Iyaz–Pretty Girls (ft. Travie McCoy)

Released two days ago! 16/5/2011
US Billboard: –
UK: –
(of course, we’ll see if this charts. It’s interesting to see how this’ll turn out.)

This song’s premise is stupid, it’s even sillier than Replay; there are strange lines (I need a chick that’s gonna hold me tight like vice grips?!) not to mention there is a spelling error in the music video. (It’s spelled INDECISIVE. Not “INDECICIVE”.)

But is that necessarily a bad thing? I’m not so sure.

I recall Tinie Tempah’s Frisky and during my review of Invincible I mentioned that on a musical basis Invincible is probably his best song. Since then, I’m not so sure about that. The Yes Remix of Simply Unstoppable is one energy-loaded song which I do like, but really, Frisky has grown on me because of its sheer ridiculous. With chorus lines like

Oh la la la la, la la la la la
Oh la la la la, la la la (frisky)

Not to mention Tempah’s relaxed and light-hearted delivery over the whole song, I must admit Frisky has really grown on me a lot; perhaps willing of an upgrade of originally a 3.5/10 to now around 6.5/10. It’s a positively happy ball of silliness.

Replay was charming and worked well in juxtaposition to the other ‘love’/’lust’ songs that were out then. It certainly didn’t excel in terms of intellectual appeal, and neither does Pretty Girls. In my opinion, the strength in both of the songs is their horrible catchiness. Musically, I do like the pre-chorus section too (See I done been around the world before to places you would not believe…). The melody there is pretty good. Iyaz might want to work a bit on his singing though – the autotune effects are really blatant here, it’d be nicer if he could use less of it.

(That said, there are clear lyrical weaknesses in the song. Lots of strange rhymes or out-of-place lyrics (one of the worst offenders: And I know ain’t nothing like those London girls, cause they know how to party – OH!; the line is not even supposed to rhyme with anything, so what was the “OH” for?!), and excessive repetition.)

It’s a pop confection clearly designed for summer. It’s just so… bouncy, really.

Not to mention Travie McCoy. Didn’t like the guy on his hit Billionaire (though I’d blame Bruno Mars mainly for that) but his flow seems to work really well on light-hearted tracks. I found his collaboration with Taio Cruz on Higher easily the best version of the song… and I can say I really like Higher in general. (8.0/10). His rapping isn’t intellectual material, and even comes off as weird and random at times, but the general sense of relaxation and a carefree spirit is there.

OVERALL SCORE = 6.0 / 10
Pretty Girls does have many lyrical deficiencies and honestly, the concept as a whole is an overused (and, in my opinion, silly) one. However, the sheer bounciness and catchiness of the track, combined with Travie McCoy’s light, relaxed rap do make for a very serviceable summer song. Personally, I think Iyaz’s singing could use a bit of work. JR Rotem’s production is definitely on point here.

Chris Brown–Up To You

Not a single, but F.A.M.E. was released on 18th March 2011.
Billboard: –
UK: –

After a bunch of singles that ranged from weak (No BS, Deuces) to well, okay (Look At Me Now, Yeah 3X I guess, Beautiful People) and perhaps decent (Next 2 You) I decided to check out a few of the other tracks on Chris Brown’s new album. Up To You was a standout for me.

This is more my kind of thing, really. In terms of instrumentation and production, for some reason I was really reminded of Usher’s U Got It Bad. The slow, more traditional approach works here as it did on Usher’s song (they’re not about the same thing, but the idea of relative passivity is maintained across both songs). As a piece to listen to, Up To You is a pretty decent one (I do have an objection though: the awkward use of the swear-word to open the verses is unnecessary; while justifiable it doesn’t ring so well in the ears). The bridge and choruses are done well, I’d think. I like the (I’ve made so many tears, I don’t wanna make no, make no more) part.

Like most 2011 pop songs, there ARE lyrical deficiencies, unfortunately;

(Verse 2)
What the hell babe
Make me wanna jump out an airplane

Eh? It doesn’t help that I’m made to recall B.o.B’s Airplanes and Tyler The Creator’s Yonkers when presented with this kind of lyric. Perhaps the wtf-ness of this is attempted to be justified in the next line (The way it feels, I just can’t explain) so I can semi-buy this, but it’s a very strange idea for love, I find. It’s introduced out of nowhere, really.

(Bridge)
I’ve made so many tears I don’t wanna make no, make no more
So give me your list, yes I’m checking things off
Ready to go to work, baby you can be boss

Comparing love to what would presumably be a to-do list isn’t my idea of a romantic gesture. Yes, Acts of Service is a love language, but I still find such a comparison awkward. Given that work is frequently associated with the notion of a daily grind and being separate from play or pleasure (though they CAN be found together, for many people they’re not), I’m not so sure comparing devotion to work is the best idea as well.

Not to mention the grammatical error – ‘baby you can be the boss’ would be better.

Nevertheless, the general approach behind the song works for me. Perhaps I’m a little idealistic, but I do often enjoy songs where the singer/persona takes on a lower-key approach, learns, develops and grows, and Up To You definitely does have such elements. (It could also be because the Billboard charts are so frequently filled with either hostile a la F**k You, Rolling in the Deep, vapid e.g. Just Can’t Get Enough or Down on Me, deceptive like Born this Way or bad such as Tonight, The Lazy Song material – not that the former two categories are bad, but it can be tiring to listen to such songs too frequently.) As far as I’m concerned, it’s a clear pass and a decent song – though it doesn’t quite match up to Usher’s U Got It Bad which for me seems to be, in terms of sound, pretty similar. Probably Brown’s best off F.A.M.E., though also a far cry from his best (for me, that would have to go to Say Goodbye). It’s very, very solid though.

OVERALL SCORE = 7.5 / 10
Up To You eschews Brown’s recent shifts towards rap and high-energy dance tracks, going with a more traditional R&B approach. For me, it works well. While there are a few small lyrical deficiencies, the message is a nice, positive one and the instrumentation works well to support the message, as does Brown’s singing. Please don’t remind me of the airplane, though.