If you’ve spent any time on the weirder corners of the internet lately, you might’ve bumped into a name that sounds like a fever dream: Jay Smith Bad Romance. It sounds like a tabloid headline from 2010. Or maybe a reality TV spoiler.
Honestly, it's a bit of both.
Most people hearing the name Jay Smith and the phrase "Bad Romance" together think of two very different things. Some are picturing the Jamaican tattoo artist from 90 Day Fiancé who basically lived out a real-life toxic relationship on camera. Others are looking for that specific, gravelly rock cover of Lady Gaga’s hit song.
Whatever brought you here, the "romance" was definitely bad.
The Swedish Idol Who Reimagined Lady Gaga
Let’s talk about the music first because, frankly, it’s the most impressive part of this whole "bad romance" search. In 2010, a guy named Jay Smith walked onto the stage of Idol Sverige (Swedish Idol). He didn't look like a pop star. He looked like he just stepped out of a grunge bar in Seattle circa 1992.
Then he sang.
His rendition of Bad Romance didn’t just win him the competition; it went viral before "going viral" was even a polished marketing term. He took a synth-heavy, avant-garde pop track and turned it into a gritty, blues-soaked anthem.
Why this version still hits
Most covers are just copies. Jay Smith’s version was a demolition job. He stripped away the "Ra-ra-ah-ah-ah" theatrics and replaced them with a vocal fry that sounds like he’s been drinking whiskey and gargling glass.
- Release Date: December 17, 2010
- Album: Jay Smith (Self-titled debut)
- Vibe: Hard rock meets soulful grit
It’s one of those rare moments in reality TV history where the cover actually threatens to eclipse the original for a specific niche of fans. If you haven't heard it, it’s the kind of song that makes you want to drive a motorcycle through a brick wall. In a good way.
The Other Jay Smith: A Reality TV "Bad Romance"
Now, if you weren’t looking for Swedish rock, you were probably looking for the drama. Specifically, the train wreck that was Jay Smith and Ashley Martson on TLC’s 90 Day Fiancé.
Talk about a bad romance.
This Jay Smith, a tattoo artist from Jamaica, moved to Pennsylvania to be with Ashley. It didn't take long for the wheels to fall off. Within eight days of their Vegas wedding, Ashley caught him on Tinder. It was messy. It was public. It was, quite literally, a "bad romance" broadcast to millions of people.
The Breakdown of a Toxic Timeline
There’s no easy way to list how this went down because it was a constant cycle of filing for divorce and then "just kidding, we're back together."
- The Tinder Scandal: The infamous "barbershop" incident where Jay was caught with another woman shortly after arriving in the States.
- The Protection Orders: At one point, Ashley had a PFA (Protection From Abuse) order against him.
- ICE Involvement: Jay actually spent time in an ICE detention center after the legal drama escalated.
- The "Fake" Claims: Later, Jay claimed that a lot of the drama—including the Tinder scandal—was staged by producers for the show's ratings.
Whether it was staged or not, the "romance" label was doing a lot of heavy lifting. It was more like a legal battle with a side of infidelity.
Why Do These Two Keep Getting Mixed Up?
It’s a classic case of SEO collision. You have a famous song cover by a guy named Jay Smith, and you have a famous "bad" relationship featuring a guy named Jay Smith.
When people search for "Jay Smith Bad Romance," Google's algorithm has a minor identity crisis. Are you looking for the guy with the deep voice singing Gaga, or are you looking for the latest update on the guy who allegedly cheated in a barbershop bathroom?
The "20/20" Connection
To make things even more confusing, ABC recently launched a true-crime limited series called Bad Romance: A Special Edition of 20/20. Hosted by Ryan Smith, it covers stories of love gone wrong. While this hasn't featured the 90 Day Fiancé Jay Smith (yet), the overlap in names and titles makes finding the specific "Jay Smith" you're looking for feel like a digital scavenger hunt.
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What You Should Actually Listen To (and Watch)
If you're here for the talent, go find the Jay Smith cover of Bad Romance on YouTube or Spotify. It holds up. Even 15 years later, it’s a masterclass in how to flip a pop song on its head. He’s still active in the music scene, recently participating in Melodifestivalen 2024 with the song "Back to My Roots." He hasn't lost that signature rasp.
If you’re here for the reality TV tea?
Well, that ship has mostly sailed. Jay Smith (the tattoo artist) is still in the U.S. and still tattooing, often sharing his work on Instagram. Ashley has moved on and opened her own salon. They are, thankfully, no longer a "bad romance."
Actionable Next Steps
- For Music Lovers: Check out Jay Smith's 2024 single "Back to My Roots" to see how his voice has evolved since the Idol days.
- For Reality TV Fans: If you’re re-watching Season 6 of 90 Day Fiancé, take Jay's later claims of "scripted drama" with a grain of salt—reality TV usually sits somewhere in the blurry middle between fact and fiction.
- For the Curious: Search for "Jay Smith Bad Romance Swedish Idol" to ensure you get the rock song and not the deportation news.
The reality is that "Bad Romance" is more than just a song title for these two men; it's the thing that defined their public identities. One used it to build a career, the other used it to blow one up.