4 February 2010
2009 had been a febrile year for The X Factor in the UK, but it provided a thrilling TV moment when John and Edward (to use their competition name) showed the correct amount of disrespect to Queen by their performance of ‘Under Pressure’ mashed up with its protégé ‘Ice Ice Baby’. Sure, Jedward surfed a certain amount of ironic grace and favour in the public vote, but their sheer energy and enthusiasm, plus an admirable steeliness and genuine likeability, were undeniable fun – and shouldn’t there be room in pop for fun? The opposition movement to the X Factor winner’s single that Christmas should really have rowed in behind a Jedward single; it would have made more sense. But then, the first casualties of the 2009 rage against the machine were fun and sense.
Perhaps because the normcore music industry ecosystem was still too bemused to spring into action, Jedward’s debut single, a studio version of ‘Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)’, doesn’t emerge until the new year, a couple of months after their X Factor elimination. Unfortunately, the studio version can’t do justice to that glorious live X Factor moment. For one thing, Jedward running free in the wild has a space-cadet exuberance that glosses over the odd slip or stumble, but Jedward under glass is less forgiving of their best-effort approach to tune and rhythm. Also, for the single it was deemed necessary to co-opt the OG himself, Vanilla Ice, and his sour gruffness curdles all the joy. Ice is back only as stunt casting to make up momentum lost by not releasing this as a Jedward single at their prime-time TV peak. So, the single leaves me cold; the Ice-free X Factor version is the performance of record.
The bitter winter winds of financial crisis meant that Ireland in early 2010 needed escapism and someone to pick up national team morale. Still, setting aside the pop economics to focus on the pop culture, there’s enough of the intangible Jedwardian mania in ‘Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)’ to account for why it went to number one in Ireland three separate times in the space of five weeks – and they’ll have another two chart-topping singles the following year. Deadly!
