Into You (Ariana Grande)
This song probably has the most potential for success, mostly because it's from an artist that's already a proven hitmaker. Yes, Ariana Grande's been in a bit of a rough spot as of late, from rehashing her own material on Focus to her most recent album Dangerous Woman just not being as well-received as her last outing, it's been a hard couple of years. I'd say that Into You here is a diamond in the rough.
This is a dance song, feeling like it belongs more in a club than a car radio. There's no dancehall here, I promise, just straight electronic. Still, I'd say the strongest point on this song is Grande herself. She's soft and sultry in some spots, and in others she's powerful and attention-grabbing. It's pretty easy to guess what the song's about, isn't it?
Yeah, it's a song about sex. She's got that feeling, and she needs sexual healing. It's certainly sexier than the title track off her latest album, that's for sure. Dangerous Woman wasn't a bad song, but it wasn't particularly sexy, just sort of boring. This, however, is like an explosion. You don't die, but you certainly feel the power. Great song, give it a listen any time, and if you're looking for more good Ariana Grande songs, check out The Way or Love Me Harder. Both great tracks.
Now this is a bizarre song. The singer is Canadian singer Kai, but the focal point is Australian producer Flume. Flume has had a decent amount of success on the ARIA charts (the Australian equivalent to Billboard), with this having topped the main list there, but this is both his and Kai's first hit in the states. Sadly, I can't say I'm a huge fan of this song.
There's something wrong with the song's production. It's incredibly trippy, I almost think the song might be drunk. I thought this was some bizarre underground music when I first heard it, but no, it's by a relatively normal, semi-mainstream producer. The verses have a sort of glittery feel, you can hear chimes, and Kai is relatively calm. Then the chorus happens.
Speaking of Kai, I'm not huge on her vocal delivery. When she's singing normally, she sounds perfectly fine. It's just when she hits those high notes that it starts to get grating. There are also plenty of gratuitous f-bombs that completely kill the mood, whatever the hell the mood was supposed to be. They just take me right out of the song. So yeah, not that great. Next.
I'm pretty happy that I finally get to cover Fetty Wap on this blog. He was one of the stand-out new acts last year. He got big off of Vine, but he ended up being so much more than just another T-Wayne or iLoveMemphis. Every one of his songs, no matter what the production sounded like, was fun to listen to, if only because of the man himself. He's definitely a character, from his appearance to his trademark voice, and his rapping's good, too. It's no different here, he just elevates the song to "Good time" status.
Of course, he's not the main act. No, that's girl group Fifth Harmony. They're not terrible, per se, but they definitely got off on the wrong foot when Worth It ended up being their first hit, and Work From Home ended up just being mediocre. This is their first major hit to genuinely be good. Yes, more tropical stuff, forgive me. It's a fun song.
Granted, this thing is far from perfect. The singing works well with the production, but lyrically it's not very strong. I don't even remember how the lyrics go, they're super forgettable and uninteresting. I remember the pre-chorus and the chorus pretty well, but the verses were particularly forgettable sans maybe Fetty Wap's. It's a rather large stain on an otherwise strong single. Still, it didn't hurt my feelings on it too much, so give this one a shot.
I have a feeling I want to like this song way more than it actually deserves. Inside, I really like this song, but I realize it's only okay. The piano combined with the percussion create a beautiful sound. O'Brien's singing is great. Gnash isn't too bad either, despite the monotone. It's a fairly bitter song. What's kept me from liking it for so long?
This song's focus seems incredibly confused. The pair go from bickering and angry to solemn and wanting each other back. My guess is that it's supposed to represent the confusing and conflicting emotions arising from missing an ex, and yeah, these two definitely seem both conflicted and confused. In that respect, yeah, I guess it does work. You're remembering how bad your relationship was with this person and suddenly you're thinking "maybe it wasn't so bad, maybe I should go back" even though you've long since moved past. Heck, Gnash is even mentioned to have gotten a new girlfriend since the implied breakup!
So yeah, my opinions on this song are a bit conflicted. Overall, though, I don't hate this song. Don't love it, but it's pretty decent, pretty good, it's all good.
Behold, the worst song I have ever covered on this blog. Heathens may have been mediocre, bordering on bad, but this is just plain bad. Barely anything good about this song. The only thing I can compliment this song on is that it's not the worst thing I've heard all year. Let's get into how bad this song is.
First of all, the production. The godawful, trainwreck production. The only evidence of there being a chorus is the repeated lyrics in some spots. The verses are barely even verses. This is an anti-song. I should probably elaborate.
The first thing you notice when you listen to the chorus is that it is completely unintelligible. You have no idea what she's saying. It turns out most of the chorus is random samples from the verses, arranged in a mostly random manner. The only original lyric on the chorus is "without ever letting you know."
On the verses, at least you can understand what Kiiara is saying. I think the lyrics are trying to portray her as someone who's edgy and dangerous. Lyrics like "Gold up in my teeth," "Imma bite your feelings out," and "Your brother was a good substitute for you," are pretty dang bad, and that's just in the first minute. It doesn't get much better, but sadly the lyrics aren't as memorably bad the further the song goes.
This song sucks.
And that's it. Five songs, five reviews, all done. I really enjoyed working on this, and I'm thinking about doing another one of these in the future. Here are the scores, and I'll see you next time.
Into You: 8.5/10
Never Be Like You: 5/10
All in My Head (Flex): 7.5/10
i hate u, i love u: 7/10
Gold: 3/10
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