Layton: Madonna’s newest single a killer failure

Madonna has officially crushed my pop music-loving soul.

Earlier this summer, I heard a demo that was slated to be on the Queen of Pop’s new greatest hits collection, set to come out Sept. 29. The song, “Revolver” was an incredibly catchy pop song that I quickly deemed the song of the summer, despite the fact that it was a version sung by some chick named RaVaughn.

All summer, I waited for Madonna to drop her rendition of the single. If the demo was that good, I could only imagine how Madge could make it better. Perhaps she would tweak the synthesizers, throw in an extra-syncopated percussion beat or even add a verse exclusive to her version.

Unfortunately, the high quality Madonna version of the song leaked yesterday, and it is an understatement to say that what turned out was just a disappointment.

Think of your favorite pop song. Take any recent Lady Gaga track — they seem to be crowd favorites these days. Now, imagine Lindsay Lohan taking a stab at it after a night of hard partying when she just found out she lost her upcoming movie role to Tara Reid.

That’s what Madonna did to the demo. And the phoned-in Lil’ Wayne cameo does the song no favors.

She took the vocals a few keys lower, masked them with Auto-Tune and cranked up irritatingly sharp synthesizer beats to the point where it’s a wonder your ears don’t literally bleed after one chorus.

It’s like Britney Spears’ “Radar” if Britney downed three bottles of Robitussin before the recording session.

Regardless of how disappointed I am that such an incredible song was driven 6 feet under, the real tragedy here is how many talented artists miss the opportunity to get big because a bigger pop act steals (and then craps on) their thunder. I’ve never heard anything else by RaVaughn, but judging by the demo of “Revolver,” the girl has potential.

Unfortunately, she will be relegated as an underling to the stars, and Madonna’s “Revolver” will probably still grow immensely popular because ultimately, it’s too catchy not to become a hit.

I just wish it could be RaVaughn who got some of the glory.

Look below to compare the two versions yourself, and send Kieran your thoughts to aeeditors@gmail.com.

The Madonna version of “Revolver (feat. Lil Wayne)”

The “Revolver” demo by RaVaughn: