Airi L is a female vocalist who had a hit in the UK with a pre-release cover version of "When Love Takes Over" by David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland. Airi L's version got to 22 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]
The release of this track prompted the rush release of the original version of the track. EMI Music called Airi L's version "inferior" and decided to combat her cover by releasing Guetta's version on 11 June 2009, earlier than originally planned.[2] The cover debuted and peaked at number twenty-two, selling 12,000 copies whilst Guetta and Rowland's version debuted at number seven with 25,000 copies.[2][3] According to Yahoo! Music's James Masterton, Rowland's version would have debuted at a higher place had it not been for the "bootleg cover". He said the single had to be rush released "when not one but two spoiler (and indeed near-identical) cover versions started to race up the iTunes rankings and threatened to have a negatively impact on the 'official' version."[4] The following week Guetta's version peaked at number one, whereas the Airi L cover fell to 177.[5]
The Airi L cover of "When Love Takes Over" was one of many cover versions released as downloads under the "Power Music Workout" umbrella. Airi L has recorded cover versions of various other tracks including "All Dressed in Love", "Boyfriend", "Confessions of a Broken Heart (Daughter to Father)", "I Will Survive", "No Air", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", "On The Radio", "Rhythm Is A Dancer", "Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It)" and "Spotlight".[5]
References
- ^ "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Everyhit.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ a b Lindvall, Helienne (18 June 2009). "Behind the music: Can artists stop people from covering their songs?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ Cardew, Ben (16 June 2009). "When Love Takes Over the singles chart". Music Week. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
- ^ "Chart Watch UK". Yahoo!. 20 June 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ a b Charts Plus issue 409