin Bieber’s “Baby”, as dramatically read by James Earl Jones. Darth Vader saying lines like “Are we an item? Girl, quit playin'” in his best Maya Angelou impression? We’re sold.

#4 – Rihanna’s “Umbrella”, as dramatically read by William Shatner Okay, so this is almost four years too late to be relevant, and yet Bill Shatner was on Conan this past Monday giving a dramatic reading of Rihanna’s 2007 hit. Still, saying “Umbrella-ella-ella” without any music would make us giggle even if it wasn’t Captain Kirk.

#3 – The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night”, as dramatically read by Peter Sellers The 60s-era movie star turns The Beatles’ pop ditty into a classical monologue.

#2 – Ke$ha’s “TiK ToK”, as dramatically read (and analyzed) by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon While reciting various passages of Ms. K-Dolla’s ubiquitous tune, Muldoon compares Ke$ha’s lyrics to King Lear, and interprets the message of the song to be about a boat in China. Really.

#1 – Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face”, as dramatically read by Jude Law This may as well be a soliloquy from The Cherry Orchard. Jude makes Gaga’s incoherent muffin-bluffin’ sound like pure poetry. Jude could recite the alphabet and we’d melt into a pool of absolute bliss.