One of the most annoying issues with the music market today is that there are too many kid singers who don't even understand the emotion that they're supposed to be singing about (Selena Gomez, I'm looking at you.) However, Demi Lovato is no longer just another Disney kid, she's had some serious trauma in her life, and you can really feel the pain in her song. "Skyscraper" isn't some empowerment song meant to feel you good about yourself no matter who you are, it's a personal song about overcoming obstacles. And that really makes it all the much stronger.
The song starts out tender but it builds and becomes stronger and stronger. Demi sings about losing everything she has, and by the pain in her voice I find it quite believable. The emotional edge holds true throughout the song and builds into a very moving climax. The song's style fits very well with Demi and it seems like she's forming her own identity. The style itself is similar to a Kelly Clarkson ballad, and considering how powerful Kelly Clarkson can be, I'd say that's a good sign.
The song has already achieved positive reception by the world, and I wouldn't be surprised if it grows into a major hit of the year. 2011 certainly has the feeling of a more emotional songs, instead of nothing but dance, which we've seen by P!nk's "Perfect" and pretty much everything by Bruno Mars; so "Skyscraper" should fit in there. As for the future of Demi Lovato, I'd say that it could go two ways. One: With the momentum from "Skyscraper" she could launch herself into a successful followup; or two: Considering how it took a breakdown and trip to rehab to get this emotion she might have run dry and fail to come up with another hit.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Black Eyed Peas - Don't Stop the Party
I've been really impressed with the last two singles from "The Beginning," The Peas' latest album, because they were anything but boring and offered a lot of variety for everybody. I'm afraid that "Don't Stop the Party" has put a stop to my adirmation and reminds me why I hated the Black Eyed Peas before this album. Sure, the start of the song sounds a bit exciting and might get you dancing, but it doesn't go anywhere. Like I was saying, the Black Eyed Peas can add a lot of variety, especially with the two distinct sounds of Fergie and Will. I. Am. But this song only features a little bit of Fergie, in fact it doesn't feature much else than Will. I. Am shouting, "Don't Stop the Party!"
At first you might like, but it's a high chance that by the end you'll just be wondering, "Is it over yet?" then if radio stations start playing it nonstop (like they do with every other BEP song) you will really grow to hate it. Lyrics are also pretty repetitive, they go from weird to just play old "Don't Stop the Party."
I know that the Black Eyed Peas' obnoxious style has worked before and I know that dancy club songs are popular, yet this song just offers absolutely nothing. I suppose I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that the Black Eyed Peas might have stayed good. The sad part is that since it is a Peas' song it's probably going to get super popular and we'll be stuck with it for the rest of the summer.
At first you might like, but it's a high chance that by the end you'll just be wondering, "Is it over yet?" then if radio stations start playing it nonstop (like they do with every other BEP song) you will really grow to hate it. Lyrics are also pretty repetitive, they go from weird to just play old "Don't Stop the Party."
I know that the Black Eyed Peas' obnoxious style has worked before and I know that dancy club songs are popular, yet this song just offers absolutely nothing. I suppose I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up that the Black Eyed Peas might have stayed good. The sad part is that since it is a Peas' song it's probably going to get super popular and we'll be stuck with it for the rest of the summer.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Craig Smart - 123
Craig Smart had a major time to shine last year when he collaborated with Longo and Wainwright on "One Life Stand." I didn't really find that song too interesting, but "123" is a step up for Craig Smart and is showing strong potential.
The song has strong vocals which is the first sign of improvement. This powerful singing is backed up by an equal emotion behind the adoring lyrics. For a still emerging artist it's not always common to have a powerful voice and real emotion, but this song is defintely showing the best of Craig Smart. This is why I say that it has stong potential; as we've seen lesser artists emerge with a minor hit, so it should be no trouble for Craig to do just as well if not better.
Not everything is perfect about this song though. The lyrics are pretty cheesing, but that can be forgiven since it still has strong emotion. On the other hand you will notice that the song is incredibly similar to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are." A sweet love song telling a girl how great she is, sound familiar? Furthermore, both Craig Smart and Bruno Mars have smooth tenor voices and both songs have similar background music. So overall it's hard to miss the similarities and this can take away from the effect of the song.
Considering how impressive the vocals are on this song I say that that can cancel out the fact that the majority of the song is borrowed from Bruno Mars. I'm sure it's still bound to have success, afterall "Just the Way You Are" was able to win over the population. If Craig Smart is going to continue a successful career he'll need to keep up his progress as a singer, but find his own style.
The song has strong vocals which is the first sign of improvement. This powerful singing is backed up by an equal emotion behind the adoring lyrics. For a still emerging artist it's not always common to have a powerful voice and real emotion, but this song is defintely showing the best of Craig Smart. This is why I say that it has stong potential; as we've seen lesser artists emerge with a minor hit, so it should be no trouble for Craig to do just as well if not better.
Not everything is perfect about this song though. The lyrics are pretty cheesing, but that can be forgiven since it still has strong emotion. On the other hand you will notice that the song is incredibly similar to Bruno Mars' "Just the Way You Are." A sweet love song telling a girl how great she is, sound familiar? Furthermore, both Craig Smart and Bruno Mars have smooth tenor voices and both songs have similar background music. So overall it's hard to miss the similarities and this can take away from the effect of the song.
Considering how impressive the vocals are on this song I say that that can cancel out the fact that the majority of the song is borrowed from Bruno Mars. I'm sure it's still bound to have success, afterall "Just the Way You Are" was able to win over the population. If Craig Smart is going to continue a successful career he'll need to keep up his progress as a singer, but find his own style.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Britney Spears - I Wanna Go
It's funny how I heard all of Britney's new songs this year and planned to post about them, but always found something moer interesting. But not this time, "I Wanna Go," is clearly one of the best songs off of Femme Fatale and is certain to make even bigger waves than it has already.
The song is similar to Rihanna's "S&M" in several ways such as the pounding background music, the smooth creep into an explosive chorus, and the idea of being dirty. However Britney pulls off this idea a lot better in my opinion; while Rihanna is just been blatantly obvious that she's into dirty stuff, Britney shows a more personal side by revealing the need to express a dark side of herself to the world.
This song has a lot of content to it and its clear that a lot of work went into making this a hit. There's scooping lines similar to Pussycat dolls' "Buttons," there's a catchy whistling tune, and of course there's the classic Britney sound. The song's final chorus is quite powerful; there's a brief gap of silence, but we know that this doesn't mean it's over, sure enough it speeds into a final explosive ending. I can see a lot of Britney trademarks in this song's music and lyrics and I feel like this is a sign that this will be the big Britney song for 2011.
Britney has really caught my attention with this song, and she seems to have grabbed a lot of others' attention as well. I feel like this is one of her truer to herself songs and it's got the same style that has recurred throughout her career. Overall I think it's going to be a huge hit.
The song is similar to Rihanna's "S&M" in several ways such as the pounding background music, the smooth creep into an explosive chorus, and the idea of being dirty. However Britney pulls off this idea a lot better in my opinion; while Rihanna is just been blatantly obvious that she's into dirty stuff, Britney shows a more personal side by revealing the need to express a dark side of herself to the world.
This song has a lot of content to it and its clear that a lot of work went into making this a hit. There's scooping lines similar to Pussycat dolls' "Buttons," there's a catchy whistling tune, and of course there's the classic Britney sound. The song's final chorus is quite powerful; there's a brief gap of silence, but we know that this doesn't mean it's over, sure enough it speeds into a final explosive ending. I can see a lot of Britney trademarks in this song's music and lyrics and I feel like this is a sign that this will be the big Britney song for 2011.
Britney has really caught my attention with this song, and she seems to have grabbed a lot of others' attention as well. I feel like this is one of her truer to herself songs and it's got the same style that has recurred throughout her career. Overall I think it's going to be a huge hit.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger
It seems like Maroon 5 have just been showing up everywhere; their song "Never Gonna Leave this Bed" is having success on adult charts, Adam Levine's team recently won the first season of The Voice, Adam's voice was featured or the new Gym Class Heroes' song; now we've got "Moves Like Jagger."
The song starts out with potential with a speedy beat that has promise to keep you dancing. But once you get to the chorus you'll start to be disappointed. The song is actually quite boring, just the recurring lyrics, recurring guitar lick, and recurring whistling theme. Not to mention that the song sounds pretty similar to their previous song, "Give a Little More;" they've sped it up so it's not quite so boring, but it's far from anything new. We get a little peak at something interesting when Christian Aguilera shows up with a verse of her own at the end; but at that point it doesn't really add much. If Christina had been featured more prominently than maybe the song will be a little more interesting.
There's really nothing too stimulating about this song. Musically it just repeats the same tune over and over again, and the lyrics don't offer us much. Judging by the song's current success on the charts though, I fear that we may be hearing it a lot more. I'm already bored of it now, I dread how I will feel after it's been overplayed on the radio. Even if you do like it now, I'm sure it will get boring the 50th time you hear it. There's really nothing to keep you coming back.
If you're looking for a catchy summer song from Maroon 5, I would much rather suggest "Stereo Hearts," not actually their song but Adam Levine features on it enough that it works. As for Xtina, maybe she'll have her own time to shine soon with promise of a new album.
The song starts out with potential with a speedy beat that has promise to keep you dancing. But once you get to the chorus you'll start to be disappointed. The song is actually quite boring, just the recurring lyrics, recurring guitar lick, and recurring whistling theme. Not to mention that the song sounds pretty similar to their previous song, "Give a Little More;" they've sped it up so it's not quite so boring, but it's far from anything new. We get a little peak at something interesting when Christian Aguilera shows up with a verse of her own at the end; but at that point it doesn't really add much. If Christina had been featured more prominently than maybe the song will be a little more interesting.
There's really nothing too stimulating about this song. Musically it just repeats the same tune over and over again, and the lyrics don't offer us much. Judging by the song's current success on the charts though, I fear that we may be hearing it a lot more. I'm already bored of it now, I dread how I will feel after it's been overplayed on the radio. Even if you do like it now, I'm sure it will get boring the 50th time you hear it. There's really nothing to keep you coming back.
If you're looking for a catchy summer song from Maroon 5, I would much rather suggest "Stereo Hearts," not actually their song but Adam Levine features on it enough that it works. As for Xtina, maybe she'll have her own time to shine soon with promise of a new album.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts
With all the dance tracks out there currently it's nice to get something a little different that still sounds good. Adam Levine takes the lead on this song with a bouncy chorus, with Travie McCoy raps his signature style over the verses. The sound and lyrics are both unique and overall makes this song quite interesting.
It's nearly impossible to not just bounce your head to Adam Levine's pounding voice in this song. The rap verses aren't anything particularly special but they don't take anything away from the song either. This song's relaxed rhythms might remind you of something other hits like "Hey Soul, Sister," "I'm Yours," or "Rhythm of Life." Songs that you don't need to get up and dance to; you can just bounce along to them as you relax in a lawn chair. I'd like to also remind you of Travie's last summer smash, "Billionaire" which also took a more steady swing sound and was still able to be a huge hit. I think this song could do it again.
Lyrically it's a little weird; there's a recurring metaphor of stereos and the like. It's definitely different, but it does a get a little old, especially with Travie's verses. Still I believe that there is purpose in these lyrics and again it's not like it's something that will ruin the entire song for you.
Overall I think that this is a nice fun summer song. It doesn't have to be a chart topper, but it'll give us a break from all the dance music.
While we're on the topic of summer, I have come up with a system to describe my predictions for the song of the summer. It's like a pyramid diagram: On top are "Last Friday Night," "Give me Everything," and "The Edge of Glory," three very different powerful songs that all have a good shot at taking the title. Underneath that are "Party Rock Anthem," "Where them Girls At," "Dirty Dancer," and "Don't Wanna Go Home;" party songs that are good but don't quite go far enough. Beneath that is "Don't Stop the Party," and "I Wanna Go" two songs that haven't quite broken onto the big scene yet but have potential to also be massive hits. And on the bottom is Adele and Bruno Mars who both would have a good shot if they released something, but so far don't seem to have any plans. I've heard rumour that Adele is planning to use "Someone Like You" as her next single, if that's the case I'd say that that would be better for a post summer song. You can also add "California King Bed" to the side, which will probably be a hit but is completely not song of the summer material.
Summer has officially begun and so I say let the race begin!
It's nearly impossible to not just bounce your head to Adam Levine's pounding voice in this song. The rap verses aren't anything particularly special but they don't take anything away from the song either. This song's relaxed rhythms might remind you of something other hits like "Hey Soul, Sister," "I'm Yours," or "Rhythm of Life." Songs that you don't need to get up and dance to; you can just bounce along to them as you relax in a lawn chair. I'd like to also remind you of Travie's last summer smash, "Billionaire" which also took a more steady swing sound and was still able to be a huge hit. I think this song could do it again.
Lyrically it's a little weird; there's a recurring metaphor of stereos and the like. It's definitely different, but it does a get a little old, especially with Travie's verses. Still I believe that there is purpose in these lyrics and again it's not like it's something that will ruin the entire song for you.
Overall I think that this is a nice fun summer song. It doesn't have to be a chart topper, but it'll give us a break from all the dance music.
While we're on the topic of summer, I have come up with a system to describe my predictions for the song of the summer. It's like a pyramid diagram: On top are "Last Friday Night," "Give me Everything," and "The Edge of Glory," three very different powerful songs that all have a good shot at taking the title. Underneath that are "Party Rock Anthem," "Where them Girls At," "Dirty Dancer," and "Don't Wanna Go Home;" party songs that are good but don't quite go far enough. Beneath that is "Don't Stop the Party," and "I Wanna Go" two songs that haven't quite broken onto the big scene yet but have potential to also be massive hits. And on the bottom is Adele and Bruno Mars who both would have a good shot if they released something, but so far don't seem to have any plans. I've heard rumour that Adele is planning to use "Someone Like You" as her next single, if that's the case I'd say that that would be better for a post summer song. You can also add "California King Bed" to the side, which will probably be a hit but is completely not song of the summer material.
Summer has officially begun and so I say let the race begin!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Jennifer Lopez - I'm Into You
I didn't really care for Jennifer Lopez's last song, "On the Floor" and found her overall pretty boring; "I'm Into You" is a step up from "On the Floor" but it's still pretty boring. JLo trades the aggressive club song for a more island pop style of song. It's bouncy and catchy and is something a little fresh, but it's nothing that's going to remember the song.
Jennifer also borrows Rihanna's idea of repeating, "Na na na na" throughout the song. If "S&M" hasn't bored you yet, "I'm Into You" will; it sounds a little catchy at first, but again it doesn't really give you anything to hook you. Other than that the rest of the lyrics are just boring, generic stuff that we've all heard before. She talks about being drawn in by eyes and feelign luckier than a four leaf clover; not really thought-provoking ideas.
So really this song is just a piece of fluff that will be forgetten in a second. If you listen to it you could like it or you might not; but there's nothing to sway you eithe way particularily. It's got good rhythm and nice flow, but pointless lyrics and no build throughout the song. Like I said some people might like it, but it's not going to making any big waves.
Jennifer also borrows Rihanna's idea of repeating, "Na na na na" throughout the song. If "S&M" hasn't bored you yet, "I'm Into You" will; it sounds a little catchy at first, but again it doesn't really give you anything to hook you. Other than that the rest of the lyrics are just boring, generic stuff that we've all heard before. She talks about being drawn in by eyes and feelign luckier than a four leaf clover; not really thought-provoking ideas.
So really this song is just a piece of fluff that will be forgetten in a second. If you listen to it you could like it or you might not; but there's nothing to sway you eithe way particularily. It's got good rhythm and nice flow, but pointless lyrics and no build throughout the song. Like I said some people might like it, but it's not going to making any big waves.
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