Yesterday I talked to Joe King, the guitarist and songwriter from the Fray, about his collaboration with "American Idol" winner Kris Allen. One of the best moments of the interview was when we discussed his acoustic cover of Kanye West's "Heartless," which became something of a viral hit after the band performed it on a British radio show. "It was for a show on BBC Radio called 'The Jo Whiley Show,' where you play one of your own songs and then a cover of a current pop hit. Kanye's was on the list, and we thought it would be cool to break it down," explains King. "Two days later it went all over the place, and our manager was like, 'You guys are on every hip-hop blog,' which is not the normal world for the Fray."
King was relieved that Kanye West put it up on his own blog. "I didn't even expect him to hear it, because it was one performance on the radio. My favorite part about it was reading the hip-hop blogs and hearing people who weren't fans of ours digging on 'Heartless.' It was just such a shock."
What's your favorite unlikely hip-hop crossover? I've always had a weak spot for Ben Folds' lounge-lizard version of Dr. Dre's "B----es Ain't S----."
