In the world of mainstream music, the first few weeks of the new year have brought some amazing tracks by well established artists in the industry. On the apparently lucky day 1/11/11, Britney and Kanye fans struck gold with brand new singles from their forthcoming albums. The following week, one of my own wishes came true as Jennifer Lopez premiered her debut single from her upcoming album Love? on the Ryan Seacrest show. Although these artists have proven themselves and dominated at some point during the last decade, with the arrival of new artists like Lady GaGa, Drake, Kesha, and Nicki Minaj to name a few, as well as the constantly evolving sound of pop music, it seems like these artists have to reinvent and top themselves to stay...well...on top.
Here's a brief review on each track:
Britney Spears - Hold It Against Me
Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of hype surrounding Britney's debut single from her upcoming album. From Facebook to Twitter, there has been much buzz created not only by fans for the song, but Britney and her team as well. When the song was released on 1/11/11, despite the hype, and despite breaking quite a few records after its release (the song debuted at #1 making Britney one of the few artists with most #1 debuts, it was most played song on the radio in one week, and shifted 411k legal digital downloads in its first week), I feel the song is just mediocre at best.
Produced by her long time collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke who have been by Britney's side since ...Baby One More Time, the song follows the continuous trend of mainstreaming dance and electronic music. In fact, this song goes one 'step' further and features a dubstep breakdown in the middle of the song. Of course, many Britney fans probably haven't heard of dubstep music before so for them its a bit of a new revolution. Apparently, the whole album is said to take a more dubstep route, which I'm not extremely happy about. I mean, its not that I don't love dubstep, I actually love it, but its the fact that its going to become mainstream like every underground gem of the past, and will eventually get overused, overplayed, and then irrelevant. Kind of like Timbaland.
The song is a fun listen, and after hearing it plastered on the radio and somewhat enjoying the breakdown, its kind of grown on me. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the song is good. That just means she accomplished what she wanted to do and yes, she has another #1 under her belt. I wouldn't say the song is horrible, because its not, but its not amazing either; it lies somewhere in between.
3/5
Kanye West & Jay-Z - H-A-M
Released on the same day as Hold It Against Me, H-A-M by Kanye West & Jay-Z from their upcoming joint album Watch The Throne, dropped unexpectedly. After being a little disappointed in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, H-A-M brings me back to the reason why I love both Kanye and Jay-Z. The song is a collaboration between two of the most amazing rappers in the industry and instead of just being a feature track, it is evident that both artists meshed their brains together to create this monster track. From its production to its lyrics, the song is just as superb as it is intense. The intensity builds up throughout the song and it feels as if you're listening to a rap opera. The song ends leaving you wanting more. Here's hoping they release a music video for the song; it could be very epic.
4.5/5
Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull - On The Floor
Jennifer Lopez's album Love? has faced many push backs and delays within the last 2 years but it seems like its finally going to be released this year. The first official single from the album just premiered on the radio a few days ago and there's only one word to describe it: HOT. The new song called On The Floor is a dance record (following the current trend of top 40) produced by RedOne (PokerFace, Bad Romance) and featuring Pitbull. Although a dance record, this one feels uniquely catered just for J.Lo; it contains Spanish influences as it samples the 1989 song Lambada by Kaoma, has an infectious and thumping club beat, and it maintains her signature urban style with Pitbull's feature. All these together create a hard hitting track that is one of the first Jennifer song in years that has the potential to do well. With proper promotion that could be assisted with her being a judge on American Idol, this song could be exactly what Jennifer needs to get back on top.
4/5
So far January hasn't done too shabby for mainstream music. Its nice to see some veterans back in the industry, especially since lately we've been caught up in one album wonders that come and go. I'm looking forward to all of the forthcoming albums from the respective artists above and see how well they put out (especially Jennifer Lopez).
Until the next review...
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