8 January 2025 - Agnetha Faltskog - Vart ska min kärlek föra

Maybe I'm trying to send a message that we're still working over here. 

Maybe I just love this song. 

Maybe I love the novelty of Agnetha from ABBA recording a Swedish version of the song.  

Don't judge me. 

8 January 2025 - 뮤지컬스타] 정선아 - I Don't Know How to Love Him (어떻게 사랑하나)

THREE posts on a dead blog?

I told you.  Totally Covered isn't dead.   

And Jeong Sun-ah is a Korean actress who is best known for her part in Wicked (she played Glinda) and Chicago (Velma Kelly), but she also played Mary Magdelene in the 2012 Korean production of Jesus Christ Superstar. 

And yeah, the song still gives me goosebumps in Korean. 

8 January 2025 - Melanie C - I Don't Know How to Love Him

Many of you are wondering - wait, this blog was completely dead, and now you're posting two in one day?

A few of you are wondering why the hell I'm posting Sporty Spice. 

Because, guys, this is Sporty Spice.  The best Spice.  I will die on that hill.  

Now, this 2012 performance (for Red Nose Day, I believe) got mixed reviews, mostly on wardrobe.  Mary Magdelene should be dressed more modestly - but I give it a positive one.  She sang the hell out of the song, and sincerely paid attention to the tone shift as the song goes on.   Note the 3:00 minute part when she takes off her makeup. 

Also, it was a rock opera in 2012, not a post-hippie musical from 1971, so settle down, people.  

Also, "I've had so many men before, in very many ways" is literally a line in the song. Modestly?  Modestly?! 

Lest you think this was a one-off.

It wasn't.  She was part of a television show called Superstar that was tasked with casting Jesus in a 2012 revival, and she played the part in a touring version of the show for more than a year. The song was legit a Top 20 hit on the UK Indie Chart!

This was a big deal. 

Here is her original performance from Superstar. 

8 January 2025 - Sara Bareilles - I Don't Know How to Love Him

From the NBC television version of Jesus Christ Superstar, featuring Sara Barielles as Mary Magdelene, who is, in my opinion, one of the star characters of the musical - and Judas is absolutely the other.

Yvonne Elliman, who originated the role of Mary Magdelene on Broadway and also starred in the 1973 movie version of the musical, is a fan of this version, so you should be as well.   

7 January 2025 - Soccer Mommy - Wide Open Spaces

Yes, the Wicked Guilty Pleasures post was ABSOLUTELY an excuse to post this.  This cover is even heavier on the twang than the Chicks' version.  (Chicks's?  We never know which is right).   Also, Sophie Allison's quiet delivery of Susan Gibson's words and music resonates in a manner arguably deeper than Natalie Maines's performance did. 

Happy 2025.  Expect more Soccer Mommy this year.