Viral Video: John Lennon Auditions for 'The Voice'

A new, almost-viral video (it hasn't quite reached 700,000 views at this point) is making the rounds. It shows former Beatle John Lennon — who died in 1980 — auditioning for The Voice.

The video, which was posted to YouTube on Monday, is edited to show Lennon performing his 1971 hit "Imagine" as the judges — Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher and Blake Shelton — react with bored stares, sighs and cringes. They go on to tell Lennon that his singing isn't quite good enough.

Perhaps the point the video is trying to make (if any) is that talent-search shows like The Voice and American Idol don't recognize quirky talent that doesn't fit the standard, cookie-cutter mold. They'd most likely skip over people like John Lennon and Bob Dylan, as the very end of the video suggests. Thoughts?

By the way, Lennon's performance of "Imagine" (which you can see here in its unadulterated form) is from 1975. It's one of his final live performances; he retired from music in the mid-'70s before making his comeback with Double Fantasy in 1980.