Sorry Twick, I really can't see how this performance warrants those adjectives. It's just a popular song with an interesting and unusual accompaniment. I liked it, you clearly didn't, but for the life of me I can't see any smugness or pretension in it. It's just a guy singing. He uses the instruments in a suitable manner, they're in tune and well played (Edin is a stunning lutenist, Sting certainly competent - theorbos aren't that easy to drive). What's so damning about that? A pop singer doing something different doesn't mean it's sententious, just different.