Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" cover by Amanda Palmer (live)

[eponinesyndrome]

amazing.

[RayRayOfficial]

she's crap.

[springman23]

Why does everyone who covers the song sing it slower?It is an energic song and it sounds much better if you guys sing it so..

[idontam]

Crimen Sollicitationis

[BilliamXWeckett]

I was there at the show and everyone had this look on their faces that said "We've lost someone great, but we are still in this together". It was amazing to be there for that. Not one person didn't have tears in their eyes. Thanks for posting this.

[VulpesScabiosa]

though i'm not that of a devoted mj fanboy i really do appreciate the artistic value of his songs and his influence and impact he did have on today's popular culture. still this very special by afp is just so absolutely thrilling i can hardly describe it. don't know why every little thing she does is just so bloody awesome. brilliant piece here and great tribute to mj.

[CarojinWarrior]

It was very courageous to do this song at the time that she did, when everyone was SO sensitive to MJ covers, because apparently MJ was the only artist licensed to make music T__T

I think she did great, and I'm not a particular fan of either of them.

[ILoveYouOmerBhatti]

<3 . love mj

[ker246]

That piano intro is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for posting this video!!

[oddkryjmniem]

The way she performed the music makes me proud. Wow, she's a real artist!

[99minerkc]

3/5 She's an average artist!

[SimohammeD007]

thank you for posting that , but why you didn't delete the introduction ?? is so long

[DoktorMochaXYZ]

@SimohammeD007 I posted two versions. This is the long one, for Amanda Palmer completists and it captures how she felt about MJ, and why she even put this cover together, which is of interest to AFP devotees, but I'll admit probably not to anyone else. Also the description contains a link that takes you almost to the start of the song. The other version I posted is just the song.

[Merve256]

Mj died at my birthday

25th June :(

I like this cover

[CharisC22]

Po chuj ona pierdoli 2 minuty ?

[00sprayedmax]

WHY must she curse....damn hippies from cali

[Johnny123456789x]

What is the song she begins at the end of the video?

[leanmeanjellybean]

shores of california

[DoktorMochaXYZ]

@Johnny123456789x It's "Shores of California" - there's a cool official video for that song that you can probably find online

[duck97]

I remember seeing her perform this song that night, and I just got goosebumps all over again.

the best part of the night was that I was a few seats away from Neil Gaiman on the balcony, and I remember just watching him while Amanda was singing, and I could tell how much he loved her. It was just beautiful.

[PorcelainLies]

Shores of California! =]

[LufflesMrMercury]

One of those performances you watch and you don't realize until the end that you've been holding your breath the whole time...wow, is correct. <3 Thanks for posting this!

[Mellovixen]

lol I like when she is done, some guy just says "wow", that is very true, wow, very beautiful

[cheriebedee]

ah my gosh... that gives me goosebumps....

Amanda does the best covers...

[terriblezodin]

yer me too, MJ's version don't even do that

[dnordstrom]

Wow, another beautiful version of one of my favorite songs by MJ. Great.

[Mellovixen]

Beautiful

[Juniorlopes02]

T.T

da até vontade chorar

[PreciousPingu]

it wasn't that bad...

[higgledipiggle]

i dont think she's a good singer but a great pianist :)

[linrocksyou]

I agree. I don't like her voice much, but her piano playing is good. But anyway MJ did a much better job. OBVIOUSLY. Her boyfriend Neil Gaiman is here in town though, I'm so excited to see him! :D

[ElitNinja]

save yourself time and jump to 2:05

[Tommy36xr]

Tnx

[tributevocalist]

Billie Jean should be the song they play on the Maury Povich show whenever a guy turns out to not be the father tested lol

[smackheadbrolli]

lol why's that?

[tributevocalist]

'cause the song's about a woman who pins a kid on the narrator of the song :D

[happykebap]

dont miss

/watch?v=Fy3GqJCihbc

[URbloodMYfist]

wow really moving.........

[betweenthebarsxo]

this is beautiful!

[penguinlover456]

wow, great

[Fentman34]

As a devoted MJ fan of 33 years who believes Billie Jean is the greatest song EVER (period), I love what she did with this version. And it only shows just how brilliant the song actually is on so many levels. It is a drama set to music and comes with the greatest single performance piece ever, as well. I'll put MJ performaing this live in concert up against any other artist in history.

[EmanuelaBellezza]

You sound great girl!!

[thamantii]

the people in the back ground who don't know the version she's doing are making this video terrible...im sure her version with noone else singing is awesome but, nevertheless it is ruined by fans =(

[rdyramos]

She gave the song a nice dramatic twist. Well done, now how do i find it in Itunes.

[girlsorrow]

This is brilliant. It should be on her agenda to record and release officially. I think it's the most brilliant cover I have ever heard...I shit you not.

[morgenschweis]

Merci Amanda LOVEVA

[LisaGloriaArt]

fer sure fersure.

[RocketMan81]

great version .. well done!!!

[Hulkster4EverDK]

Beautifull Version :)

[juro45]

AMANDA - amazing artist

[iamontheline]

great

[whowroteholden]

So pretty :(

[CrazyKen54]

man this sucked.

[z0mbiexgir1]

This is a very interesting take on the song, so melancholy, but I like it. I would like another version with better audio quality.

[Marcjonatas]

sorry, but ugly, in spite you had tried be your better.

[OSUBuckly]

Too bad we have to hear that douche in the crowd sing along with her. Lame.

[feanor]

skip the boring shit 2:07

[hawianiceman420]

she looks and sounds like a dike sometimes

[maggie49]

possibly because she IS a dyke, sometimes. Grow up.

[feliponsh]

this is so AWESOME, amanda is so fucking talented xD! i love her, and this is a very good cover you know :B

[bekassine]

wow... i just got goosebumps all over my body... fantastic cover!

[aftereffects]

Wow this is really very good.

[MaraAviada]

DoktorMochaXYZ, I really want to thank you for uploading this...for giving us here the possibility to see and hear this stirringly beautiful version of the song. This is the real, passionate tribute.

It sets my teeth on edge.

[damonlaw]

Great riff on a good song. Love your take on it. Sanguine and respectful. Thank you.

[Cameronx]

Amanda is so good. So easy to make this song sound tacky but she seemed to give it a darker edge.

Love the more info notes too. Thanks for posting.

[poo01122]

I've never heard Billie Jean sound so melancholy.

It's beautiful.

[DliveMB]

Great cover!... found this site too if anyone is interested.

voted for my favorite MJ songs... still can't believe he's gone. RIP Mike.

songvote*com/michael-jackson

[xHollyArcherx]

Utterly unexpected. Gorgeous.

Long live the punk cabaret. <3

[kksquared]

She's Amanda Palmer, probably more commonly known for being in The Dresden Dolls... Coin-Operated Boy? Ring a bell?

[RndR12]

dont like it i thnk u killed his music

[c2bed]

I love love love Amanda. :D

[scheme102]

damn! she never fucking started playing the damn song!!

[cesca11076]

haha the combo is really good! although hard to line up...

[shinaemaze]

Another fabulous cover by a fabulous singer!

[TeskoVirgo]

I'm glad I wasn't there. Hearing this cover while being in the presence of a divine trifecta like AFP, Neil Gaiman AND Weird Al... I think my head would've exploded.

[CrazedPeeling]

this is really cool.

[raynbow105]

love you amanda...

[dasever]

Amazing!

[JPPT1974]

More Michael tributes are far, far from over. Expect more for a long time.

[holmessss672]

phenomenal.

[lurkist]

Awesome how you can faintly hear the crowd saying he words.

[jularella]

Slow beat..not bad...awesome video though.

[trallala]

The song starts at 2:05.

I gotta say though, if you can't spend two minutes to listen to a musician talk about a recently departed inspiration, I don't see why you're even on youtube at all.

[Mattyc]

Fantastic cover

[Amadnesss]

I think this is very haunting and powerful..a great tribute to Michael.

[blatantblithe]

This is way better than I thought it would be, I really like it!

[vessyvoowoo]

I think some people are forgetting the fact that Amanda did not do this to be great...she even admitted it was not all that great. She did it to show her espect for MJ and to remember him! so stop having a go at her. Much respect to you Amanda *hugs*

[EffinPiss]

This cover is fucking ridiculously insane. Wow, I had no idea she could make this song so.. so serious, so tragic. Bravo, Amanda. [:

[InspectorHound2]

Like a Tori Amos cover, in the best sense. Heartfelt and ominous; like most good covers (c.f. Johnny Cash doing Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt"), it finds something different in the song that is nonetheless true to its spirt.

[Scientific1]

I know this won't be popular here, but this might be the worst fucking cover of a Michael Jackson song I have EVER heard. I'm sure she's good at what she does...just not this.

[hbobrien]

You're right, that's not likely to be popular. Mostly because you're making two claims: You don't like this version, and she's not good "at what she does."

The first -- fine, everyone has different tastes. But the second... sorry, there is superior musicianship, craft, and passion being shown here.

Schönberg drives me crazy. Ornette Coleman drives me crazy. But it would never occur to me to say they're not good *as musicians*.

[robcat2075]

EVER? You mean ever and ever and ever and ever and ever? EVER? Where have you been? Keep listening to covers of Michael Jackson songs. Truly ghastly ones are out there.

[EffinPiss]

Well, I completely disagree.  This is the best cover of Billie Jean I have ever heard.

[nigress]

She let me kiss her! My life is complete.

[PurePearl]

Ah! Me too! Wasn't it amazing?!

[ricvdb]

fantastic!

[nubbinyall38]

damn! nice

[gaelyia]

Wow indeed. This was beautiful.

[arsenic447]

Simply Incredible!! Would love to have this in my iPod

[phil3636]

paste the video URL into FILE 2 HD DOT COME, click video, download the video, open in quicktime, export sound only then import into itunes.

[arsenic447]

You Sir, Are fucking awesome!

[brethizzle]

fucking love this, so happy that i was there just feet way!

[DaveO15]

Ya should be.

[TheDudeLordOfFantasy]

i love the

"wow"

[alanrosenbach]

I was at the Troubador that night. The emotion was palpable.  How do you put that together in 20 minutes?

[the7ss]

Spot on Amanda! Cheers to the King...

[pbsjones]

Brilliant. My favorite part, though, was in the gap where her last note trailed off and before the clap of applause, you could here some guy say, "Wow." My sentiments, exactly.

[DoktorMochaXYZ]

From "some guy", why thankyou, I work on my wow-timing daily and that night it really paid off. Seriously, I had no idea what she was going to do when I'd heard that she was going to cover a Michael Jackson song during the set - and I have to say, not being a big MJ fan, I was worried that I'd be the one guy in a room full of lovers that would be the hater. Was not to be. Found it profoundly moving. Hence the wow, came unbidden from my mouth at the end.

[nigress]

Damn right, wow.

I am the one who shouted "yeah!" at the beginning!

Amanda makes us blurt thing out. All part of her divine plan.

[superchilangopunk]

damn, Amanda is so god damn talented!!!!

[lythianda]

absolutely awesome

[adrock5151]

I was there last night, she did a great job! My friend said she wouldn't cover A Michael jackson song, I said she would. I won!!

[Pollllypocket]

Just :0000000

so glad she did a cover, its a shame he had to die for her to do one :| :(

waahh

amazingamazing!:D:D:D

[corpsechild]

Very haunting, considering. Amanda Fucking Palmer !

[nicocoer]

All the hair on my arms stood up. I love it. I hope that we hear it again. . .

[blackmoon719]

Holy crap that was so fucking awesome!!!! You should do a studio version of this song.

[silly2jilly]

Jeez Amanda tweeting..

I love how she's so.. just brilliant.

She's such a gifted artist.

[defunkttt]

brilliant! amanda, you MUST record a studio version of this.

[gypsygurla]

Great Job on this!

[angiegirl770]

Fucking Amazing!

[HldMeCloserTonyDanza]

she's so amazing.

[Linn8379]

Thanks a for posting

[br33zyPWNZz]

Amanda Palmer's amazinggg. I should have been there. But I thought the show was the 30th =[

[Caseyjarryn]

wow! that was beautiful!

[pppmntpati]

Fucking awesome!

[bunnykin]

Bravo well done!

[SourLullabies]

Wow. Glad to see a good quality video is up, thanks for posting.

[dumdidav]

thanks for capturing this! and for posting! really!

[shinytoygunrunner]

this was AMAZING... a night to remember!

[taintmansion]

Awesome, she said on twitter she would be covering this in tribute, I'm glad someone caught it on video.

[angie24angie]

Thank you for posting this. Very beautiful and haunting.