There once was a demo song;
in the studio, it all went wrong.
The Man said to "fix it!"
Production went and mixed it,
although it was good all along.
A demo, live, or one-off version of a song being preferred by fans to its studio counterpart is a tale as old as time. Here are five songs — chosen by your friendly neighborhood babs — that are examples of this. Add more to the comments!
~ ~ ~
"I'm not gonna listen to what the past says, I've been waiting up all night /
Take another drag, turn me to ashes / Ready for another lie?"
Lana Del Rey has always been open about her love for Britney Spears, even once admitting that, "there is something about Britney that [has always] compelled" her. Lana's album Born To Die had a lot of Britney's musical influence, and 'Diet Mountain Dew' is one track that evolved with that influence. Its original form, however, had a more dramatic sound which, arguably, suited the bittersweet lyrics more than the catchy beat in the finalized edit.
ғᴏᴜʀ. Part of Your World from Disney's The Little Mermaid (Reprise)
"I don't know when, I don't know how, but I know something's starting right now /
Watch and you'll see / Someday, I'll be part of your world"
If you thought you were going to get a list of Lana Del Rey's demos and only Lana Del Rey's demos here, you'd be dead wrong, sonny boy. This collection wouldn't be complete without an original Disney track. Ariel sings about her wants and desires in 'Part of Your World', nearly dwelling on what could be. Interestingly, the more well-known track never says part of your world - rather, she sings part of that world. 'Your' world doesn't come until the reprise version of the song, which explores a more ambitious and encouraged Ariel. The track's prelude climbs as high as Ariel has at this point in the film and it stays there. The tune retains that naive, fresh optimism and finishes off with an epic explosion of desire. If there was ever character development in a set of songs, this is it.
ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ. Don't Dream It's Over by Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande (Cover)
"You're an angel, Ariana Grande"
The original, by Crowded House, was majestic to begin with, but the addition of female voices really brought something extra to the ballad. The song, admittedly, could have done without Miley's shameless flirting and Bangerz/smoking-all-the-time-era voice, but Ariana's parts slayed a bit.
ᴛᴡᴏ. Boy by Aly & AJ / 78violet (Live session)
"I wanted a tree, boy / But you gave me a leaf, boy / It's nothing to me, boy /
I gave you the world, boy / Without a return, boy / And now I'm just hurt, boy"
Aly and AJ departed from Hollywood Records in 2009 after renaming themselves 78violet. The intention was to create music that they had full control over, rather than being held back by pop rock tunes. The Michalka sisters never released an album under 78violet, despite working on one. The studio version of 'Boy' never materialized, so this live session is technically the final product, but who's to say! They have performed this song in front of an audience, but nothing can quite compare to the haunting and unrefined sound the Tastemakers Session brought it.
ᴏɴᴇ. Sex[xx] Dreams by Lady Gaga (Demo/Raw)
"I can't believe I'm telling you this, but I've had a couple drinks and... oh my god!"
Lady Gaga was once at the top.
When an artist reaches her peak, it's only natural for her to go down. But she can either climb down with the strength and knowledge that brought her up, or she can tumble down. For quite some time, Lady Gaga has been the queen of disappointment: ARTPOP was the prelude to this. When she performed Sexxx Dreams at her iTunes #SWINEFEST nearly five years ago, fans and haters on ONTD had to change their pants. It was an instant hit and expectations were high. The studio version of Sexxx Dreams ended up being an over-produced mess that had us aggressively searching for an audience-free rip of her iTunes Festival version. Luckily, we now have access to the demo version, though this one isn't without its flaws; the dip in Gaga's voice at 1:34 in the OP video was a bad idea, and the entire track sounds like a demo. Yet, it still overpowers its finalized version in both sound and sex appeal.
Though, OP's personal favourite is the small clip we got in its teaser video, before the added Xs/nonsense:
Sources: (1, 2), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Add your favs!