November Music Review

So after creating many posts about my personal life, I’ve finally decided to make a general post about one of my favourite things in the whole WIDE world; music! The last 3 weeks have been INCREDIBLE for fresh music, and November will be the month to purchase albums! Lady GaGa, Rihanna, and Britney all have albums coming out in November! On top of that, we’ve got Jennifer Lopez returning to music after her pregnancy and fellow Canadian, Massari releasing a follow up to his successful debut! To promote these albums we’ve got some amazing singles floating around that deserve attention, and here they are:

Morning After Dark – Timbaland featuring SoShy

After the success of the many singles from Shock Value, Timbaland’s back with a fresh single called “Morning After Dark” in which he introduces a new artist, SoShy, from Paris. Timbaland’s set to release Shock Value 2 in November, and this is the first single from the album. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed. Weeks before the release, the song was described by Timabaland himself as “very interesting” and “so different”, but to me it’s the trademark Timbaland beats backed with very eerie elements to create the vampire/ “Twilight” theme Timabaland was talking about. The verses are reminiscent to earlier Timbaland produced and featured hits such as “The Way I Are” featuring Keri Hilson and “Promiscuous” featuring Nelly Furtado; they are sexual innuendos exchanged back and forth between Timbaland and his “new” artist he wants to promote. Nelly Furtado got the boost she needed to get back in the spotlight. Keri Hilson finally got out of writing songs and got an album released, and now it seems like he’s trying to boost SoShy as well. However, I think he might fall short this time as she’s nothing “amazing.” Her voice is sexy, but nothing extraordinary. If you haven’t heard a Timbaland song before (I’d be surprised), this will sound fresh and new. If you have, you’ll instantly know its Timbaland. Despite that, it’s still an enjoyable song and a good first single. Let’s see how this impacts the charts! Catch the album out December 8, 2009.

3.5/5

Bad Romance – Lady GaGa

Taken as the lead single from her "new" album also refereed to as a re-release, “The Fame Monster”, Bad Romance is the new single from Lady GaGa. It seems as being “fresh” these days is a little hard. As much as I love this song, I can’t help but hear elements of previous GaGa hit “Poker Face” in this song. However, GaGa still manages to make the song its own unique masterpiece with a lot going on in one song. She adds her “rah rah” and “mum mum mahs” as well as French verses, and a catchy chorus to deliver an amazing pop-art fiasco. Produced by RedOne, it seems as if GaGa knows the recipe of not only a hit, but an amazing song. The lyrics of the song are a bit more dark than her previous, but it fits into the theme of the release, “The Fame: Monster.” If this is your first time listening to GaGa, you’ll understand why her name is everywhere, and if you have heard her before, you’ll love how she can just deliver hit after hit. I recommend this song to everyone; if you don’t enjoy it the first time, listen to it once more and I’m sure the “rah rahs” will be stuck in your head. Check out the album November 24th, 2009.

4.5/5

3 – Britney Spears

It hasn’t even been a year since her successful comeback album, “Circus”, that the legendary Ms. Britney Spears is back with a new single. No, we aren’t fortunate enough to get a new album, but this song is being released to promote her second greatest hits, “The Singles Collection”. “3” is produced by long time collaborator Max Martin who produced her number one hit, “…Baby One More Time” as well as hits for Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, and others. This song is another hit he has under his belt. It has already debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 1, an accomplishment for Britney and the chart in general. T his song is cliché Britney Spears. It has the controversial lyrics (this time not about seeking people, but about threesomes), has the thumping beats, and of course the vocal synths that Britney heavily relies on. It is nowhere near my favorite Britney release, but of course it is so catchy that I can’t get it out of my head after the first listen. That’s the marketability of pop songs these days; as long as they have a catchy hook, they are a success. But of course, how else will people be persuaded to download the song? At least when its stuck in their head, they have an incentive to download it and blame it on being “catchy.” Isn’t that what I’m doing right now? Watch out for “The Singles Collection” out November 10th, 2009 (November 24 for the deluxe box set).

2.5/5

Fresh Out The Oven – Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull

Like the title says, this latest song by Jennifer Lopez IS fresh. At this moment, it is unsure what is happening with this song. It was confirmed by Pitbull as the next single, but has now been dubbed a “promotional” single from the diva’s upcoming album “Love?” that won’t be featured on the album itself. It is official artist is referred to as "Lola" a pseudonym Jennifer used for this song. Thankfully it was for this song only. Regardless of its release, it is a fresh song that takes Jennifer Lopez back to her “J.Lo” album days. It combines elements of pop, hip-hop/rap, and R&B to create an amazing uptempo song that’s sure to be a hit at the clubs. She gets help from Cuban rapper, Pitbull who no one can seem to get enough. When I heard about the collaboration, I was super excited, but when I heard it I feel Pitbull didn’t really add much to the song. This Neptunes produced song is so good on its own, the Pitbull rap seems unnecessary to the song. I was expecting a little more from him, but despite that, I’m not complaining he’s on the song; I’m just wondering how him and Jennifer Lopez AND The Neptunes couldn’t have come up with something even more amazing. Don’t get me wrong, the song is great, but with all the big names on the track I expected a little more. Don’t let that take away from the song! Keep a look out for Jennifer Lopez’s much awaited album “Love?” out January 26th, 2010!

4/5

5. Russian Roulette – Rihanna

After the success of “Good Girl Gone Bad”, Rihanna is back with a new album releasing next month called “Rated R” and here we have the first single, “Russian Roulette.” This song is a very dark and serious song that seems to be a sequel to her previous hit “Unfaithful”. This track deals with suicide and Rihanna sings about it till she reaches the end taking a deep breath before pulling the trigger of the “Russian Roulette”. Produced by Ne-Yo, this is a beautiful ballad that showcases Rihanna’s versatility and amazing vocals. I’ll admit that when I first heard this song three letters were going through my head, W T F, but after a few more listens and analyzing of the lyrics, it has become a favourite of mine from this Barbadian artist. Whether it will be a hit or not, I’m not sure; she definitely took a risk releasing this as the lead single from the album, however I am sure that this will be a favourite among critics and will definitely be nominated for some awards when the time comes. If you are a bit touchy about the suicide issue, this may not be the best song to add to your library, but if you’re a music fan like me always looking for fresh music then this is a song for you! The lyrics are really touching and I’m glad it ends on a dark note. In real life, things don’t always end in happy endings and I think Rihanna is trying to show just that. Job well done; pick up the album November 23rd, 2009.

5/5

6. Body Body – Massari

The last song I’m going to review for this blog is the latest single from Canadian R&B sensation, Massari. Massari was received with major success after his debut self-titled album was released in 2005, and he is finally releasing his follow up, “Forever Massari” in early November. Here we have the second single called Body Body that I was fortunate enough to hear first at promotional party Massari held at a local nightclub in Ottawa. The song, and its steamy video, are really hot and is a surefire club, dance, and pop hit. It’s an uptempo R&B song that combines Massari’s Middle Eastern roots to create an exotic song. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but is definitely a better choice as a single to promote his album than previous single “Bad Girl”. Most importantly, it’s a Canadian artist who is working hard to becoming really big. He’s already had amazing success, and with the right promotion and marketing, he can become even bigger and enter the territory of current R&B stars, Colby O’ Donnis, Jay Sean, and Chris Brown. Till then, let’s support our Canadian musicians and get Massari’s album “Forever Massari” out November 10th, 2009

3/5

Enjoy and make sure to pick up the albums when they come out!