I never knew one could look so cheery singing about dwindling hope.

Leave it to Geordie Joe McElderry to pull it off in the music video for Ambitions, a cover of Norwegian band Donkeyboy's #1 song. The X Factor winner took to fist pumping and hands in the air cheesy choreography, doing what seems like a cross between Glee and High School Musical.


The Donkeyboy video is also worth showing:


Ambitions will be released on October 10th, followed by the album Wide Awake on October 25th.

After losing out to Rage Against the Machine in the Christmas chart battle last year (with good reason), X Factor 2009 winner Joe McElderry isn't giving up on doing covers, though this time 'round it's not a ballad sang by some teen Disney star. In fact, it's from a brilliant Norwegian band called Donkeyboy, who's already garnered massive success in Norway with the single entitled Ambitions, taking the #1 spot for twelve consecutive weeks contrary to the less than enthusiastic response the UK gave out.

This is a smart move for Joe, mainly because the song is amazing as it is, and apparently the folks at Syco know it too, as heard in Joe's note-for-note cover. The 80's-sounding track has been given a sparkly, poptastic makeover aimed to storm the charts. I personally prefer the original Donkeyboy tune which sounds more... organic, per se. What the Joe version offers, however, is a more upbeat take on Ambitions, and a little oomph here and there (though I might add that the emotion and genuineness are inadvertently absent).

It's also interesting that Donkeyboy didn't have a clue about all this Joe-coverage hoopla:




To summarize,

1. Ambitions is a very good song.
2. This 'Joe guy' will most probably get the #1 that Donkeyboy ought to have.
3. This will be released on October 10.
4. So download the original here instead.