Tinie Tempah ft. Kelly Rowland–Invincible

Released December 26, 2010.
Billboard: NA
UK Charts: #32 (December 25 chart), but (probably) climbing.

Listening in to the lyrics of Tinie Tempah’s rap, I’m reminded VERY much of a Celine Dion song, Because You Loved Me. In this song, though, the premise is shifted from what was previously seemingly a unilateral support to a bilateral one. I adore Because You Loved Me, though not because of the content but because of the well, insane stuff she sings:

My world is a better place, because of you~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Sadly, though not bad per se, the content otherwise makes me quite sleepy. Musically, though, the song does have potential. The piano hook from Kelly Rowland is quite smooth and is pulled off well. Tinie’s rapping is competent; I don’t have many complaints about it, really, though it doesn’t quite impress me either.

The bridge where he speaks in his talking voice, and the breakdown which follows are GOOD though. The piano line through the bridge and the variation on the chorus with only the piano contributed well to the song, and the chorus variation also showcased Kelly Rowland’s voice. It’s quite clean; not bad at all.

Other than that, I don’t really have too much to say about this song. In my opinion, it’s an improvement from Frisky and Written in the Stars. Comparing it to Pass Out is quite messy, though; while I think it’s musically generally better (making it, for me, his best single yet), the drum n bass sections of Pass Out do give the song its merit, and Pass Out is more interesting. This is technically good, but not much more.

OVERALL RATING = 6.0 / 10
Invincible is a solid, if (very) generic light pop-rap release from Tinie Tempah and Kelly Rowland. In my opinion it’s better musically than Frisky and Written in the Stars, and actually Pass Out as well, but it still fails to interest me as much as Pass Out did.

Bruno Mars–Grenade

Released September 28, 2010.
Billboard: #2 (but does have a chance of #1)
UK: Not released yet

Ah. This one has a strong theme and is, in my opinion, way ahead of Just The Way You Are at least in terms of how the music goes – the lyrics, I’ll talk about that later, though given that Just The Way You Are was painfully brutal in this aspect, I think Grenade is an improvement too. The music video is pretty effective; the piano-pulling story is sad, and the rain visuals work well.

He’s one strong vocalist, too. The lines like I would go through all this pain – take a BULLet straight through my brain aren’t exactly easy to sing, and he pulls them off quite nicely. That oscillating drumline in the background works well to highlight his singing. Musically, I have no complaints.

Unfortunately, like Beat Again, this one suffers from bad lyrics too. While this may partially be my opinion since I can’t say I’ve really fallen (romantically) for anyone yet, the intended poignancy of the lyricism becomes incredibly illogical.

Easy come, easy go
That’s just how you live – oh
Take, take, take it all, but you never give
Should’ve known you was trouble from the first kiss
Had your eyes wide open – why were they open?

Firstly, how would you know? Unless you were inspecting HER eyes too… But other than that verse 1 is okay.

Gave you all I had and you tossed it in the trash, you tossed it in the trash – you did
To give me all your love was all I ever asked, cause what you don’t understand is –

I like this pre-chorus part… he handles the melody very well. So, let’s go to the chorus:

I would catch a grenade for you (yeah, yeah)
Throw my hand on a blade for you (yeah – yeah)
I’d jump in front of a train for you (yeah – yeah) – !!!
You know I’d do anything for you (yeah – yeah) ooohhh
I would go through all this pain
Take a bullet straight through my brain – oh-kay, this is getting disturbing.
Yes, I would die for you baby – but you won’t do the same

And you know it… So I guess he must have fallen deeply in love. However, to have dropped to this extent just seems disturbing. It seems kind of unlikely that jumping in front of a train would save her too, if you needed to physically rescue her – both of you would die, right?

Verse 2:
Black, black, black and blue, beat me till I’m numb
Tell the Devil I said “hey” when you get back to where you’re from
Mad woman, bad woman, that’s just what you are, yeah
You’ll smile in my face then rip the brakes out my car – ???

I actually like the second line, pretty witty there. Sadly, though, the last line makes little sense if we consider the music video. There is no car. I understand it’s just meant to be an aggressive action… Seems like an excuse to rhyme with “are”, unfortunately.

Bridge:
If my body was on fire, ooh
You’d watch me burn down in flames – This reminds me of something…
You said you loved me, you’re a liar – He doesn’t love the way she lies.
Cause you never, ever, ever did baby…

Pretty well done, too… though is the girl really that terrible? From the music video, she only dumped him, so I can’t say very much. Even if the rest of what’s mentioned in the song is true (being calculating from the first kiss, ripping the brakes out his car) this seems like a pretty dangerous inference to make.

The video ends in a scary way, with Mars dragging the piano, and a truck approaches him, and it cuts to black. Oh dear…

All in all, despite the numerous lyrical flaws in it, I think Grenade is a good pop song. The atmospheric effect of the drums contributes significantly to the song, and of course Mars’ vocals are smooth. This seems a bit of an antonym song to Just The Way You Are, though – one song about extreme joy over love, and one about extreme heartbreak.

Wait – some artists thread a few songs to tell a story; I can remember that for Ne-Yo, other than the Libra Scale series, Part of the List and Mad told a coherent story, too. Of course, Kanye West’s Runaway video also featured quite a few songs. Could Grenade be Just The Way You Are’s successor? After all, her eyes made the stars look like they’re not shining, so they were BRIGHT and WIDE, perhaps? He was pretty much blinded – So don’t even bother asking if you look okay / You know what I’d say! 

OVERALL SCORE = 6.5 / 10
Grenade is a well-executed pop song about heartbreak that unfortunately has lyrics which seem over-the-top and excessively dramatic. Bruno Mars’ execution is excellent, nonetheless.

Jay Sean–Maybe

Released 14 April 2008.
Billboard: Not released in US.
UK Charts: #19

Second in a set of three singles from Sean’s album My Own Way. In terms of technical skill required to handle a song from a male pop singer, this one’s definitely way up there, as he shoots up into a very high register in the pre-chorus (Everyday I patiently wait – feeling like a fool but I do anyway). It’s well sung and pleasing; definitely serviceable.

Lyrically, it’s a very generic love song, a little cute with the use of technology like Facebook and phone flirting…  Somehow, this one doesn’t turn out a sleeper as do many midtempo generic love songs like this one do; probably because of the vocal fireworks he releases in the pre-chorus as mentioned above. Other than “generic-ness” I honestly don’t have complaints. The melody is pretty nice and flows quite well.

Anyway, as far as I’m concerned this song shines more in Jay Sean’s singing than in the song’s lyrical content. Personally, I have preference for the last in the series, Stay, which I’ll be covering soon. This is still good, though.

OVERALL RATING = 6.0 / 10
Maybe, Jay Sean’s 2nd single from his album My Own Way is a solid, if generic, pop song that showcases some rather high notes (for a guy, that is, of course).

B.o.B–Cold As Ice

Not released as a single, at all.
“No Genre” is a mixtape released by B.o.B on December 7, 2010.

Well, he was the guy who did the rapping on Nothin’ on You and then impressed me with the Hayley Williams collaboration on Airplanes. I then sat through Magic disappointed, and Don’t Let Me Fall was just pretty decent. The album came, and it was somewhat controversial, in a manner slightly like how 808s & Heartbreak was such for Kanye West – though the transition wasn’t as dramatic here as it was for Kanye. Some viewed it as selling out; for me, because I was introduced to B.o.B by the very definitively pop song Nothin’ on You, I guess I can’t speak from that perspective.

No Genre includes a variety of tracks, some of which seem a bit of a response to such criticism (Beast Mode and So So do, at least), while others seem to continue somewhat in the same pop-rappish vein as the album did. (Feet Don’t Fail Me Now, for one). However, this track stood out in a good, good way. When listening to it, at first it seemed like a pretty standard, slightly good track. The little piano thing that plays in the verses is nice, a bit haunting, and goes well with the message…

It’s basically the story of a bank robbery laced with revenge, but VERY well executed. The hook is mildly catchy and of pretty decent quality, but the star here lies in the verses. They’re interesting in terms of content, and his delivery on verse 3 sent a few chills. Verse 1 isn’t anything special, basically establishing the setting of the situation.

But we lived packed in a shack
Like the old lady who lived in a shoe

Heh, a bit funny! Yup, a small space. (“She had so many children she didn’t know what to do.”) Let’s go to the hook:

You’re as cold as ice (you’re as cold as ice)
You’re willing to sacrifice our love

Well. So fast? She hasn’t breached his trust, yet, has she? Well… I think “cold” here means “calculating” or “detached” i.e. she’s perfectly willing to gamble on a well, risky bank robbery. She’s willing to sacrifice their love ‘cause if they get caught…

And now you got me (froze), I said you got me (froze)
Because you’re so c-cold, you left me cold tonight

Verse 2 describes the first part of the attempt, and is pretty much narrative, really. However, when we get back to the hook things get a little bit more interesting. Their plan may have failed – however, at this stage, it may have been an honest mistake. She chooses to stay rather than run, which isn’t a wrong act per se because the police would not know then that she was involved in the crime at all, and since she was “on the clock”, well, yeah. She would be fine. From a self-preservation point of view, correct decision. However, playing it cool may have, well, alarmed B.o.B’s character. Let’s go to verse 3.

So as I get escorted out, to my surprise what do I see
Thats my baby sittin’ in cuffs tellin’ the officers everything

The frustration becomes more apparent in his tone…

I said, “Baby, why baby, what did I do to forsake you?
How can you turn your back on me? You’re selfish, I hate you!
All I ever wanted to do was love you, were you fakin’?”

The build-up here for the climax to come is pretty impressive too. It’s hard to describe; just give the track a listen.

So I snatched the gun from my officer, and I cocked it and I aimed it
And said, “This is for all the pain you done put me through!
You’re ungrateful, how could you?!………. All I wanted to do was save you!”

Brilliantly epic.

And here I am day 55, with 55 hundred to go
When you love a girl who is as cold as ice, eventually you’ll get froze

The contrast of the somewhat calm, resigned tone of his voice here to the frenzied madness of the past few lines serves to highlight the extent of rage he faced a moment ago. Well, he killed her (that’s 15.2 years, thereabouts… which is longer in most cases than it would be for bank robbery)… The hook this time can be interpreted both literally (cold cause… she’s dead) and figuratively (for telling on him). The bridge is just a little weird extension of the song, it seems:

32 degrees below zero, you’re like 31 flavors you’re oh so cold
Feels like 30 straight days of falling snow

32 degrees F is the freezing point of water, so okay. 31 flavours of Baskin Robbins ice cream. The 30 straight days of falling snow is pretty bad, though… It’s quite nice to listen to, though. And as I said, the few sparse piano notes do enhance the song significantly.

OVERALL RATING = 8.0 / 10
Cold As Ice, in terms of delivery is sharp and powerful; it definitely gave me chills the first time I listened to the third verse. While it did not engage me on a cerebral level (like Airplanes or So Sick, at this writing the top 2 songs I’ve reviewed on this blog did), the execution is, as far as I’m concerned, highly commendable. His rapping, singing and the production combine together very well.

Cheryl Cole–Fight For This Love

Released October 16, 2009.
Billboard: –
UK Charts: #1.

Personally, I’ve found the quality of Cheryl Cole’s singles to be rather variable – I enjoyed this song and Parachute, while some like the recently released The Flood are decent, but sleepers, and I did not enjoy Promise This at all. Fight For This Love is the 1st single for Ms. Cole (well, outside of her releases under the British girl group Girls Aloud), and is a pretty relaxed song, honestly.

It’s a light dance track; 123 BPM is just a little bit slower than the 130-ish level which I find a good pace. The minor key used is a little bit more interesting than what we normally have. While vocally she’s not too impressive, she isn’t bad either (the song, well, doesn’t have any exceptionally high notes) and I must say her delivery is good. She sounds confident and quite solid on her notes. The reserved, conservative drumlines and occasional piano hits work very well in tandem with her voice on this.

Most of it’s just pretty decent, though I like the instrumentation in the prechorus (Anything that’s worth having/Sure enough worth fighting for…) and especially the bridge (I don’t know where we’re heading….). The breakdown is cleanly executed and seems to work well.

The video is quite amazing – the difficulty of some of those dance moves, or rather synchronising them neatly among such a large number of dancers is considerable. I’m not too much of a fan of the visuals with “Fight For This Love” and what looks like the chorus lyrics in a handwritten font, though. And I don’t get her tiger (or is it leopard) printed hoodie. The uniform looks pretty good, I must say, though!

Lyrically, it’s about a troublesome relationship, though unlike many songs about such relationships which involve spitting in the other party’s face on your way out (Irreplaceable, F**k You!) or breaking things down and either party leaving (I’m Gone by Jay Sean for the troublemaker leaving / Heartless by Kanye West for the victimised) she tries to take positive action to mend the relationship, agreeing to make concessions too, which isn’t a message I often see in pop music. It’s pretty sweet, actually. Not too much to comment on a micro scale, for this song.

OVERALL RATING = 6.5 / 10
Fight For This Love, Cheryl Cole’s first solo single release, is a solid example of decent to good pop music, as far as I’m concerned. The song’s basically about a struggling relationship, though her actions are probably a better reaction than the personas of the singers of >80% of the ‘broken-relationship’ songs out there.

Kanye West–Love Lockdown

Released September 18, 2008.
Billboard: #3
UK Singles Chart: #8

I haven’t listened to much of Kanye West’s first three albums – perhaps, from what I’ve read from critics, it might be time I should go and give them a listen. I have listened to some of 808s and Heartbreak, as well as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and I’ve found both ranging from serviceable to very, very well constructed. It’s quite impressive for an artist to be able to handle the rather differing sound on the two albums. This is a pretty good song, I find – some people have described the song’s production as “minimalistic”, and I think I’d agree.

The nice, slightly haunting bassline, combined with the almost relentless, menacing sound of the taiko drums works very well in creating an atmosphere of tension which seems reasonably appropriate for a song about a breakup.

A song like this definitely seems like a good candidate to put on the operating table in terms of its lyrics, though, or rather send it under the microscope. To begin with, what does it mean to keep one’s love locked down? The obvious implication is restrained, which works reasonably well, given he sings So I keep it low, keep a secret code/So everybody else don’t have to know. He keeps the girl’s love restrained… or does he mean his love for the girl? It might be because he feels pain or awkwardness at expressing his love – he can’t keep his cool dealing with her.

He ends off the chorus with You lose, though, which seems to be an insinuation that the girl is missing out from not choosing him. Now if we recall that he’s not loving you, the way (he) wanted to, it may suggest there’s a one-sided crush, but more likely a platonic relationship which he wants to add in a romantic element.

Interestingly in the second verse he comments I can’t keep myself, and still keep you too. He needs a romantic partner; however the all-or-nothing thing he’s suggesting here, though an effective reflection of desperation, is a little disturbing too…

The theme of heartbreak is, naturally, covered in many of the songs in 808s and Heartbreak, and it works well for me; it seems that I can identify with him, though I can’t really say I’ve been in such a situation before, personally.

OVERALL RATING = 7.0 / 10
Love Lockdown may be seen as a minimalistic pop song that incorporates a dark, angsty sound. The theme of struggling with love is similar to much of what we see in pop music; however, the excellent, haunting production brings this one quite a cut above most of the normal stuff that I hear.

Jay Sean–Ride It

Released 21 January 2008.
Billboard: –
UK Charts: #11

The Bauhaus font that he uses for his name and album titles is pretty nice to look at. Anyway, that said, this is the third in a chain of moderately successful singles before his #1 hit Down. His R&B sound is pretty nice to listen to, though it’s nothing groundbreaking. Released as the lead single off his 2nd album My Own Way, it’s not bad, though I’d think the other two singles he released from this album, Maybe and Stay are much stronger.

It’s a pretty laid-back song, perhaps a bit too laid back for me, and compared to his other songs, quite a bit of a sleeper. The chorus is catchy though, and has a rather messy pattern to sing (with each line ending on a little jump in pitch). Those lyrics, honestly, get a little bit disturbing…

(Ride it) we’re all alone…
(Ride it) just lose control…
(Ride it, ride it) come touch my soul…
(Ride it, ride it) let me feel you…
(Ride it) turn the lights down low…
(Ride it) from head to toe…
(Ride it, ride it) touch my soul…
(Ride it, ride it) let me feel you…

It seems quite creepy, honestly, this part. And the second verse seems quite pointless, too:

Movida was the club on the Saturday
You acting like a diva, saying you don’t wanna pay
It’s gotta be your fiesty style, raised eyebrow
I love it when you look at me that way
Now we’re in-you order a Mohito at the bar
ya re-apply lippy cos it came off on the glass

Zzzzzzz.

the DJ plays ya favourite song, Kanye’s on
now ya beckoning for me to dance

At first, I had an inclination the song might be Heartless? But clearly it’s not anything off 808s and Heartbreak which wasn’t even released then. So what’s it then? Stronger? Hmm.

The bridge section is nice, though – it’s just a slightly better than normal sleeper track for me, but still quite clearly a sleeper track.

OVERALL SCORE = 4.5 / 10
Ride It is a laid-back R&B affair from Jay Sean that isn’t bad, though at some points at least as far as I can tell it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere significant.