Bestowed with the honor of singing Lennon’s famous solo-era tune on NBC’s New Year’s Eve show shortly before the ball dropped in Times Square, Green changed the lyrics from “Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too” to “Nothing to kill or die for, And all religion’s true.”

Seriously, Cee Lo Green? Changing the lyrics to John Lennon’s “Imagine” is wrong on countless levels. Let’s focus on two.

1. Artistic Integrity. You don’t change an artist’s work. And unless Josh Krajcik on FOX’s “X Factor” is a “hot-blooded woman”, he deliberately sang Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” keeping said reference to being female in order to maintain this integrity.
2. Intended Message. John Lennon generally had a secular (though spiritual) message in his works. This one, in particular, was a message that the abolishment of all organized religions would yield a better, more peaceful world. Cee Lo Green’s is the opposite, and wrong I might add. As the artist, only Lennon has the right to make such a fundamental change.

It’s hard to tell if this was a gaff by someone who simply didn’t know or remember the lyrics well enough, or if it was a deliberate attempt to pander to those in the viewing audience who believe in Christian mythology. It could have even been an attempt by Cee Lo Green to change the lyrics deliberately such that it became more religiously inclusive. Perhaps he thought that he knew better than John Lennon, with regard to how a message of peace and love should be delivered within the context of a song by John Lennon.