As Jessie J tries to infiltrate America again she tries to emulate the current top star, Katy Perry. And, yes, she sound exactly like Katy Perry. Even if you know that you're actually listening to Jessie J you will still pause for a second and say, "This sounds a lot like Katy Perry."
The sound is a super bouncy dance piece that Americans love so much. Add that with the lyrics that are all about partying and having a great time and you've got the perfect hit. It's called "Last Friday Night" ... but apparently it's also called "Domino." Like "Last Friday Night," "Domino" is an awesome party song and would be a great hit for Jessie J, but we just heard "Last Friday Night." Katy's current number hit is being played non-stop, so why would we want to have to listen to all over again with the Jessie J version. On top of that why would we want to hear anything Katy Perry related for a while, she's been pumping out number one hits non-stop for more than a year now.
The sad part of this is that there's nothing wrong with "Domino" it's an upbeat dance song that is sure to grab everyone's attention while keeping the lyrics less than ridiculous. And there's nothing wrong with trying out a new sound that is proven to be a huge success, it's simply bad timing.
While we're talking about Katy Perry, rumour has it that her team are deciding whether or not they want to release a sixth Teenage Dream single. "Peacock" and "Circle the Drain" we're both suggested to be singles before the album was released. Both of them show new unique sides of Katy, although I can't imagine "Peacock" becoming a hit, with its complete lack of any tune, transparent lyrics, and clear sexual meaning. Whereas "Circle the Drain" offers us a stronger angry sound similar to some of Kelly Clarkson's hits which I think is the only possible remaining option for Katy. The other songs that have yet to be released are "Hummingbird Heartbeat" which is a really fun song that I really like, but the problem is that it's nothing more than a filler song with a toned down style of her other hits, like "Firework" and we've already heard that enough; and the two ballads "Not Like the Movies" and "Pearl" which although could be a good move for Katy are also a risk, like we saw with Rihanna's "California King Bed" and there's no need for her to end on a sour note.
Overall, like I said I think "Circle the Drain" is the only one that stands a chance, but really she could just end now and give us all a break.
Oh, right, "Domino" yeah...it's a good song but terrible timing.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Rihanna - Cheers
Even before Loud was released there were rumors that "Cheers" would be a single; after a ton of other songs we've finally got "Cheers" released as a single. And it makes it the fourth song by Rihanna on my blog, more than anyone else.
Rihanna is in a dangerous position right now. She's already pumped out a ton of singles from Loud and people are probably hoping for something fresh by now. On the other hand, "California King Bed" didn't quite reach major success, so being too different is also out. I'd say that she made a good decision with "Cheers" because it's got a signature Rihanna sound, party lyrics, yet has a different smoother style than her usual blaring vocals.
"Cheers" is more subdued than Rihanna's party jams which gives a nice feel of something that you can enjoy when you don't feel like going all out with dancing. Rihanna still blends in some of her familiar sound which all works together nicely.
But that she went into overkill mode... First off is the fact that she's sampling Avril Lavigne's "Yeah yeah yeah"s from "I'm with you," the sound is quite clashing and immediately creates a different mood to the song. The two voices have no blend at all and the "Yeah yeah yeah"s just come out of no where. Then there's the bridge which is a group of voices singing offkey. I can see that she's trying to create the party mood with that, but it really doesn't add anything to the song. It's weird and annoying and just slows down the song's momentum.
This song could have been super, but now it's just annoying. It'll probably still pull Rihanna out of her tumble with "California King Bed" and may even become a number one. After that we should be getting a break from Rihanna for a bit (she's only got like three songs left that haven't become singles.) But of course knowing Rihanna, it won't last long and she'll have another album out in no time.
Rihanna is in a dangerous position right now. She's already pumped out a ton of singles from Loud and people are probably hoping for something fresh by now. On the other hand, "California King Bed" didn't quite reach major success, so being too different is also out. I'd say that she made a good decision with "Cheers" because it's got a signature Rihanna sound, party lyrics, yet has a different smoother style than her usual blaring vocals.
"Cheers" is more subdued than Rihanna's party jams which gives a nice feel of something that you can enjoy when you don't feel like going all out with dancing. Rihanna still blends in some of her familiar sound which all works together nicely.
But that she went into overkill mode... First off is the fact that she's sampling Avril Lavigne's "Yeah yeah yeah"s from "I'm with you," the sound is quite clashing and immediately creates a different mood to the song. The two voices have no blend at all and the "Yeah yeah yeah"s just come out of no where. Then there's the bridge which is a group of voices singing offkey. I can see that she's trying to create the party mood with that, but it really doesn't add anything to the song. It's weird and annoying and just slows down the song's momentum.
This song could have been super, but now it's just annoying. It'll probably still pull Rihanna out of her tumble with "California King Bed" and may even become a number one. After that we should be getting a break from Rihanna for a bit (she's only got like three songs left that haven't become singles.) But of course knowing Rihanna, it won't last long and she'll have another album out in no time.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Alexandra Stan - Mr. Saxobeat
This is another song that's been around for a while, but is only just getting noticed where I live. Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina first broke out of Romania and into the world earlier this year, and now Alexandra Stan is doing the same with a similar song. Like "Stereo Love," "Mr. Saxobeat" has a very european mysterious sound which I say can only help the song.
Musically the song is very interesting and is a great dance song. The saxophone in the background immediately sets up the song to be captivating and Alexandra's vocals carry the feeling. With a catchy hook and repitive beat it's easy to just dance to this song. Alexandra switches between a sexy whisper and a dancy chorus which both make the song strong.
On the other hand, however, the song is not lyrically interesting. The lyrics are quite repitive and feature a lot of breaks where there's nothing but, "Mm yeah!" over and over again. The term 'Mr. Saxobeat' is something that may have deep meaning or is just weird, and I'm leaning towards the latter. Other than that it's really just another invitation to dance sort of song. We've heard it before.
Overall it's a good song that sounds unique if you're looking for something to dance to; otherwise you won't find anything to special in the words.
Also, a little recap on music in general: Summer is nearing an end and it's still unclear exactly what is the song of the summer. Personally I'd say it's "Give Me Everything" which has enjoyed big success, however others would argue that it's LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" which also has been dominating this summer. Don't expect the hype to die down once summer ends though. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and Jason Derulo, three major artists, have all released new singles, "You and I," "Marry You," and "It Girl." It would seem as though Adele is releasing "Set Fire to the Rain" in America now as it's starting to climb the charts, and I'm betting it'll do just as good as "Rolling in the Deep." Britney has a poll to decide her next single and it looks like it's going to be "Criminal." Rihanna still isn't done with her latest album and has finally released "Cheers." I've heard rumours that Ke$ha's next single will be "The Harold Song." Finally Jessie J is working to emulate Katy Perry with "Domino" in production
Yeah so, it looks like there's going to be another big smash this fall.
Musically the song is very interesting and is a great dance song. The saxophone in the background immediately sets up the song to be captivating and Alexandra's vocals carry the feeling. With a catchy hook and repitive beat it's easy to just dance to this song. Alexandra switches between a sexy whisper and a dancy chorus which both make the song strong.
On the other hand, however, the song is not lyrically interesting. The lyrics are quite repitive and feature a lot of breaks where there's nothing but, "Mm yeah!" over and over again. The term 'Mr. Saxobeat' is something that may have deep meaning or is just weird, and I'm leaning towards the latter. Other than that it's really just another invitation to dance sort of song. We've heard it before.
Overall it's a good song that sounds unique if you're looking for something to dance to; otherwise you won't find anything to special in the words.
Also, a little recap on music in general: Summer is nearing an end and it's still unclear exactly what is the song of the summer. Personally I'd say it's "Give Me Everything" which has enjoyed big success, however others would argue that it's LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" which also has been dominating this summer. Don't expect the hype to die down once summer ends though. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and Jason Derulo, three major artists, have all released new singles, "You and I," "Marry You," and "It Girl." It would seem as though Adele is releasing "Set Fire to the Rain" in America now as it's starting to climb the charts, and I'm betting it'll do just as good as "Rolling in the Deep." Britney has a poll to decide her next single and it looks like it's going to be "Criminal." Rihanna still isn't done with her latest album and has finally released "Cheers." I've heard rumours that Ke$ha's next single will be "The Harold Song." Finally Jessie J is working to emulate Katy Perry with "Domino" in production
Yeah so, it looks like there's going to be another big smash this fall.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Bad Meets Evil - Lighters
Remember last year when Eminem teamed up with major pop star, Rihanna, to create "Love the Way you Lie"? Or how about when Bruno Mars was lending his voice to rapper, B.o.B, for "Nothing on You"? Both songs were pretty big hits, so this leads to the conclusion that if Bruno Mars and Eminem teamed up it would be an even bigger hit. Also there's that other guy, Royce da 5'9, since he's also part of "Bad Meets Evil."
Rappers like Eminem have a reputation of being overall angry in their songs, but "Lighters" is a bit of different turn with a more sentimental emotional feeling to it. Of course you can still expect Eminem to rap with his usual intensity and foul language, but there's a different message behind this song. Bruno Mars sings the chorus and that's probably where most of the emotion comes from; as we've seen before, Bruno Mars, can make anything sound tender. He sets up the song with a very emotional verse, then we get rougher, but still emotional, verses from Eminem and Royce.
The lyrics for the most part have a lot of meaning in them; though for rap it's sometimes hard to tell if lyrics are just weird or have a deeper meaning. But like I said there's plenty of swearing in it, and if you're not into that the censored version is incredibly choppy. However, even without the censor the rapping is still a little choppy sounding, so maybe it's just the song itself.
This song combines many different strong emotions, similar to Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home" with the tender chorus but more intense rap verses. All parts of the song continue the feeling of many dynamic feelings no matter whose verse it is. Bruno Mars has yet to fail to deliver a hit, and Eminem has proven to be capable of massive smash songs. And I'm sure Royce da 5'9 will help too. So overall I can see this song being a major hit.
Rappers like Eminem have a reputation of being overall angry in their songs, but "Lighters" is a bit of different turn with a more sentimental emotional feeling to it. Of course you can still expect Eminem to rap with his usual intensity and foul language, but there's a different message behind this song. Bruno Mars sings the chorus and that's probably where most of the emotion comes from; as we've seen before, Bruno Mars, can make anything sound tender. He sets up the song with a very emotional verse, then we get rougher, but still emotional, verses from Eminem and Royce.
The lyrics for the most part have a lot of meaning in them; though for rap it's sometimes hard to tell if lyrics are just weird or have a deeper meaning. But like I said there's plenty of swearing in it, and if you're not into that the censored version is incredibly choppy. However, even without the censor the rapping is still a little choppy sounding, so maybe it's just the song itself.
This song combines many different strong emotions, similar to Diddy-Dirty Money's "Coming Home" with the tender chorus but more intense rap verses. All parts of the song continue the feeling of many dynamic feelings no matter whose verse it is. Bruno Mars has yet to fail to deliver a hit, and Eminem has proven to be capable of massive smash songs. And I'm sure Royce da 5'9 will help too. So overall I can see this song being a major hit.
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